Gerbil Care

Submitted by Admin on 03/04/2009

Caring for your gerbil shouldn't be too difficult, they almost entertain themselves, gerbils are indeed very social creatures and as such its important you house them in small groups and never on their own. If you are concerned they will breed, it is perfectly ok to house them in single sex groups.

Gerbils are naturally very inquisitive creatures and should be given plenty to explore in their enclosure, toilet tubes are always fun! This nature though does mean should they escape from their cage they may not be very easy to recapture, the good news is however, unlike hamsters, gerbil's tend not to dig down out of sight. A well placed cardboard box with some food in it as bait is often enough to successfully recapture them.

Children love gerbils, they are not nocturnal meaning they are awake and active during the day when the children will be. The children will enjoy watching the gerbils play, and can pick them up for short periods of time, but be careful to encourage the children to only hold them for short periods of time as gerbils prefer to be on the move.

When it comes to feeding your gerbils, they don't require a huge amount of care, they are relatively unfussy and will eat a selection of seeds and vegetables. The do not drink very much water but its important to have a supply of water available for them, this should be changed daily to ensure its fresh. You will also need to ensure the water bottle is secure and leak free as gerbils do not like damp living areas. As with many other animals you will need to ensure its food supply is stable, avoid changing food types suddenly as this can cause gerbils to have some digestive issues.

The last important thing to consider in gerbil care is to ensure you provide a gnaw block or similar, these are available from your pet suppliers and fairly cheap but they play a vital role, they ensure your gerbils teeth do not over grow. If you don't provide something to gnaw on, over grown teeth will almost certainly lead to a visit to the vets.

As you can see, gerbils don't require much in the way of care, just some basic common sense, and a little food will see your gerbil become a fun pet and part of the family, kids love them and parents like the fact they only require minimal care.