Getting a gerbil, what do I need?

wolfpawnat

Housemate is a vet student, at the end of each year there are a few animals that need rehoming that were used in animal handling classes. He put his name down for a few and by luck was made the proud owner of a gerbil! I cannoit wait to have the little fella here either (we will collect him on a few days time but before we can do that we need to get him a cage and accessories.

We live between Cabinteely and Bray, so my 2 questions are;

What do you need for a gerbil?

Where is a cheap place in South Dublin/City centre to get said needs?

Thank you everyone for any and all replies

sambuka41

Gerbils are great fun, but they are fast,they need a big enough cage with lots to do in it, try get a 3 story one. And they chew everything they come in contact with!!! So lots of stuff to chew on. Most pet shops have a starter kit with all the stuff, woodchips,water bottle, bag of food, and feeders and some chew toys!! Not sure about where is the cheapest tho!

antocann

most petshops do a cheap starter kit for around 15-20 euro , and food bedding sawdust stufff for them if really cheap

Sigma Force

You go could to Maxi Zoo in Bray for the stuff.

A tank is far better for a gerbil than a cage, lots of cages on the market are either too small or the gerbils tend to chew on the bars or are too shallow and the gerbil can't burrow properly and bedding ends up everywhere.

An aquarium tank would be best minimum of 2 feet in size for 1 gerbil but ideally a 3 food tank. Fill with Carefresh ideally, woodchips are commonly used but some gerbils are allergic, their wee noses can become sore.

You might be able to get a cheap tank in the free ads. Perhaps one that has a tiny bit of damage so can't be used for fish but not too damaged that it can't be used for gerbils. Then you build a wooden frame and nail on a sheet of avairy wire onto it with staples.

A good quality food and they like chinchilla sand to roll in and lots of cardboard to chew up, I never bothered with the wooly bedding stuff waste of money when I had gerbils they loves plain white kitchen roll, I used vinegar to clean the tanks no need for harsh chemicals.

Tanks are easy to clean (remove gerbil) you just scoop out the bedding with a dustpan, give it a hoover, wipe down with water and vinegar solution and let dry. Usually with something like Carefresh the tank only needs cleaning every week or every other week depending on the size and how many gerbils etc.

morganafay

Or you could get a kind of gerbil cage that's like a tank at the bottom and a cage at the top, like this

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/rodents/cages/hamster_mouse_cages/hamster_cages/132235

Then the gerbil could burrow loads.

That one is 70cm X 36cm, so big enough, but could be bigger.

I don't really know alot about gerbils but I think they are happier kept in pairs or groups? So I'd consider getting another one too!

Good luck

wolfpawnat

Thank you everyone for your great replies. We have had mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and all other assortments of animals before but never a gerbil. As for are they better off in pairs, we are getting him from UCD vet dept and he is about to turn 1 year old and is a male, not sure if he is meant to have a buddy

And thank you for the tips on cleaning guineapigrescue, we want him to have a happy and healthy life here with us and since he was used for the academic year for teaching vet students how to handle a gerbil he is very tame and has deserved a nice retirement

Kalahari

wolfpawnat wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your great replies. We have had mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and all other assortments of animals before but never a gerbil. As for are they better off in pairs, we are getting him from UCD vet dept and he is about to turn 1 year old and is a male, not sure if he is meant to have a buddy

1yr old is still fairly young for a gerbil, he should hopefully have another 2 years in him so it would be worth looking into getting him a friend. They are very social animals and spend a lot of time interacting with one another; playing, grooming and keeping each other warm at night. Males are much easier to introduce to one another than females, especially if you got a very young male, under 10 weeks. If your guy has been living alone a long time he might need time to get used to the idea of a new friend so you could do a split cage. You divide the tank securely in half with mesh, taking care they can't squeeze past it, and keep 1 gerbil on either side. Switch them over to the opposite side every day and judge from their reaction to each other at the mesh when it is time to let them meet. If they are sniffing curiously, that's good. If they charge the mesh or try bite the other through it, they need more time. I recently introduced a bereaved 2yr old female in with 2 1yr old sisters and they are in a big ball together in their nest at the mo. Distractions are good for when you put them together at first. A new wheel, cardboard to chew up, tissues to make a nest.

As for what to get, a 2 1/2 -3 foot glass tank is the way to go. Loads of digging space, you can make levels yourself for them to climb, and they have space to run around. Any cage that has any plastic whatsoever is asking for them to chew their way out and escape, (even the plastic base of a metal cage) and they'll drive you mad chewing at the bars of the cage, which isn't good for their teeth either. I wouldn't go for a starter kit as they are usually way too small for the animal advertised. Check donedeal for cheap vivariums or fishtanks. If you have to buy new, I think my last one was about 60-70 euro, which sounds expensive but it's an investment. They last for years and you'll never wake up to a chewed hole and a missing gerbil.

Silent spinner wheels are the best in my experience, and they love tunnels and wooden toys to gnaw. Gerbils are great for 'recycling', they have great craic destroying toilet tubes, kitchen paper tubes, cereal boxes etc. For nesting just use tissue or hay, that fluffy stuff is no good.

Burgess supahamster is a good food to use, gerri gerbil has a bit too much biscuit 'filler'. you can supplement with treats and occasional veg.

Woodshaving bedding is usually ok, just check package/smell it first to check it isn't pine or cedar. Carefresh I personally dont really like with gerbils simply because they can't dig as much.

Best of luck with your new buddy