Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    kashumz's Avatar
    kashumz Posts: 137, Reputation: 4
    Junior Member
     
    #1

    May 20, 2008, 01:16 PM
    I need the big DO's and DONT's for gerbils.
    I just got 2 baby gerbils. I've done a bunch of research but every website says something different and I don't know who to trust. :confused:

    I need some tips on taming them, and I need to know some of the big rules when it comes to caring for gerbils. :) I've had a hamster before and I love rodents. I would even a mongoose as a pet :D

    I also read that you should never keep pets in an aquarium except for lizards and fish.. :confused: but then I read that plastic habitats are too small for adult gerbils. My gerbies are currently in a crittertrail treehouse. :D

    So any tips for my new gerbie werbies would be great!

    Also, how can I tell the difference between them? I don't want to have to wait a year to name them.. but they look exactly the same. They're both black with white on their mouths, chests, and paws. There's no big difference in personality either..
    wildandblue's Avatar
    wildandblue Posts: 663, Reputation: 57
    Senior Member
     
    #2

    May 20, 2008, 02:13 PM
    You are right don't keep him in an aquarium. The bedding becomes soiled and wet and because it has no cross ventilation ammonia can build up which can damage his or her lungs and kidneys. You want smething like a metal rabbit cage with hardware cloth (screened) panels. Also keep water bottle clean and supplied with fresh water. If you give him fresh vegetables to nibble on take them back out if they become dirty or wilted too badly he can get sick if the food goes moldy. Ours used to like to play in and chew on those cardboard tubes from a roll of toilet paper. Maybe you could use a waterproof marker to make a dot on the paw or head of one or color his tail? Just call them Darryl and Darrell.:o
    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE's Avatar
    bEaUtIfUlbRuNeTtE Posts: 1,051, Reputation: 112
    Ultra Member
     
    #3

    May 20, 2008, 02:14 PM
    Have you tried having guinea pigs as pets?

    They are too cute!

    :) :) :)
    MEDIstaff4u's Avatar
    MEDIstaff4u Posts: 20, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #4

    Jun 5, 2008, 01:22 AM
    First off, don't use the agree and disagree unless the people are posting inaccurate information, or if they are just insulting you or something!

    Second, it is hard to get a PERFECT cage for animals like that. I had one in a plastic type cage and it chewed it to pieces, and we wouldn't want to put it in a wire cage (mess up the teeth.) Glass is horrible for furry animals because of ventilation and the heat that can build up inside of it. I would try to find a big plastic cage or some that connect that doesn't have any "pointy" corners that can be chewed on.

    Lots of chewy sticks-MUST!

    Fresh water bottle and a bowl that attaches to the cage (unless you want to clean food up every other minute)

    They need room to jump and run around, but also places to hide.

    As far as telling them apart, u could put some nail polish on one of their feet. Just a dot on one, or you could put the dot on the tip of the tail. Make sure it is something that won't hurt them if they eat it, and dries fast. As far as ink poisoning goes, you would have to get a lot of ink into their bloodstream in order for that to happen and hopefully you wouldn't get that crazy with it. You could also dip the tip of one's tail into some egg dye. Pick a bright color and just get the tip, don't want to go to far with this either. This is definitely a safe way to go or else people would bake cookies with this stuff.

Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions

 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search


Check out some similar questions!

How gerbils drink [ 2 Answers ]

Do gerbils drink from a water bowl?

The do's and don'ts of breastfeeding [ 19 Answers ]

I decided to start a new thread so that the "Free Mason's" thread isn't shut down due to off-topic discussions (like the anti-christ bush topic.) any more opinions/facts about breastfeeding then can be talked about in here. I do know that every baby is different, and some are easier than others...


View more questions Search