What to look for in a potential owner?

[sparkbubble]

Due to my gerbil being mis-sexed, I have five baby gerbs and more on the way. I have plenty of time, but I want to start securing homes as soon as possible. How can I find a responsible owner? I will be targeting a younger consumer and reaching out on facebook. I plan on posting a list of pros and cons about the gerbils to help people get an idea of what they will be adopting. Would asking for a brief description of a care plan be too pushy?

[betty]

Not at all - I think politely discussing care plans and enclosures before homing is a great idea for both yourself and the potential new owner. Especially bringing up the cons (of which there aren't many - but still worth advising on).

Do try to make sure that you are asking the right questions though as often asking things doesn't actually translate into better care per se. These days, asking to see the enclosure will not by any means indicate the ACTUAL enclosure to be used (anyone can get a picture off the internet) and also I believe a younger animal lover who is starting out with a smaller enclosure (due to parent restrictions or finances/space) who is willing to take your advice could well make a great home for your gerbils - and a potential gerbil ambassador of the future.

It certainly isn't an easy thing to do if you want to home the gerbils out to places you want to be better than you can give yourself. And sometimes it is impossible to find perfect people exactly when you have pups ready to home - so set your own lowest limits on homing and stick to them - regardless of the time it takes - and then you can make decisions much more easily and feel better about your choices.

I think an understanding approach to advice and questions is best used; plus listening out for things in their own replies and questions that show a high level of 'caring'.

Fidning someone willing to wait a few weeks is also quite a good indication of a better home - someone who is reasearching in advance and is happy to wait - rather than impulse buy.

[amura]

I bought my second gerbil from a private owner too, who had a litter of baby gerbils.

The only one she insisted about was that she wanted me to have two gerbils, that she would not give me one to be alone.
I think it's a good point to insist on, so people know that they are social animals and that it's better not adopting only one.

Other than that she was simply very conversational, which of course gave her a rough idea of the kind of owner I would be.
She shared some pics of the babies and I shared pics of my gerbil and his tank, etc. But again, she did not ask for them, it was just a conversation between two people interested in gerbils.

In my case I adopted a pup.
I talked (well, texted) to the owner before the pup was weaned, so I had to wait. Which was perfectly fine to me. Which, as betty mentions, I suppose showed it was not an impulse buy.
But also gave the time for those conversations to arise quite naturally

[sparkbubble]

All right, thanks for the input. I plan on writing a short summary about the gerbils, including main living and social necessities, but I expect I will need to address the parent rather than the child. I used to receive an allowance, but I'm not sure how many other people actually still do it, and either way, the parents are the ones paying for most of it. Gerbils are a good exercise of responsibility, but I forgot that many children are impulsive. After all, anything that's cute and fuzzy goes these days...If I do secure an owner, I will type up a decent document with most of the details that I've compiled over the last two years. If that doesn't scare them away, then I'd think that they'd be pretty good owners. Thanks for the false image warning! I'll be sure to click 'search image' to check any potential fakers.

[sparkbubble]

Will I need to explain the difference between hamsters and gerbils???

[Markpd]

I suppose it could be helpful, especially if they had Hamsters beforehand, as we know, they don't just look different!

[betty]

I always make sure that when I am actually doing the handover with younger children that I focus 100% on the children (rather than the adults).

I want them to be confident to hold them, health check them and to be sensible with moving them around - the parents will be listening too - but then I think (hope) that when they get home - that child/children will 'be the expert' and will then want to share their new found knowledge with the parents (and hopefully the parents will play along so they stay on top form as a new owner).

Rather than give them a list of things NOT to do though - I phrase it as a list of things that gerbils 'feel safer' or are 'happier' doing. Often 'rules' about things that the humans might 'do wrong' are the very things that people want to prove aren't. So for example saying don't carry them around at a height while they are young as they might jump could well get proved 'wrong' very easily if they DO do it a few times and the gerbil doesn't jump. But if you have said that gerbils love to ride around in a jar - and it is fun to see which treats get them to climb into the jar the fastest - they may well use a jar more often and so are less likely to drop the gerbil or get bitten while holding it AND the parents have almost got a great reason themselves to encourage their child/children to act more safely such as with the "shall we try a walnut today in the jar" line of conversation, etc).

Maybe I am too hopeful - but that is what I aim for...

I also make sure that I advise them of all the newbie issues so that they can be avoided and not 'ruin' a new pet within days of getting them home as I would imagine getting bitten by your new gerbils wouldn't form the life long bond that we are hoping for (so no peeking or handling in the car on the way home!). Also, pets being dropped, squished, lost or attacked by a cat are the most common causes of injury and death in new rodents so I am quite stern with that section of advice.