Although it may be hard to believe, I haven't always been keen on gerbils. I thought that they looked too much like mice and rats and said I could never own one.... that was until I bought Bubble and Squeak back in 2005(both sadly have now passed away). I never intended on keeping gerbils until one day I decided it would be a nice experience to care for a different animal. I went out and bought two Agouti gerbils, one male and one female. Although it was my first time at owning gerbils I knew near enough everything there was to know after reading various different books and information. As soon as I put Bubble and Squeak together they got on really well. They didn't stop playing or sniffing each other.
After a few months together, Bubble gave birth to two adorable babies. Being my first ever litter, I was so desperate for them to live. Luckily they did and after being weaned each went to live with their same sex parent. By this time each baby had a name. The male Agouti was called Richie(sadly passed away 12.08.08) and his beautiful Grey-Agouti Chinchilla sister was called Demi. Fortunately, I had a baby of each sex so Bubble and Squeak wouldn't get lonely living on their own.
I like to breed gerbils occasionaly to see what different colours I can get. I only let them have about 2 litters because although they can have a litter every month I find this cruel. I keep all the babies born as I have many spare tanks which I seperate single sex groups into. Now I own 16 gerbils and it seems like I have owned them forever. I still own Demi but unfortunately Squeak, Richie and Bubble have now passed away. Gerbils are one of my favourite animals and I can't help spoiling them. The majority of my gerbils live in pairs but some live on their own due to fighting or their friend passing away. The gerbils I own at the moment are on the Gerbil Clan page.
Housing and Hygiene
I prefer to house my gerbils in glass tanks. I find glass tanks easier to clean and they make less mess. The perfecto glass tanks are the best around in my opinion. They are designed for animals such as gerbils, mice, hamsters etc. There are various different sizes of these perfecto glass tanks. There is the very small one which only contains 1 shelf and is only suitable for one gerbil. You can also get the larger size up from this which still only contains one shelf and is suitable for one gerbil. The next size up contains three shelfs and is suitable for 2 possibly 3 gerbils depending on how big they are. I find this cage very heavy. It is possible to hang a bottle on glass tanks but I prefer to use bowls as the bottle hangers are not always long enough to reach the gerbil.
My gerbils are let out of their cage often using a ball which they really enjoy. Note:Keep a close eye on any animal using rodent balls as sometimes the lids can come off. They enjoy speeding round the hamtrac which is easily assembled, made of plastic and set out like a racing track. I don't put my gerbils in a rodent ball on a hot day as the gerbil can get very warm.
I keep all my gerbil items in storage draws which are easily accessable. Everything is set out in different sections so I can easily find things.
I clean out my gerbils once a week and remove uneaten food and water everyday.
Feeding
I did originally fed my hamsters and gerbils Mayfield but I have now switched the gerbils onto Gerri Gerbil Food. They absolutely love it. They get really excited when it's feeding time and I've found that they like the pumpkin seeds the most. The hamsters still eat the Mayfield which is perfect for them.
