Ask The Gerbils

Dear Herman,

I do not have a gerbil, but I want one. Is it the right pet for me? Are they pretty easy to take care of? Do they bite hard and/or often?

From,

Laura

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Dear Laura,

Gerbils make great pets, but you do need to promise to take care of them for the rest of their lives before you adopt gerbils.

You will need to clean their tank by scooping out their old bedding and pouring new bedding into their tank. Most people clean their gerbils’ tanks once every two weeks.

You will also need to give them a small handful of food each day and check their water bottle every day. You should also give them a toilet paper tube or other cardboard to chew every day. Gerbils love to shred cardboard into tiny pieces!

You should also plan to spend some time playing with your gerbils every day. You might do this by putting your hand in their tank and letting them crawl on it, or by giving them hand-fed treats (sunflower seeds, Puffed Kashi cereal, plain Cheerios, etc.), or by taking them out of the tank to play in a bathtub or other safe area.

Most gerbils do not sit still in your hands. Instead, they will want to crawl from one hand to the other. Gerbils are very busy and very curious, and they don’t sit still for long. :)

Most gerbils do not bite. Especially if you handle them the right way.

I hope that helps! Thank you for writing to me!

From your buddy,

Herman

Hi Hallie,

My gerbil, Daffodil, is a sapphire and her nose is starting to look red. It is not runny, and she is happy and playful. I wondered if she might be allergic to the aspen bedding, or if this is her coloring as she is getting older. She is almost 2 months old. Her sister, Petal, is a burmese and is not having any problems with her nose.

Thanks for your help!

From,

Claire


P.S. Do you have any tips for taking pictures of my gerbils?

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Hi Claire!

It sounds like Daffodil may be allergic to her bedding. You might try putting Daffodil and Petal on a different type of bedding, such as corncob (found in the bird aisle of the pet store). You could also try putting them on plain, shredded paper towels (you will need a lot), but you will need to clean their tank more often if you use paper towels instead of bedding.

Try putting them on a different type of bedding, and see if Daffodil’s nose improves.

Most of the time, if a gerbil’s nose gets red, switching to a different type of bedding will fix the problem. :)

If it doesn’t, you may need to take Daffodil to the vet. One of the other gerbils at Twin Squeaks, Marco had a red nose when he first came to live here. His problem was not an allergy. It was an infection. The vet gave him some antibiotics, and his nose cleared up. It worked great, and his nose hasn’s been red since!

You also asked how to take better gerbil photos. We have a set of tips for taking better gerbil photos. I hope the tips help!

Please say hi to Daffodil and Petal from both Herman and me. We hope that Daffodil’s nose is better soon!

From your friend,

Hallie