TUCANA

THE GERBIL

First coming to light in the early 50’s the  Mongolian gerbil rapidly became popular as a pet and is now available in a range of colours, ranging from Augouti, fawn, grey to black. Gerbils in the wild live in the desert, and as such they have adapted to conserve water which makes them virtually odourless. They live underground in colonies and burrows. They are curious animals, agile and quick however they make interesting, lively pets. Sometimes a little too quick for children! If handled and socialised well they will very rarely bite. As they live in colonies and are social animals they should be kept in pairs or trios which should be purchased at the same time. It is possible to introduce a companion to a single gerbil that has lost theirs however this is not an easy task and if it goes wrong you could be left with two single gerbils as opposed to one! as it is unlikely that new individuals will be accepted at a later date.

Choosing your gerbil

A healthy gerbil should be:

1) Bright and alert

2) Have no signs of any kind of discharge from the eyes, ears, mouth and/or the nose

3) Should move around the cage easily without any difficulty and be seen to use all its limbs

4) Have a glossy coat with no bald or thinning hair patches

5) Have no signs of sore or flaky skin

6) Should have no signs of rapid or heaving breathing problems

7) Have a clean anal are

8) Should not show signs of been underweight or dehydrated

General care

Gerbils can live for 2 to 4 years and generally do not normally suffer from ill health. Obesity can be caused by offering too many high fat treats such as sunflower seeds, and peanuts so these should only be given sparingly. Sore or bleeding noses can be caused by the wrong type of cage substrate been used, cages with bars or fighting. Overgrown teeth can be as a result of incorrect feeding and environment.As with any animal and as stated on all the fact/care sheets you see here if you are concerned about any aspect of your pets welfare you should consult a vet.

Housing

Always purchase as big a cage as is possible. The exact size of this will depend upon the number of animals you wish to keep. Some of the larger hamster cages may be suitable, but always think about where the animals come from and their natural environment. Ideally you should always try to recreate a little bit of their natural environment, so don’t settle for what’s the best that available, look to create the best that you can. From a welfare point of view the best way to house gerbils is in what is often known as a gerbilarium. This is usually a large fish tank with a vivarium or mesh lid fitted to the top to prevent escape. The tank is filled to a depth of at least 15/20cms with a mixture of peat, shavings and hay. To this you can add a network of tubes, pipe and rocks. I try to stick to things with less moisture in them so as to not encourage mould or fungal growth.  The gerbils will then get busy creating a network of burrows in much the same way as they would in the wild. This activity is fun to watch and stimulating for the animals. They spend hours and hours redesigning their enclosure. It can sometimes make catching them difficult as they disappear down the holes, but if all else fails they can be “dug out” and they will always redesign the enclosure again once you have put them back!

The contents of the tank will need to be changed every few weeks. At the moment as we have only one gerbil her substrate is changed every 3 weeks. Traditional style cages need to have deep layer of shavings and the whole cage will need to be cleaned and disinfected weekly. They often do not contain the wood shaving and they migrate into the house! Your gerbils will appreciate a weekly bath, in sand which can be brought from a pet shop traditionally sold for Chinchillas. Gerbils should be provided with a house or nest box to feel secure. I often put various boxes in the enclosure for ours to chew and explore ranging from tissue boxes to little wooden boxes that are save up from the house hold waste .Provide some soft small animal bedding in the cage or bedding area, again they will rearrange this to their own location and liking!.. Wheels should not be used as gerbils can injure their tails using them. If you do provide one then make sure you provide a solid one. All our gerbils have never liked them! So now we don’t even bother to offer them. Whatever type of cage or enclosure you choose it should be kept in a quiet part of the house, out of direct sunlight and protect from draughts. Try to avoid sudden or huge fluctuations in temperature

Feeding and water

There are many pre packed foods that are suitable for gerbils, but some contain lots of sunflower seeds and should be avoided. Food should be offered in a small, heavy bowl and every couple of days. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be given in very small quantities. Always remove any uneaten fresh food daily. Although they are desert animals, fresh clean water should be made available at all times in a drinking bottle. Like all rodents, gerbils teeth grow continuously, so provide plenty of items for them to chew. Twigs from fruit trees cardboard boxes, toilet roll inners, hay twisted into tight bundles and hide chews are all good cheap ways of enabling your gerbils to carry out this activity. Food bowls and water bottles should be kept clean.

Handling

Never pick up your gerbil by its tail. Regular handling will help your gerbils to become tame but patience is needed with these quick little rodents. The best way is to scoop them up so that their body is cupped using both hands, you can then allow them to run over your hands moving one in front of the other. If you need to examine your gerbil for any reason you should grasp the gerbil gently but firmly over its back with one hand, using the other hand to hold the base of the gerbils tail.

I kit out the cage with apple tree cut offs logs, twigs and willow arches, toilet roll inners cardboard boxes , and any other bits we come across! I use a fish tank with a built in enclosed light unit ( so that little teeth can chew!!!) this contains the wood shaving and substarate so that it stays in the tank and not all over my living room floor! Inside the boxes place some bedding/kitchen roll (i use 2 or 3 boxes and place different types of bedding material in each one i use kitchen roll in one  (whole sheets so that they can be shredded by busy teeth and claws)shredded paper and a traditional cotton wool type bedding sold in most pet shopsI

Next I add wood shavings, and hay or straw so that the gerbils can dig burrow and chew at leisure. It dosent stay looking like this for long Midnight (our gerbil) has her own ideas as to how things should look and wastes no time in rearranging her enclosure.

                                                                Last but not least add a gerbil or gerbils and the jobs done! Hours days and weeks of tunneling nibbling and re arranging until the next clean out and happy gerbils!