Gerbils
Gerbils make fantastic little pets, watch them build tunnels and burrowing can be hugely entertaining, and if you put the effort in they can be very friendly and rewarding pets. However there are lots of misconceptions out there about gerbil care, and it is almost impossible to find commercially sold housing for them. Wire cages are highly unsuitable as they need 8-10 inches of burrowing room, and 'gerbilariums' are far too small for even a pair to live in full time. For this reason we advise fish tanks, with custom lids, made from wood/wire mesh. You can make a cheap and lighter version from a large storage tub, with mesh attached to the lid for ventilation. A good guide to finding the right sized housing is 20gal per pair, then add 5gal for every gerbil after that. (See examples below)
Gerbils are phenomenal chewers, so you need to provide them with wood and cardboard toys to keep them occupied. All of our gerbils get the cardboard boxes and tubes we use in the house! Plastic is a huge no-no as it just gets destroyed, and can be fatal if ingested. The best commercial food available is Gerri gerbil, which is what we ask all gerbils re-homed from us are fed on. For more gerbil information please visit http://egerbil.com.
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Gerbils available for adoption
Peebles Peebles is around 6 months old, and came into the rescue with most of our other gerbils, but she had been taken in to their previous home seperately, and we don't know much about her origin. She's obviously still a very young girl, and is very nosey to see what's going on all the time! She's in desperate need of a friend, as you can see how badly she wants to be friends but she's too nervous, which happens to gerbils when they spend long periods of time alone. We're looking for a home where she can go to be bonded with a friend, we can do this process here if you're not confident to do so yourself, and it will need to be done via the split-tank method. |  |
 | Male Quad, 3 LCP Golden Agoutis (they grey ones!) and one Black. We think they're around 10 months old. Very friendly and curious, especially the little black boy! They'll run onto your hand but are unsure about you moving it. Are fine if you scoop them up carefully and quiet happy to run around on your arms/ hands once out. These guys will need a very big set-up (4foot tank would be ideal) as there are 4 of them, to avoid any scraps! Like most of our gerbils they came to us after being taken in by someone who had good intentions of rescuing them but couldn't manage and ended up having more litters. Someone else decided to take them on but soon they couldn't cope either so they've came to us. Must be kept together in new home. |
Female Trio, One Slate, one Black & one Agouti. Approx 10 months old, Like most of our gerbils they came to us after being taken in by someone who had good intentions of rescuing them but couldn't manage and ended up having more litters. Someone else decided to take them on but soon they couldn't cope either so they've came to us. They were underweight when they arrived and are starting to put in back on now, but will need to be monitored. These girls are a little more shy than the boys, but again are fine once you're holding them, as long as you scoop them up gently, and are happy to go about their buisness while you have your hand in the tank! Must be rehomed as a trio. |  |
 | Simon and Garfunkel, These are our friendliest little gerbs! Always come out when you're in the room to see whats going on! No bother being handled at all, they want to be center of attention most of the time! They're around 1 year old now. Simon came to us with a female gerbil, Lola, so they had to be seperated to prevent the pitter patter of little gerbil feet! Luckily Garfunkel was surrendered into the rescue around 3 weeks later. Garfunkel had been alone since leaving his mum, and we don't know much about him. He's missing the toes on one of his back feet but this doesn't affect him in the slightest. He was still youngish when coming into rescue (around 6 months ago now) so made a perfect pal for Simon and they're now completely inseparable! We think these two will be coming up to 1 year old now, but a still very active. Must be rehomed together |
Female Pair Two gorgeous LCP golden agouti (grey!) females, we think they're about 10 months old, if not younger. Again these two were underweight when coming in so this will need to be monitored. They're friendly little girls, who need some confidence building, but are fine to handle once you've scoop them out carefully and will run across your hands/ arms/ shoulders happily. Must be rehomed together.
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