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Post by ewcaiters on Oct 30, 2022 15:58:22 GMT -8
Hello! After the passing of my first pair of gerbils (male) some time back, I recently adopted a new pair of females. This time I adopted the gerbils from a breeder rather than a petco. The girls were born July 9 and I adopted them on September 24. It has been a MUCH different experience from the boys. These two are extremely hyper, to a point it's concerning me. Their names are Basil and Ivy. Ivy tends to be a little more calm in behavior, but lately she's been bouncing off the walls herself. They run on the wheel at rapid speeds and Basil especially will run on it so hard it rattles around the cage. Off and on... ALL NIGHT!! They sleep primarily during the day I've noticed when I'm home, likely because I'm at work til about 5pm. One night, I noticed Basil jumping around and climbing on toys and trying to jump onto the lid of the cage, and she was actually successful a couple of times which shocked me because I had never experienced this. They have plenty of enrichment, a variety of chew toys and plenty of digging and open space. But what raised my eyebrows most, they jump around and get excited when they see me and I give them outside of cage time often. But as soon as I get my hand deep enough into the cage, BASIL jumps onto my hand and climbs up my arm and it scares me! I don't want her to fall and they're so much smaller than my boys were that I handle them more delicately and I fear them falling because they're so small and just won't settle down. Ivy has done it time to time but it's mostly Basil. Basil also gets so hyper she looks like she has a Mohawk sticking up on the back of her neck. Another thing about these two- they're a lot more vocal. I heard a seldom squeak from the boys 2 maybe 3 times in the two years I had them. I've had these girls just over a month and they constantly chatter away. I actually got worried one day in the bathroom because I heard a lot of loud squeaking so I rushed over to check on them and they were both doing their usual activities. They squeak a lot. When I was cleaning their cage they were watching me squeaking away. Overall these girls have been entirely different than my boys were. I was told to expect some differences but I wasn't expecting such major differences in activity and behavior. I appreciate any & all feedback!
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 1, 2022 11:41:19 GMT -8
Hello,
Gerbils vary quite a bit and it sounds like you've ended up with some exceptionally high-activity ones! They will likely calm down gradually as they get older.
Jumping up to the tank lid can be a sign of boredom, although a very energetic gerbil will often be bored even in a very enriched enclosure. It's just the way they are, rather than necessarily anything wrong with the enclosure. When they're doing this you could giving them a big issue pile of paper, cardboard or hay to demolish.
I think some gerbils might become frustrated with the obstruction of a tank lid, especially when the bedding is quite deep so that there isn't much space between it and the lid. This creates a rather claustrophobic environment which can cause the eagerness to get out as soon as the tank is opened. Toppers can help with this as there's more upward space for the gerbils to explore, and they feel a bit more free (according to my speculation anyway).
I haven't come across very vocal gerbils before so that's interesting. Gerbils normally communicate in ultrasound which we can't hear, so it's possible they're all very chatty and these gerbils' voices are just more audible for some reason.
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Post by Markpd on Nov 1, 2022 11:58:28 GMT -8
I'd love to see (and hear!) a video of these hyper and chatty gerbils  , any chance of that? Afraid I can't help much, other than to add that when my Avon 1st learnt to use the wheel he became obsessed with it! He would run on it hours at a time. On one of the 1st days he did this I got sufficiently worried about it that I posted here about it and then removed the wheel for that night. He gradually became less obsessed with it over time  , but he still runs on it a lot (their over 2 yrs old now) and he's trim and I bet super fit!  |
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Post by tanzanyte on Nov 17, 2022 6:18:36 GMT -8
I have experience with hyper gerbils from a breeder. It is a very marked difference from our boys. The boys are lazy lollops and do little else but sleep until evening, and even then they constantly disappear for naps. They came from a very good pet place attached to a garden centre and they are actually checked monthly by the vets we use.
Our girls came from a breeder mentioned on here. Unfortunately one of them died of a stroke at almost 1.5 years - she was the more calmer of the two.
Our remaining girl, Mymble, however, is always bimbling. The most I have ever seen her sleep is whilst in the split cage currently. She is still doing way more than Hattie, who we are trying to bond her with, and way more than our boys, who are 2.
Even our previous girls were more active than our boys, which was why I wanted another pair of girls, however I wasn't expecting how busy Mymble keeps herself.
I'd like to say they calm down, but if Mymble has it's only very slightly and she's coming up for 2. The girls did also squeak a lot more, but this seemed to settle a bit as they got older.
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Post by Mygerbiliscute on Nov 17, 2022 17:21:17 GMT -8
My new gerbil, Regent, is pretty active, too!
He's constantly trying to climb the walls of his cage. It's kind of cute, but I wish I could find more stimulation for him.
He doesn't have a wheel at the moment. My only wheel attaches to the topper, and being that they're still a new pair, I thought it best to hold off with the topper for a while. Do you think that's a mistake?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 18, 2022 9:04:58 GMT -8
My new gerbil, Regent, is pretty active, too! He's constantly trying to climb the walls of his cage. It's kind of cute, but I wish I could find more stimulation for him. He doesn't have a wheel at the moment. My only wheel attaches to the topper, and being that they're still a new pair, I thought it best to hold off with the topper for a while. Do you think that's a mistake? How long have they been together? It is safer to introduce a new enclosure in stages but depending on how long it's been, they might be ready for the topper now. |
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Post by Mygerbiliscute on Nov 19, 2022 15:51:53 GMT -8
I brought Regent home three weeks ago, and started him off in a split cage with RainDrop right away. I removed the split-cage insert a week ago, so they've been a pair for one week now.
Cute story: I recieved my first clue as to Regent's nature even before meeting him!
I bought my first two gerbils at PetSmart and was very happy with them. So when SnowFlake died and I was looking for a new friend for RainDrop, I naturally went back to Petsmart. Unfortunately, they were all out of gerbils right then, and wouldn't be getting any more for a week. At that point I already had my split-cage set up and waiting, and was reluctant to push it off. I remembered that there was a small pet shop just around the corner from Petsmart, so I called them and asked if they had any male gerbils available.
The person who answered the phone said that they had only one gerbil at the moment, they weren't sure if it was male or female, but I could wait a minute or so while they went to check.
The gerbil turned out to be male, so I told them I would come right over for it.
When I arrived at the pet shop, the store employee told me that I couldn't get my gerbil right away, I would have to wait while they dried him off...when the employee had removed the gerbil from his cage to check his gender, he had jumped into a fish tank!
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 19, 2022 18:23:54 GMT -8
I brought Regent home three weeks ago, and started him off in a split cage with RainDrop right away. I removed the split-cage insert a week ago, so they've been a pair for one week now. Cute story: I recieved my first clue as to Regent's nature even before meeting him! I bought my first two gerbils at PetSmart and was very happy with them. So when SnowFlake died and I was looking for a new friend for RainDrop, I naturally went back to Petsmart. Unfortunately, they were all out of gerbils right then, and wouldn't be getting any more for a week. At that point I already had my split-cage set up and waiting, and was reluctant to push it off. I remembered that there was a small pet shop just around the corner from Petsmart, so I called them and asked if they had any male gerbils available. The person who answered the phone said that they had only one gerbil at the moment, they weren't sure if it was male or female, but I could wait a minute or so while they went to check. The gerbil turned out to be male, so I told them I would come right over for it. When I arrived at the pet shop, the store employee told me that I couldn't get my gerbil right away, I would have to wait while they dried him off...when the employee had removed the gerbil from his cage to check his gender, he had jumped into a fish tank! What a lucky turn of events for both you and Regent! Not falling into the fish tank though. That was very unlucky. I'd give it at least another week before adding the topper. Then leave about a week between adding the topper and putting the wheel in. |
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, any chance of that?
, but he still runs on it a lot (their over 2 yrs old now) and he's trim and I bet super fit! 
