Gerbils are a popular choice for family pets, and it’s easy to see why. These small, furry creatures are incredibly cute and full of personality. They’re also relatively low maintenance, making them an ideal pet for first time owners.
If you’re considering getting a Gerbil as a pet, there are a few things you should know. First off, Gerbils are social animals, so it’s best to get two or more. They’re also quite active, so they need plenty of space to explore and play.
They originally come from eastern Mongolia and northern China. The Mongolian Gerbil (one of many species of Gerbil) is the most common domesticated variety. Gerbils first became popular as pets after 1954, when a small number of them were brought to the United States for scientific testing.
Considered to be a small-sized rodent, Gerbils tend to be very active and social animals. They are small animals that usually weigh less than 3 ounces. They have high energy requirements, but low care needs.
When it comes to housing, Gerbils need a large cage with plenty of space for them to explore. The cage should also have plenty of hiding places and toys for them to play with. It’s also important to make sure that their cage is kept clean, because Gerbils are prone to respiratory infections if their environment isn’t properly maintained. Gerbils are very curious creatures, so it’s important to make sure they have plenty of toys and activities to keep them entertained.
Gerbils are very calm and gentle, and will make great pets for children. They are also very friendly, and will enjoy playing with their family. They’re very quiet, and will rarely make noise unless they feel threatened.
Gerbils are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and meat. A good diet for them consists of a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and insects. It’s important to make sure that their food is fresh and of good quality.
Gerbils are a great choice for first time pet owners. They’re low maintenance, intelligent, and full of personality. With proper care and attention, gerbils can make wonderful family pets. Plus, they’re just so darn cute!
Baby gerbils are available through breeders, and will cost between $10 and $20.
Overall, gerbils make great family pets that require minimal care and attention. They are small, friendly rodents that can provide hours of entertainment for their owners.
Information about Gerbils
- Average size: 6 to 12 inches
- Average Weight: 2 – 3 ounces
- Coat Colors: Brown, black, gray, buff, white
- Grooming Needs: Low
- Sensitive to Touch: No
- Tolerance to Heat and Cold: No
- Good Pet: Yes
- Safe with Children: Yes
- Good with Other Gerbils: Yes
- Good with Other Pets: No
- Good for Less Experienced Pet Owners: Yes
- Training: They learn simple tricks, but they require patience and consistency
- Exercise Needs: High
- Weight Gain: lack of exercise and fatty diet can cause obesity
- Health Concerns: Eye and nose sores, diarrhea, heat stroke, and seizures
- Allergies: strong scents cause allergies to Gerbils
- Average Life Span: 2 – 3 years
Physical Appearance of Gerbils
Gerbils are small rodents that only get to a maximum weight of about 3 ounces in adulthood. The male Gerbils are larger in size than the female ones. Gerbils can either be gray, black, brown, white or spotted.
Temperament of Gerbils
Gerbils are gentle pets that rarely show aggressive behavior. The pets are friendly and, after some time with their owners, can enjoy human contact. Gerbils are active and very curious, which is evident in the way they approach anything placed in their cage ready to explore.
It’s important to note that Gerbils are social and enjoy living in groups of two or more. Gerbils can only live together if introduced to each other when they’re less than 10 weeks old, after that it becomes difficult. Gerbils may show aggressive behavior toward a new Gerbil introduced into their cage and may even kill the new member.
All Gerbils have a gland around the abdomen, which is oval and has an orange/tan color. The gland enlarges at adulthood in male Gerbils and produces an oily secretion. The males use the secretion to mark their territory by rubbing their abdomen on objects in the cage.
Training and Handling Gerbils
Gerbils are timid at first and may not be open to handling. The best way to get your Gerbils to enjoy handling is by giving them time to get used to you. Start by placing your hand inside their cage and staying still for the Gerbil to sniff and crawl around your hand. Repeat the process until you feel that your Gerbils aren’t scared of you.
Gerbils have very fragile tails that can easily pluck from the base leaving a bony stump that eventually falls off. Avoid holding them by their tail to prevent injuries.
The best way to hold a Gerbil is by placing one hand right behind their forelegs. Then gently cap your Gerbil in your hand without squeezing it. The other hand should support them from behind, being careful not to pull on their tail.
Once you’ve created a bond with your Gerbil and have learned how to handle it, you are then able to train them to perform tricks. Gerbils are intelligent pets that can learn with practice and patience. A Gerbil can learn to sit on your shoulder and even slide down to your hand. They can also learn to take simple commands like “sit.”
While training your Gerbil, try to make the training sessions consistent, fun, and short because they are not able to concentrate for long. To reinforce your commands, offer healthy treats to encourage them when they perform the trick. Some good treats include carrots, pumpkins, or sunflower seeds.
Their Compatibility with Children
Gerbils are good pets for kids because they are playful and kids can have a lot of fun watching them play and playing with them. Gerbils are easy to care for and rarely get sick with a proper diet and a nice clean cage.
Kids can have fun feeding Gerbils using their hands because they don’t bite or scratch. Anyone handling Gerbils should wash their hands after handling or feeding them by hand. Some disease causing organisms like Salmonella are found in Gerbils and can pass on to human beings.
An adult should also teach kids how to hold a Gerbil because they could hurt their fragile tails or squeeze them too hard, injuring internal organs. An adult should always clean the cage or replace the bedding to make sure that it’s been cleaned well.
Best Habitat for Gerbils
Cage
The minimum cage size for your Gerbil should be 18”L x 30”W x 12”T. If you’re buying a tank, these measurements are equivalent to a 15 gallon tank. If you place a Gerbil in a very small space, it tends to become aggressive, so more space is always better.
If you decide to use a cage to house your pet, there should be a tray that extends beyond the area of the cage. Gerbils are known to be messy pets that often throw their bedding and food out of their habitat. If you have a tank, you don’t have to deal with spillage messes. While tanks don’t let them make a mess on your floor, they are more challenging to clean in comparison to wire cages.
It’s also worth noting that Gerbils are sensitive to extreme heat or cold. Their cage should be placed away from direct sunlight or wind. Gerbils need a warm temperature kept between 65 – 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bedding
The habitat should have about 2 inches of bedding or substrate because Gerbils enjoy burrowing and forming nests in the substrate. The best bedding for a Gerbil is recycled paper, wood shavings, or corncob. Never use pine or cedar bedding because it has a strong scent that can cause your pets to have respiratory irritations.
Nesting boxes
Gerbils enjoy making nests and hiding in them and giving them nesting materials will make them happy. Nesting materials such as toilet paper make great nesting boxes for your Gerbil. Make sure that the toilet paper you use isn’t scented to protect your pet from having respiratory problems.
Hiding Materials
Gerbils enjoy playing, burrowing and hiding most of the time. The best hides for your Gerbil are the hollow log. You can find the hollow logs at the snake section in the pet store. Toilet paper cores are also good choices but make sure to replace them often because the Gerbils will shred them in as little as a day. Clay pots placed on the sides can also provide safe hiding places for your pet.
Habitat Maintenance
Don’t overdo the cleaning of your Gerbil cage because they can become stressed when their cage doesn’t smell or feel like home. Generally Gerbils are clean pets that rarely urinate. You should not have any problems with bad odors coming from their cage.
Replace bedding materials once a week. Only clean the cage or tank whenever necessary or tackle the dirty areas without deep cleaning their cage.
Clean the water bottle every day to avoid contamination and also make sure to remove any food leftovers from their cage.
Attention Requirements of Gerbils
Gerbils should have plenty of exercises every day to reduce boredom and to also lower their risk of becoming overweight. Keep some toys in your Gerbils cage, but make sure they are safe. Gerbils are notorious for sticking their heads into anything hollow. The hollow toys should be large enough such that your Gerbil doesn’t get their head stuck inside.
Health Issues
A healthy Gerbil is active, has clean yellow teeth, bright eyes, shiny fur, eats well, and has a clean, dry bottom. Gerbils are healthy pets that rarely become ill. Here are some of the most common diseases that affect Gerbils.
Heat Stroke
Gerbils are affected by very hot temperatures that makes them pant for breath, become lethargic, and in extreme cases become unconscious. Immediately if you notice these signs, move the entire Gerbil cage and place it in a cool place.
After the Gerbil shows signs of recovery, check the location of its cage and if it’s too hot, find another cool place for the cage. Also make sure that any other Gerbils were not affected by the heat.
Fits/Seizures
Fits and seizures in small mammals can be very serious and life-threatening. It’s important to recognize the signs of a fit or seizure, so that your pet can receive prompt medical attention. Common signs of a fit or seizure include sudden collapse, their limbs stiffening, rapid breathing, uncontrollable muscle twitching, salivation, loss of consciousness and possibly urinating or defecating. Seizures can also be associated with strange behavior like twitching, paddling their limbs and chomping motions.
If your small mammal is showing signs of a fit or seizure, it’s important to take them to the nearest veterinarian immediately. In some cases, fits and seizures in small mammals might not need medical attention if they are mild and do not last longer than a minute. If their fit or seizure lasts for more than a few minutes, medical attention is necessary.
Diarrhea
Small mammals are a wide range of animals, including hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, and rats. All of these small mammals can suffer from diarrhea at some point in their lives and it is important to be aware of the symptoms to get your pet the help they need. Diarrhea can be caused by a variety of factors including stress, diet, parasites, and infections. If your pet has any of the symptoms listed above it’s important to take them to a veterinarian for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
Diarrhea can have many causes and the best way to determine the cause is through a physical examination, laboratory tests, and radiographs.
Sore Nose and Eyes
Small mammals like hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas and gerbils can have a problem called sore nose and eyes. Sore nose and eyes can be caused by an infection or foreign object in their nasal cavity. This type of condition is not always easy to diagnose but there are some symptoms to look out for.
Sore nose and eyes can cause a range of symptoms in small mammals. They might rub their face or scratch at their nose, which could indicate pain or itching. They can also have excessive sneezing, a runny nose, discharge from their eyes, or swollen eyes. In some cases they could be lethargic and not want to eat. It’s important to keep an eye out for any of these symptoms.
If you suspect your small mammal has a sore nose and eyes, it’s important to take them to the vet as soon as possible. The vet will be able to diagnose the problem and give them the appropriate treatment.
Grooming and Care Tips for Gerbils
Gerbils are clean rodents that don’t require a lot of grooming. Brushing their coat once a week is a great way to keep them clean while at the same time bonding with your pet. Use a soft toothbrush or a brush meant for Gerbils so that you don’t hurt their skin.
Bathing
Don’t bathe your Gerbil using water because their skins are sensitive and could lose their essential oils. Gerbils enjoy having sand baths. It is a good idea to put a bowl of sand in their cage. The sand should be fine and meant for Gerbils or Hamsters because rough sand particles can hurt them.
Nail clipping
Gerbils are great at burrowing which naturally trims their nails. Once in a while it’s a good idea to check the nails, and if they’re too long, trim them using nail clippers. When clipping their nails, make sure not to clip too close to the blood vessels so that they don’t bleed.
Tooth Trimming
During chewing, the Gerbils can trim their teeth naturally. In some rare cases, their teeth may overgrow and may require a professional to trim them. Visit your veterinarian if you notice the teeth of your Gerbil have overgrown.
Feeding Gerbils
Water is an essential part of the Gerbil’s diet.The best way to give water to your pet is by using a water bottle, preferably with a metal sipper. Always check the bottle to make sure it isn’t blocked or have leaks.
In the wild, Gerbils eat grass, leaves, and seeds. To mimic the natural diet of Gerbils, feed them commercial pellets or seed mixes. The good thing about the pellets or seed mixes is that they’re usually well balanced in nutritional value. The commercial pellets and seed mixes should make up the largest part of your pet’s diet.
When buying the seed mixes, avoid those with a lot of sunflower seeds because they are high in fat. Fatty seeds can make your Gerbil obese. A better seed for them is pumpkin seeds because they are healthy and nutritious.
Gerbils also enjoy fruits such as oranges, melons, pears, and apples. Occasionally adding to the diet fresh leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, cabbage, and kales is also a great way to keep your Gerbils healthy.
Once in a while, give your Gerbil small quantities of yogurt, cheese, or some cooked egg as a treat.
Gerbils love to store food for later which is perfectly normal because in the wild there are periods of abundance and periods of scarcity. When you clean their cage, look around for any hidden food. Once it goes stale, it could upset your Gerbil’s tummy and its best to throw it out.
Related Questions:
How Often do Gerbils Need Sand Baths?
Gerbils need sand baths to keep their coats shiny and free from parasites. Sand baths are necessary at least once a week to keep your pet healthy. After the bath, take the bowl of sand from their cage so it can be used again next week.
Maryna is an animal expert that has had dozens of animals in her life over the years. She has never found an animal that she didn't love immediately. It seems like every year she finds kittens that have been abandoned by their mom and she nurses them to health and finds homes for them. She contributes her vast knowledge about animals and family pets to our website and we're forever grateful to have her working with us. She's also an amazing graphics designer and has designed all of the social media images that we use across all platforms.