Not Rats.  Though similar to rats and mice (and probably filling the same ecological niche in Mongolia), gerbils sport a hairy, tufted tail and smaller ears.  They are cuter than rats.  (Not to mention that Hollywood has never made a scary movie starring gerbils.)

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Lots of gerbil colors these days.  No browns here.  Typical daytime activity -- after lunch naptime.

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And odd colored gerbils pop up occasionally  in "pure" strains.

Original Origins.  In the wilds of Mongolia, you find the original what we call “brown gerbils.”  In captivity, selective breeding has produced, blacks, whites, silvers, golds, stripers, spotteds, and various combinations in between.  

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Fat-tail gerbils look quite a bit different.  They're more bitey also.

Gerbil Foods.  In nature, gerbils eat seeds, grains, roots, assorted bits of vegetation, and maybe an occasional insect.  They like the same things in captivity.  Our caged diets are better nutritionally than what they can find on their own.  Gerbils thus live healthier and longer lives in captivity.  Just remember that if you give them totally new food every day, they will pick out their favorites – especially sunflower seeds – and leave the rest.  Make them clean up their plates.

Best Gerbil Food.  Pet blocks work the best.  They contain everything gerbils need for a normal life plus a bit of peanut butter for taste.  And they help them wear their teeth down.  But since not all stages of life are the same, you will want to alter this standard diet from time to time.

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You can find so many different gerbil treats you will be amazed.

Treat Foods.  You can find several types of gerbil treat foods – canned gerbil treats as well as honey-coated gerbil treat sticks.  If you want your gerbil to run up to you every time you get close, always have a sunflower seed in your hand.  In fact, if you feed one of the seed diets, pick out all the sunflower seeds and hand feed them later as treats.  Remember that too many of these fatty little seeds will make fatty little gerbils -- and fatty little gerbil owners.

Diggers.  You cannot keep a gerbil from digging in the litter like a crazed freakazoid unless you duct tape his little legs together.  He will dig in all areas of his cage, covering his food dish (and water dish if you’re crazy enough not to use a water bottle).  He’s not really trying to cover his food dish, he’s just trying to burrow his way back to Mongolia.  This litter-throwing characteristic is another reason we prefer the larger pet blocks to seed diets.  Seeds get mixed into their litter.

Water.  Water bottles are the only way to go.  Gerbils will quickly fill any water bowl with litter on a Speedy Gonzalez basis.  Gerbils don’t need much water, but they do need clean water.  Gerbils sweat very little.  Ditto on their urinary excretions.  Guinea pigs and rabbits are real squirters compared to these little desert dwellers.  Use a water bottle or you’ll need to add fresh water hourly.  The gnaw-resistant water bottles made for rats last the longest.

Greens.  Some people insist gerbils fed greens and vegetables need no water at all.  Gerbils can live under these conditions, but they will be smaller and live for a shorter time.  Spring for a water bottle you tightwad.

Hidey Holes.  Gerbils love small caves and crannies.  The little plastic houses are exactly the right size.  All the gerbils in your cage will pile into the smallest dwelling they can fit into.  They will quickly destroy any plastic houses or plastic anythings.

Litter.  You need an “absorber” on the floor of your gerbil cage.  We recommend all litters except cedar.  We much prefer pine, aspen, or ground corn cobs.  You need to change their litter weekly.  Dirty litter encourages disease problems, even if it doesn’t stink.

Gnawers.  As with all rodents, gerbils must continually gnaw on hard substances to keep their teeth ground to workable size.  A continued diet of soft foods could kill them.  Gerbils will destroy anything plastic in their cage – plastic wheels, plastic houses, plastic tubes, plastic toys, and plastic cages.  They need ceramic homes and wooden gnaw toys.

Pets with Handles.  Some sources say gerbils picked up by their tails are in danger of their tail’s skin peeling off.  We’ve picked up thousands of gerbils by these handy little handles without skinning their tails.  Your gerbil won’t love you for picking him up by the tail, but he won’t lose it either. 

How Many?  Gerbils are social animals.  Start with two and your gerbils will be happier.  Take them out of the same group or they will always fight – sometimes to the death.  If they do not smell alike to each other, they will fight each other.  Wear gloves or use a cup to break up these spats.  You don’t want to go up against an enraged gerbil barehanded.  Young gerbils mix more easily than sexually mature adults.
 

A:  I'm not too sure exactly how dangerous the page is, but I'll make your suggested corrections within the next two or three days.  LA

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Snoopy little twerps.

What to Look for:  Healthy gerbils are curious and alert.  Avoid droopy critters that act listless.  These are different from sleeping gerbils that take frequent “cat naps” throughout the day.  Males and females are equally friendly.  Other than that, pick a color you like.

How to Sex:  We cannot sex young gerbils.  Most male rodents sport huge testicles.  Male gerbils are not as obvious.  His testicles are still less apparent at older ages.

Do They Like Wheels?  Wheels are great for hamsters.  Wheels are only semi-great for gerbils.  The spokes in the wheels can catch their long tails and break them.  Put some ugly duct tape on the outside of the spokes to keep their tails from catching.  Then put litter on the sticky part they will be running on.  (Gerbils don’t like running on sticky duct tape anymore than you do.) 

Do They Like Toys?  You bet.  They like to knock around ping pong ball-type toys.  They also enjoy anything they can chew on.  Don’t throw away your next tube from your used up roll of toilet paper.  Gerbils love to run through these tubes and chew them up very rapidly.

What about Those Roller Balls?  Most gerbils love them.  Some don’t.  The Roller Balls give your gerbils extra exercise and a harmless way to explore your house.  They can’t crawl up into your furniture when you keep them in a Roller Ball.

Are Gerbils Nocturnal?  No.  Gerbils are diurnal.  Hamsters stay up all night.  Gerbils take the day shift.  They like frequent short naps (just like our Aqualand staff) and won’t run their squeaky wheel at all hours of the night. 

How to Pick up a Gerbil.  Yes, they have a handy, easily grabbable tail.  But it’s hard to make friends with anything you hoist up by its tail.  Better, approach your gerbil slowly with a sunflower seed.  He’ll learn to jump up on your hand if you go slowly.

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Keep your male and female gerbils together when raising kids.

Remove the Male?  When the female gerbil has her babies, do not take out the male.  He won’t eat the pups.  He may walk on them or kick litter all over them, but he won’t eat them.  If you take him out, you often cannot put him back without a fight.  Just leave him in there with the kids.

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Just born baby gerbil.

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She takes excellent care of her tiny litter.

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