Ask The Gerbils

Hi Nellie and Herman!!

I just got my two gerbils today. Their names are Olly and George. We adopted them from a local pet store. Olly is alert and active like a normal gerbil should be but George is sort of lazy and a little chubby. Is there a way to get him moving and active like Olly? Please help!!

From,
-V.



Hi V.,

Thanks for writing! Usually when you adopt a pair of gerbils, you want to choose ones that are active, because it's a good sign that they're healthy. But it's also true that each gerbil has his own personality. It might just be that Olly is naturally more active than George.

There are some things you can do, though, to get George a little bit more excited and active. First, make sure that you give your new boys lots of cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes, and chew blocks. These things should be interesting and exciting for both Olly and George. You can also give them brown paper lunch sacks to run in, dig inside of, and chew. That will get George moving around a bit, too!

If you haven't already given Olly and George an exercise wheel, you might try that, too. Not all gerbils like to run in a wheel, but most do, and that could be a great way for George to stay active and fit.

Good luck with Olly and George! Tell them that we said hello!

From your friends,
-Nellie & Herman

Hey Nellie & Herman!

I was thinking about getting a gerbil. How much do they cost? I have looked and looked online everywhere and I can't find anything.

From,
-L.



Hi L.!

Thanks for your letter! The cost of gerbils vary a little bit, but you'll find gerbils in most pet shops for about $7 to $10. When you adopt from a gerbil breeder, you can usually get gerbils even cheaper. Common prices are about $6 or $7 for one gerbil or $10 for a pair of gerbils. Finally, check with your local pet shelter or with Petfinder. Often, gerbils at shelters have very affordable adoption fees. Hope is one of the sweetest gerbils at Twin Squeaks, and she came from a shelter. Her adoption cost less than $5.

Here's a great tip to save money when you adopt your first pair of gerbils: Don't buy one of those expensive plastic habitats with the tubes. They cost a lot of money and are easy for gerbils to escape from. It's much cheaper to buy a glass tank and a lid. It's also easier to tame us when we live in a tank, and most gerbils are actually happier in a tank than in a small, cramped plastic habitat.

If you decide to adopt gerbils, good luck, and we hope you find the perfect gerbils for your home!

Your friends,
-Nellie & Herman

Hello Herman!

My two gerbils, Coda and Whisper, live in a 10-gallon aquarium, but they don't have many things to do. They have a wheel, but that doesn't keep them busy enough.

What gerbil toys or random household objects can I put in their cage to help them have more fun?

Also, at night, they are very noisy and wake me up all the time. Any solutions for that?

Thank you very much, Herman!


Love,
-S.



Hello S.!

Thanks for writing! It's great that you are such a nice person and want to make sure that your gerbils are happy and having fun! They are very lucky to have you!!

Of course, I bet you know all about toilet paper tubes. These are our favorite toys! You can even make a special gerbil present using a toilet paper tube. This will keep your gerbils busy for a while as they try to get to the treats inside the tube!

Last fall, we had a Tip Of The Month about Two Simple Gerbil Toys. One is a wooden bird ladder and the other is a plain brown paper lunch sack. You won't believe how much fun we have digging and jumping on and chewing apart a paper bag!

We also really like to chew apart plain white, uncoated paper plates. You can fold them in half like a little tent or roll them up like a tube. Either way, your gerbils will have fun playing with and chewing up a paper plate. Small boxes are good, too. For example, the little cardboard boxes that breakfast bars or Pop Tarts come in are just about the perfect size to put in a gerbil tank. We gerbils can use them as hiding places, nesting boxes, or another cardboard toy to chew!

We also have a lot of fun with small glass jars. Just make sure that you rinse the jar out with hot water and let it dry all of the way before you put it in the tank. Then we can crawl in and out of the jar, dig inside the jar, and really have a lot of fun! You'll need to take the jar out and rinse it really well every day, because we gerbils also like to use glass jars as toilets! As long as you clean it out every day, it can be a very fun toy! (If your gerbils start banging the jar into the side of the tank at night, just make sure you take the jar out so that your gerbils don't keep you awake!)

Have you let your gerbils take a sandbath yet? This is a lot of fun! It might take your gerbils a little while to figure it out, but once they do, they'll love rolling in the sand!

If you have extra time (and possibly someone to help?), you might even want to make your own gerbil furniture. This is a really great family activity!

I'm also so glad you asked about what to do when your gerbils are noisy at night! We've had this same problem at Twin Squeaks. Kylee used to get upset with me when I made too much noise and kept her awake at night. Now, she does several things that help me stay quiet at night while still having fun. First, if my exercise wheel squeaks, she puts a bit of olive oil on the wheel. If I still make too much noise in my wheel, she sometimes takes the wheel out until the morning. But I don't get bored when my wheel goes away, because she gives me a big handful of plain white toilet paper sheets. These are so much fun to stuff in my mouth and carry around the tank and then rip into tiny shreds for a soft, fluffy nest! I don't make nearly as much noise chewing on toilet paper sheets as I do when I chew on cardboard tubes. Also, by the time I get done shredding the toilet paper sheets, I usually have a really nice, soft, fluffy nest, and there's nothing that sounds better after all of my hard work than to curl up and take a nap in my new fluffy bed of toilet paper sheets! You should try giving your gerbils about 10 sheets of toilet paper right before you go to bed. You''ll be amazed how much fun they have and how nice and quiet they are while you fall asleep! :)

Tell Coda and Whisper “hi” and give them each a treat for me!

Your very good pal,
Herman

Hey Nellie,

I have two female gerbils, and one of them is younger than the other. Is it OK if I keep them in the same cage?

From,
-S.



Hi S.,

You asked a great question! The answer is that it depends. Do the two gerbils already live together now, or do they live in different cages?

If they already live together, they should be OK together, even though they aren't the same size. But if they do not already live together, you cannot put them in the same cage unless you use the Split-Cage Method to help them meet each other.

For a pair of female gerbils, this takes a couple of weeks in the split cage, and you must switch them from side to side a few times every day for it to work. It is usually harder to help two female gerbils get along than it is to help two male gerbils get along, but usually (but not always), it can be done.

If you decide that you want your two gerbils to live together, you should make sure that your mom or dad reads the Split Cage tips on our site and that they will help you. You will need an adult's help to use the split-cage method.

Good luck with both of your gerbils, whatever you decide to do (leave them separate or introduce them). Tell both of them that Nellie says “Hi!” :)

From your pal,
-Nellie

Hi Nellie & Herman,

My name is L., and I have a gerbil called Elmo. My sister has a female gerbil called Tizzy, and her cage is in a box. i put Elmo in the box but they always seem to bite each other. Does this mean they are kissing or fighting?

From,
-L.



Hi L.,

We're so glad that you wrote! Your gerbil and your sister's gerbil are fighting. Gerbils are very protective of themselves and of other gerbils that they know. This means that if they see a gerbil who is a stranger, they will fight. Because your gerbil and your sister's gerbil have not been living together, they don't know each other, and they will chase and bite each other if you put them together.

We understand that you want Elmo and Tizzy to be able to play together, but they don't know each other and can hurt each other very badly. Instead of letting them play together, it would be a better idea for you to spend lots of time with Elmo and for your sister to spend lots of her time with Tizzy.

We hope this helps! Please tell Elmo and Tizzy hello from both of us!

Your friends,
-Nellie & Herman

Dear Herman,

I have not yet thought of a name for my new gerbil, though my sister has been calling her “Tinka.” Do you have any suggestions? I'm not so sure about the name my sister has given her.

From,
-S.



Dear S.,

Do you have any favorite books, movies, or TV shows? Those are great places to find ideas for gerbil names! For example, another gerbil here at Twin Squeaks (Pippi) was named after Pippi Longstocking, and one of the first gerbils at Twin Squeaks was Ramona, who was named after Beverly Cleary's character Ramona Quimby. The youngest gerbil at Twin Squeaks is Gobo, who is named after Gobo from Fraggle Rock.

You could also give your gerbil a name that reminds you of where you adopted her. For example, our friend Jo has gerbils named Dallas and Chicago. You could name your gerbil after the street of the shop where you found her.

Another idea is to look at the color of her fur and think about what the color or type of fur reminds you of. This could give you names like Butterscotch, Bunny, Night, Oreo, Golden, Fudge, or Cotton.

You can also watch how your gerbil acts and name her after something she likes to do. Popular gerbil names include Digger, Peek, Thumper, Jumper, Chewy, and Dasher.

I hope one of those ideas helps you find the perfect name for your newest family member. Tell her that Herman says hello!

Your good buddy,
Herman

Dear Herman,

I got a new gerbil yesterday. . . When I brought her home to her new cage I let her do her share of exploring and I just sat back and watched without interfering so she could get used to her habitat, but I noticed she was having troubles learning to climb up some of the steep tunnels in her cage and this seemed understandable because she had no tunnels in her cage at the pet shop so I figured she would learn on her own.

She learned how to climb up one of the tunnels but was afraid to come back down so I opened the cage and gently gave her a little “tap” down the tunnel and she was going up and down gladly after that. The other steep tunnel I had to help her get up to leads to a running wheel, which she seemed very happy to find. . . She has now learned how to get down but often stays up there for hours until I get her down myself. I have noticed that she just lays on her stomach when she is up there to leave her territorial scent, but she does not come down though she knows how.

Also she runs away from me when I try to catch her and I have not yet seen her drink from either of her water bottles. Is it something that I am doing wrong or does she just need more time to adjust?

From,
-S.


Dear S.,

Thanks for writing, and congrats on your new gerbil!

If she knows how to get down, she's probably staying up there because she likes it there. In fact, if it's an area that is hard for you to get to, she may have decided that it's a nice, safe place to rest. Is she using that area to sleep?

As she gets older, she'll probably start chewing on things more. Make sure that she doesn't start chewing through the plastic tubes in her habitat. If she does, you'll need to move her into something escape-proof, such as a glass tank with a screen lid. (It's easier to tame gerbils in a glass tank, too, because we can't run up a tube every time you put your hand in the tank. We get used to your hands quicker that way.)

We gerbils don't drink very much water, so your gerbil is probably drinking from her water bottle when you aren't looking. Does it look like some of the water has disappeared?

If you think that she doesn't know how to use the water bottle, try to tap the end of the water bottle when your gerbil is nearby. Then hold your finger close to her nose so that she can see that you have a little drop of water on your finger... Then slowly move your finger back toward the water bottle and tap the end of it again. You can also rub a little bit of water on the side of the habitat, right under and next to the water bottle. This should help your gerbil explore the area, looking for more water. She should figure out how to use the water bottle pretty quickly.

Good luck! I hope that you and your new gerbil have lots of fun together! Tell her hi for me!

Your pal,
Herman