Vacation with gerbils

[marco]

How to keep gerbils alive during vacation?

[marco]

Soon I'm going on vacation for 5 days and I want to ensure my little gerbils will be ok with food water etc. So any tips will help.

[betty]

Hello and sorry for the delay in replying.

So, if we can have a few more details to confirm a few things - but assuming your gerbils are in a safe carrier in the main vehicle with you - they should be fine for a journey - even of several hours - with a place to hide, something to chew and a chuck of carrot or cucumber and a splinkle of their usual food.

Once at your destination (if in a normal building) move them into their larger enclosure (either their own enclosure you have taken - or a substitute enclosure) and treat as normal really. If you aren't staying in a 'normal' house, this could be different of course.

If you meant that you wanted to leave them at your original home/location for that 5 days then there is different advice to give - but that 5 days without someone who can check on them could potetntially be quite risky - so usually we would advise either leaving with a friend for those 5 days you are away - or at least have a friend visit them in your own home at least once - ideally daily.

Do update us with which way we are going with this...

[marco]

yes i am leaving the gerbils home for 5 days and there is not many people to help. but is there anything to do to make it less risky and more safer when im away

[Markpd]

It's not really a good idea to leave them alone that long, the biggest risk (but not the only one) is if there's a problem with their water supply. e.g if you have a single bottle and it gets an airlock or the ball jams, or if it's not high enough away from the bedding and the tube touches it, all the water soaks out through the bedding. Or if you use a bowl and the water gets contaminated.
If you have multiple, redundant reliable water sources then this could negate that risk, if you get it right. Although of course none of the water will be very fresh by 5 days.

Other risks are, what if a gerbil gets ill in the 1st day or 2? It might not make it 5 days un-aided, or if a gerbil gets injured by a freak accident, it could be suffering for a long time .
Can you not get someone in at least once to just check the water and that they're moving around and seem ok?

Just thought of something else, what's the weather like atm where you live? Could it get really hot or really cold during that 5 days?

A friend of mine asked me if I could water and feed his daughter's pets last summer (1 gerbil, 2 rats and some snakes (how many pets!? lol)) over a nearly 2 week holiday, they'd asked me to come in just once! I volunteered to do it twice, just as well I did as temperatures shot up to over 30C and it was rather hot in the room where the gerbil and rats were. I don't think it would've been hot enough to kill them (the rats at least had 2 bottles), but it certainly wouldn't have been nice for them (with his permission I left a couple of small windows open).

[marco]

yeah our water problem is ok since we have multiple water cases but i think they will be just fine over the days

[marco]

i think the temperature problem wont occur since here in illinois its early summer and i think i can hold the thermostat to like 65 degress

[marco]

now the situation is worse. my mom told me were gone for a WEEK! this is really bad now im getting anxious and worried out them. my mom says my grandma will take care of them but last time she did she mistreated them

[marco]

thanks for your help. my dad told me he will feed them on the third day. that should be enough

[Markpd]

Good to hear your dad will feed them etc on the 3rd day, that's better. Bit of a long stint for the 2nd 1/2 of the week though, assuming you're away for 7 days...

[marco]

were on the trip for 6 days by the way and also thanks for helping me. have a good one

[Markpd]

You too, enjoy the trip