My Gerbils. ( :

Chippy: Chippy is SO energetic, and he loves to play and be held. He will carry timothy hay in his mouth around his cage, and even run on the wheel with timothy hay in his mouth. He LOVES his Silent Spinner wheel, that is pretty much what he lives for. Whenever he gets around his brother, Shadow, Shadow squeaks at him! Chippy wants to play and Shadow wants to sleep.

Shadow: Shadow is the pig. He LOVES food! He takes any treat, sits in the food dish and eats till it is all gone! When Chippy comes near him when he is eating, he will squeak at him and Chippy will find something else to do. < So funny! The two brothers also love to box and wrestle, they love each other. Shadow is the lazy one, though.

Buster: Buster is one of a kind. He knows his name. I swear to you. When you go to the cage and call his name, he comes out to see you. He LOVES cardboard, he will chew a tube until it is gone. He also loves sitting on the rock in his cage, just to look around. He doesn't like to be held though, and won't accept another gerbil to be his friend, he just fights them. However, I love him <3.

Rascal (RIP): Rascal was so sweet, and I loved holding him. I don't know why he passed away, but he did one morning. He was supposed to be Buster's friend, I was in the middle of the split tank process with them. I miss and love you Rascal.

Snowball (RIP): This was my hamster, but I couldn't leave him out, I miss and love you too Snowball.

Gerbil Care: Finding Your Gerbil A Friend!

Gerbils are best kept in pairs. A lonely gerbil will get depressed and may not be as healthy or live as long compared to a pair of gerbils. There are 2 places you could find your gerbil a friend if you already have one, a pet store, or adoption shelter. I got all 3 of my gerbils at a pet store because there is no adoption shelters near me that has gerbils up for adoption, however I suggest adopting one if you can. Make sure the gerbil you pick out is lively, bright eyed, healthy, and seems a little plump, not too fat or thin, though. Okay, here is how I TRIED introducing my gerbil to another one, the best pairing is 2 males, an adult and a baby. If you try putting 3 together 1 may be bullied by the other 2.
First, you will need a 10-20 gallon tank for the split tank method.
Second, you will need this, trust me:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3742975
Third, you will need 1/4-1/2 inch hardware cloth.You can find it at most hardware and supply stores.
Fourth, a tape measure. 
Fifth, you will need foam tape. This is what I used, I got it at Lowe's:

 Now, here is what you do. You use the Top Fin Tank Divider in your tank for a few days, switching gerbils about 2-5 times per day to mix their scents.  Then, you will cut a piece of hardware cloth to fit in the frame of the Top Fin Tank Divider (I will put a picture). You will want to use the foam tape on the bottom of the divider so it will stick to the bottom of the tank. The divider should be nice and snug. Now, your gerbils will be able to touch each other, and you need to continue to switch them still every day. DO NOT try putting them together until they show positive signs like grooming through the divider or sleeping against it. When you think they are ready, which it could be awhile, then place them in NEUTRAL territory. That means somewhere where neither the gerbils have been, a bath tub would be a good place (NO WATER!), and do NOT give them anything to fight over for right now, like food, or toys. Watch them for about 30-60 minutes and have THICK work/garden gloves in case they fight. You could also have a dish towel handy to toss on them if they start fighting.  Fighting would be them rolling into a ball, this is a fight to the death. You can tell a fight MIGHT be brewing if they chase each other around or won't leave the other one alone. If everything goes well, try putting them in a CLEAN tank! Only put food, water, bedding, and some cardboard. They should sleep in the same nest. You. Can. Not. Leave. Them. Alone. You MUST watch them constantly for a day or two. At night, you may want to put your divider in and take it down in the morning, or pull an all nighter and keep an eye on them. If all goes well, you have gerbil buddies.  ( :

Above Picture: My split tank divider using the Top Fin frame! At the top is the foam tape, technically that should be on the bottom. Hope this helped!







* I do suggest getting 2 gerbils from the same litter, it does go better. I did not have success with getting 2 from different litters. *

- Maddie, The Life Of A Gerbil.

* NOTE: I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL IN CARING FOR ANIMALS. I AM NOT TRAINED IN ANY WAY. THESE ARE MY PERSONAL OPINIONS AND HOW I CARE FOR MY GERBILS. *

Gerbil Care: Diet

Your gerbil's diet is very important. After all, you are what you eat! Your gerbil's diet should consist of a commercial diet and also some fresh fruits and veggies. For the commercial diet, I suggest Oxbow Healthy Handfuls Hamster and Gerbil food. It is a plain mix, no nuts or seeds. Just the same thing, however it is very healthy for your gerbil. Another one I would suggest is the Ecotrition Hamster and Gerbil food. It is a mixture of seeds, and nuts, and all kinds of different things! It is healthy too, but I combine the Oxbow and Ecotrition for my gerbils.

Above picture: This is the Ecotrition food. Sorry for the quality, right now my HD camera is broke... boo.

 Above picture: This is the Oxbow food. Again, sorry for the quality of pic.




Your gerbils should also eat fresh fruits and veggies. Some fresh fruits and veggies you could feed your gerbil are: Strawberries, Banana, Carrots, Broccoli, Apple, Peas, Cucumber, just to name a few.
* Make sure to pick up any fruits and veggies in the cage after 6 hours if not eaten. Your gerbils should not eat spoiled fruit or vegetables. *

How much fruits and veggies can your gerbils have? My rule of thumb is to go with he size of your pinky nail! That is the perfect amount of fruits and vegetables for your gerbils. I would suggest feeding your gerbils fresh fruits and veggies 2-4 times per week.

* TIP: Get a ceramic food dish for your gerbils. Not only will it be harder for them to tip it over, but they can't chew it. If you use a plastic food dish your gerbils will definitely chew it, and they should not consume plastic. *

Above picture: My ceramic food dishes my gerbils use, please ignore the food crumbs on the bottom! I got it at PetSmart for $1.99.

Also you can feed your gerbils timothy hay, they really enjoy it! I give it to them by the handful. I recommend the Oxbow Timothy Hay. 

Your gerbils will also LOVE treats! Some you can give them is: Nuts (only certain kinds), Seeds (only certain kinds), and also PLAIN cheerios! You could also buy commercial gerbils treats, but try to buy healthy ones with little sugar.


* NOTE: I AM NOT TRAINED IN ANY WAY FOR CARING FOR PETS. THESE ARE MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, AND HOW I CARE FOR MY PETS *

Gerbil Care: Bedding

Bedding for all small animals is critical. There are so many bedding options on the market though that it can be hard to choose which one. Some of the options may even be harmful to your little critter, so its important to become well educated on which ones are best and which are the worst. For my furry friends, I put them on Carefresh, a soft well absorbent bedding which I trust. It can be a bit dusty though, so be careful. There are other bedding options similar to Carefresh, however. ECO Bedding is also a really good choice, and good nesting material. < It looks like crinkled up cardboard. I would avoid pine shavings, corncob bedding, and "fluff" (NEVER get the cottony looking material at the pet stores, it could harm your pet). You can use aspen bedding, although there has been problems with respiratory infections with it...and it is not as soft as the other options out there. Whatever bedding you pick, make sure to give the gerbils plenty, they are natural burrowing and digging creatures. I would recommend 3-6 inches of bedding, also make sure to spot clean it daily.

Here is a link to the ECO Bedding, however it is in purple. I get the natural brown kind, but I did not see that one on Amazon.
 http://www.amazon.com/Vitakraft-Purple-Small-Animal-Eco-Bedding/dp/B00BO9U7T0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363109247&sr=8-1&keywords=vitakraft+eco+bedding

Here is a link to the Carefresh bedding. You can also get it in different colors, this isn't the only option but is the one I use.
http://www.amazon.com/CareFresh-Ultra-Small-Bedding-50-liter/dp/B004UMM3VS/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1363109328&sr=1-5&keywords=carefresh+ultra


- Maddie, The Life Of A Gerbil.

* NOTE: I AM NOT TRAINED IN ANY WAY FOR THE CARING OF ANIMALS. THESE ARE MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, AND HOW I CARE FOR MY ANIMALS.

Gerbil Care: Cages

Your new furry friend is going to need a place to live! Don't know whether to pick a bin cage, wire cage, or an aquarium? I would suggest an aquarium or bin cage. My 3 gerbils are all in aquariums, and I love aquariums! If you have only 1 gerbil, then I would suggest a 10 gallon aquarium. You can put 2 gerbils in a 10 gallon, however I would suggest a 20 gallon for 2-3 gerbils. A 30 gallon for 3-
4 gerbils, and so on. For a bin cage, please be sure to get a big one! Whatever cage you pick, be sure to get a lid! < Gerbils running around the house wouldn't be good! You can buy them, or make your own. You could make your own out of 1/4-1/2 inch hardware cloth, then you can bend it to fit on the top of your aquarium cage, and use some binder clips to keep it down. Or, if you are handy with tools, which I am not, then you could build a wood or metal frame for your lid, I suppose. For a bin cage, when you buy your bin some come with those plastic lids (you can buy a bin at Walmart), then you MUST drill SEVERAL holes in the lid. You will need a LOT of them for proper ventilation. Also, for ANY cage you need to clean it out every 1-2 weeks. You could get a pet disinfectant from a pet store, since it will be hard to wash a big aquarium. If you have a bin cage however, I would suggest washing it out with warm, soapy water.

 Above Picture: This is my 20 gallon tank for my 2 gerbils Chippy and Shadow. Its even longer, the picture got cut off a bit. They also have treats, timothy hay, and a ceramic food dish you can not see in the pic.

Above picture: Buster's 10 gallon tank! Oh, and he wanted to be in the pic!

- Maddie, The Life Of A Gerbil.


* NOTE: I AM NOT TRAINED IN ANY WAY FOR CARING FOR PETS. THIS IS MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, AND HOW I CARE FOR MY ANIMALS.