QUESTION 1: What is the best gerbil cage?
ANSWER: A big aquarium, at least 75 or 100 liters.
Make a wire lid that keeps the gerbils in. Remember
that small gerbils can easily get out if there is a
1 cm big space anywhere. I have found out that for
a breeding pair 70 liters is a bit too small.
This photo shows the 100 liters aquarium of my former gerbils
Asta & Castor, just after I cleaned it out. They usually had
lots more hay and bedding and stuff to room about in.
QUESTION 2: How many gerbils are optional?
ANSWER: TWO!
Either two males, two females, or - if you want
a whole lot of gerbils - one male and one female. I'd
recommend to buy two males - if one dies before the
other one it is easier to introduce a new gerbil to an
older male than to an older female.
QUESTION 3: What should I feed my gerbils?
ANSWER: Hay, seeds, dry bread, vegetables and fruit.
I have had the strangest recommendations for gerbil menues. Corn flakes and sunflower seeds, mixed with roasted rice, raisins and whatever... Not much vitamins, nutrition and healthy food stuff in that!
I give mine assorted bird seeds, rolled oats,
some sunflower seeds (they love them...) and ready to eat corn
and peas from the freezer. They also like cooked food,
like rice. Wheat germ
is good for them, but I often forget to give that. My gerbils
also eat a whole lot of hay.
What they get almost daily is vegetables and fruit. I
have been warned that if your gerbils are not used to eat
vegetables they need time to adjust to this, and if
your gerbil have NEVER eaten vegetables before they might even die
if given much vegetables to eat at once.
When you buy your gerbils : ask if they are used to
eat vegetables!
QUESTION 4: What kind of toys do I give my gerbils?
ANSWER: Anything they safely can gnaw to pieces,
paper boxes, wooden boxes, toilet rolls, branches,
and so on. Remember that they usually want a new toy
every day!
No plastic, no wheels.
QUESTION 5: How do I handle my gerbils?
ANSWER: Be careful, try to never hold the tail. Use cupped hands to lift. Gerbils like to sit on your shoulder. They are also very happy being petted.
Take care when handling your gerbils, don't break the tail! The tail is easy to break - learn how to take the gerbil in your cupped hands instead of lifting it in its tail.
I have tamed all my gerbils by just petting them a lot in the cage, I never tried to hold them in my hands before I had tamed them in the cage.
QUESTION 6: What about breeding gerbils?
ANSWER: If you are prepared to get new
homes to a whole bunch of gerbils, just put a male
and female in the same cage and they will do the rest.
The male will help with the babies.
This photo shows my former pets Asta & Castor, both
dark eyed honey.
This photo is taken inside their aquarium, which is 100 litres.
QUESTION 7: What kind of bedding do I use?
ANSWER: Here in Sweden we use wood shavings since we do not have cedar. Cedar shavings and pine shavings are poisonous for pets. The pine we have in Sweden is not the same kind as in the US, so that is safe here as long it is from our Swedish woods.
QUESTION 8: What about a wheel for the gerbils?
ANSWER: Just like a dog a gerbil needs its tail, and gerbils easily lose their tails if you give them an exercise wheel, since the tail can easily get stuck in the wheel. There are wheels that the tails can not get stuck in - often made of solid plastic. Just remember that gerbils love to gnaw... My gerbils don't have a wheel since they can dig as much burrows as they want to...
ANSWER: Gerbils belong to the order Rodentia - just like rats, mice and hamsters, so gerbils are rodents.
QUESTION 10: Do gerbils need to sandbathe?
ANSWER: Gerbils need very fine sand to sand bathe in. I put some fine sand in a food bowl for dogs - and they went there immediately! A well kept gerbil has very smooth fur. Often the gerbils in pet shops have unkept and greasy coats. The gerbil coat should be shining and very soft. In the pet shop I was told that if the gerbils had red stains around its nose it needed a sand bathe.
I have been told gerbils use the sand bath as a toilet too, so it may be a good idea to clean it out often.
QUESTION 11: How do I keep my gerbils from "biting" my fingers?
ANSWER: If you do not want your gerbils to nibble on you - never feed it from your hand! My gerbils never nibble on me.
Copyright Eva Johansson.
Last update: 2nd of October 2006.