Stradius011

Does anyone have experience with gerbils? I heard that they are very easy to take care of and that their droppings don't smell very much since they originate from a dry climate.

Isabella

Don't know anything about keeping them, but I've seen them at a local pet shop - they're so cute!

Stradius011

I begged, compromised, and pleaded my mom for a pair of gerbils but she hates all pets except for fish, and that is how I got into them.

Butterfly

I have a Dwarf Hamster. there are pictures here somewhere. Her name is Sadie. she doesn't have an ordor at all that I can tell
Carol

newbie101

gerbils are so cute...I think it would be fun to have some.

Stradius011

Me too!

0morrokh

I used to have gerbils--they're pretty awesome. Just let me know if you want any info about them.

Stradius011

Ok, I want info. Do gerbils shed a lot?

0morrokh

Nope, they don't shed at all. They're also very clean, nearly odorless, and very friendly. Probably the best rodent to get for those of us with...pet sensitive mothers.

aj_1992

ya don't say. i have a mom that rules (or raises) with an iron fist. you wouldn't happen to know a way to convince parents about gerbils? :

Howeyg

ya don't say. i have a mom that rules (or raises) with an iron fist. you wouldn't happen to know a way to convince parents about gerbils? :

i used to have 3 gerbils, take your mum to the pet store and show her how cute they are worked for my mum 

0morrokh

Well, tell your mother that Gerbils are probably the cleanest and least smelly (they're virtually odorless) of rodents. They're super friendly and never bite (unless they're being abused or something). They're small and cheap and easy to care for.

Howeyg

The Sad but true tale of my Gerbils

I had 3 Gerbils when i was in year 5 which is 9 - 10 years old we were told that they love to live in pairs and the shop only had three. it didnt feel right leaving the little dude on his own so we took all 3 and a big cage.
I named them after 3 famous english footballers Andy Cole ( my childhood hero ), David Beckham and Michael Owen

A while into having them and getting to know them and their personalities they were like good friends. Unfortunately Michael Owen died of an ear infection which our vet told us were almost always fatal to Gerbils.
The next couple months went by when i went upstairs to play/feed with them after school i noticed David Beckham wasnt there and started to check around the house only to find one of my cats had got him...
He hadnt been eaten or anything disgusting but he had had a heart attack and died. That cat (Fluff) is now known as fluffty fluffty a$$hole.
A while after that (maybe 2 or 3 months) i realised Andy Cole wasnt in His cage and ran downstairs to see if one of the cats had got him. I hadnt seen Andy Cole so i got my dad and he checked and said andy was probably asleep and was best if we didnt disturb him. so i carried on trying to find him and went downstairs and saw all 4 of my cats in the garden with what appeared to be (according to my dad) a rat. I knew instantly it was Andy but had a hard time while watching my Gerbil being tortured explaining to my dad. i ran outside and chased the cats away and andy ran and hid beneath some rubbish. my dad thought he was dead and told me to go inside.
My dad picked him up from behind the garbage and because he was still in self defence mode he bite right through my dads finger and we couldnt make him let go. So after that andy had only a Broken leg which healed within weeks as i remember. And then he lived on and died of old age as my friend.

0morrokh

Wow, that's quite a story. How was the cat getting into the cage? In the future if you have gerbils again maybe you could try putting books or something heavy on the lid so the cats can't open it.

Btw, pairs is pretty much the minimum...three or four is a great number to have. Although you have to be careful when keeping several females. They are the dominant sex in Gerbils (opposite of rats and mice, where males are dominant). So they are territorial and tend to fight more. A pair of females raised together should be fine but if one dies you can't add another new gerbil (whereas the males will usually accept newcomers as long as they're introduced properly).

Heh sorry, getting off on one of my rants again.

Howeyg

we had 3 males newtered i think i have no idea i was too young. I think that the gerbils had found a way out because whenever i examined the cage the doors were always shut i clipped them shut with a bull clip so they must of squezzed out i had "doors" on at the side of cage and one at the top

I have stopped keeping rodents seeing as now they stop me getting to sleep and my last couple where bad. my last hamster was called sooty and escaped from her cage (no idea how door was shut) she had climbed down a hole next to radiator pipe and had fallen through the floor into my kitchen. only realised she had gone when all the cats where gathering round the freezer we later had to cut through the wall to get to her. My little brother has a hamster who is the coolest hamster ever she does chin ups on the bars of her cage.

im focusing on looking after my 2 dogs and 3 ( and 1 evil) cats.

im trying something new in keeping fish

Stradius011

Lol, 8 months later. I told all of that to my mom already but she said no. I took her to the pet store a few times and show her the gerbils and ask her "Aren't they cute?" and she would say "it's disgusting." My mom isn't a big fan of rodents.

0morrokh

Sorry your mother didn't fall for that...I'll let you know if I think of any other ideas. I don't understand how anyone can think rodents are disgusting...to me they're just plain adorable.

aj_1992

yea, my mom isn't a big fan of rodents as well. so i asked her: "what if i kept it in my room? so it won't bother anyone?" she still said "no!" then we went to the pet store together to get something and i showed her how adorable gerbils can be, but unfortunetly instead of being the little angels they could have been, they were fighting violently over the wheel and my mom had a "great" impression : then she told me not to stick my hand in there to stop the fight and we (or at least she) proptly left with our stuff.