Basic Gerbil Care
{by BlueSandpiper}
Housing
There are many housing options for gerbil: wire cages, aquariums/tanks,
modified clear plastic storage containers, SAM/CritterTThere are many housing options for gerbil: wire cages, aquariumsrail/etc
cages, and homemade cages. The best housing for gerbils is an aquarium/tank with a sturdy mesh/screen lid. Aquariums/tanks
and other solid housing are escape proof as long as the lid is on securely, they’re not drafty, bedding stays inside,
there are no wire bars for your gerbil to rub his/her nose raw on, just to name a few. The basic guideline for housing density
in an aquarium is 5 gallons per gerbil. IMO, the bigger the tank, the more comfortable a gerbil will be. A 10 gallon aquarium
will work fine for one gerbil. A pair or a small group of gerbils will be fine in a 15 gallon or more aquarium. A screen lid
is a must to prevent escapes. Screen lids are available in any pet store, usually in the reptile section. There are screen
lids that allow for the use of plastic tubes so you can attach the aquarium to another aquarium or cage or just have a bunch
of tubes going in different directions.
Wire cages are ok but they’re drafty and bedding gets
kicked out. Gerbils will also gnaw on the bars and develop sore, red noses. Wire cages tend to be on the small size as well.
Modified clear plastic storage containers are great. They similar
to aquariums/tanks, are fairly cheap, and they’re lighter than aquariums/tanks. The container lid will need to be modified
in some way to allow for ventilation. Some people don’t use the lid at all and make their own out of safe hardwood and
hardware cloth.
SAM/CritterTrail/etc cages are not suitable to house gerbils,
mainly because they’re too small to properly house a full-grown adult gerbil. Some of these cages have wire floors,
which can cause leg and foot injuries. These cages have poor ventilation, are expensive to buy, hard to clean, and gerbils
can easily chew their way out. IMO, if a SAM or other cage is attached to an aquarium using the tubes, then it’s ok.
A SAM or other cage should not be a gerbil’s main housing.
Bedding
There’s a huge debate about whether pine and cedar beddings causes
illness in small pets. To be on the safe side, use only Carefresh (or another paper-type bedding) or Aspen bedding. Corn cob
is ok but sometimes small pets will eat the bedding and develop impacted stomachs. Corn cob bedding can develop mold in it
as well.
Food
All pet store gerbil foods are pretty much the same: a seed mix with
pellets ad lots of sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds and nuts and various other things. Buy whatever brand doesn’t contain
a lot of fatty treats like sunflower and pumpkin seeds and nuts in it. Ecotrition hamster/gerbil food is one good brand. It
has sunflower seeds in it but those are easily picked out. Mazuri makes a block food for gerbils that is good. Since the food
comes in little block shapes, a gerbil can’t pick out the tasty things to eat, something that can be a problem with
seed-based mixes. Block food also helps keep the teeth worn down.
An adult gerbil needs about a tablespoon of food a day.
Feed more or less according to your gerbil and how many gerbils you have. Pick out the fatty treats before feeding your gerbil.
This includes pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts, and raisins. Too many of these can result in an overweight gerbil.
Gerbils love treats but only give a small amount once
in awhile, especially fatty treats. Healthy treats to give your gerbil are fresh fruits and vegetables, plain Cheerios, plain
puffed Kashi cereal, uncooked Kashi pilaf, sesame seeds, and uncooked rice and pasta.
Fresh water must be available at all times. Check the
ball valve in the bottle sipping tube to make sure that your gerbil can easily push it in order to drink. Some bottles have
a magnetic valve or some other type of valve that is extremely hard for a gerbil to push in and get water. The best bottles
have the ball valve that rattles inside the tube if you shake the bottle. Lixit and Oasis makes good bottles. Clean the bottle
out weekly and make sure to clean the sipper tube as well. Sometimes bedding will get stuck inside the tube and result in
the bottle not working properly.
Toys/Accessories
Gerbils love cardboard tubes and boxes. Toss a cardboard tube or box
into the gerbil tank/cage as often as you like. Hard cardboard tubes, like mailing tubes or the tube from a box of plastic
wrap, will last a few days while softer tubes, like toilet paper and paper towel tubes, will last only for a few minutes.
An exercise wheel is good but some gerbils don’t
like them. The best gerbil safe wheels are wire mesh wheel or a solid metal wheel. Open wheels with the rungs can cause leg
and tail injuries. You can make an open wheel “solid” by wrapping something like thin cardboard around the outside
of the wheel. Plastic wheels will get chewed up very quickly.
Gerbils need something hard and safe to gnaw on to keep
their constantly growing teeth from getting too long. Wooden blocks from the pet store are good as are hard cardboard tubes.
Toys made of plastic should not be given to your gerbil.
Gerbils gnaw on everything and the sharp shards from plastic objects may injure your gerbil. Water bottles are made of plastic
and a water bottle holder/guard will prevent most gerbils from gnawing on the bottle. For really determined gnawers, try a
glass bottle.
A house/nesting box isn’t really necessary. Most
gerbils curl up in a corner to sleep. You can put nesting material into the cage/tank. Hay and toilet paper are great.
Cage/Tankmate
Gerbils prefer to be kept in pairs or small groups. A single gerbil
will get lonely and demands lots of daily attention. A pair of same gender gerbils will keep each other company and play with
each other. They do need daily attention but not as much as a single gerbil. Unless you plan on breeding gerbils, get gerbils
of the same gender. Males can be kept together in groups of up to 4. Female gerbils are a bit picky and usually can only be
kept in pairs. Any more than that and they may start squabbling and fighting with each other.
Behavior
Gerbils thump their back legs if they sense danger or to communicate
with each other. Gerbils are diurnal. They generally sleep during the night and during parts of the day. Gerbils are very
curious and will explore any new toy you put into their cage/tank right away.
Other
Gerbils have fragile tails that can break off due to improper handling
or injury. A gerbil should always be handled and picked up properly. Gently scoop up the gerbil using both hands and avoid
squishing the tail in any way.
Some gerbils suffer from occasional seizures. This is
completely normal and does not affect the health of the gerbil in any way. A gerbil with the mild form will appear to be frozen
and not respond to stimuli for a few seconds. In the more severe form, a gerbil will have involuntary muscle contractions
and thrash about for a few seconds. A gerbil that has seizures should not be bred because the seizures can be passed onto
the babies.
