Gerbil as a pet?

[RosieLeaLovesTea]

My daughter’s 7th birthday is coming in June. I thought she would really like a small pet. We got some leaflets from Pets at Home and it says Gerbils can be slightly better than Hamsters as they are more awake in the day. Hamsters are more awake at night.

Any experiences to share with Gerbils?
Also the best place to get them?

Thanks!

We have two. We went in for hamsters and the pet shop said if we were set in having two small rodents it had to be gerbils or there would be a fight to the death. As it turns out they are really sweet animals although ours prefer to hare about rather than be petted. They don’t bite like hamsters either. They do make cage noise at night though so we move them into the spare room.

I had one. It was very nocturnal, they like to burrow so would keep me awake (as did the hamster and mouse that we had before that!) they are also social animals so shouldn’t be single poets.

www.peta.org/issues/animal-companion-issues/animal-companion-factsheets/facts-gerbils-hamsters/

Currently have been looking after 3 for about 10 months. Has been a lovely experience. They won't be lonely if you have them in groups of more than 1 even if they don't get played with as such.
They are very tame in terms of coming for/demanding treats and one of them waits and looks out for me at times I am often coming to make a cup of tea but not easy to handle, and this is mainly down to having 3 which is much more of a handful than 1. They are fast and they can jump quite high.
They live to chew - get a gerbilarium with a glass base as plastic, wood, they will be very able to chew through and you will need something else. They are quite clean and 'organised'.
We got ours from a family run pet shop which also had rabbits and guineas. They didn't have any then but had a litter within about 6 weeks. There are also some advertised on petplanet and our shop advertised that litter there so they were really reliable, but it is not easy to tell for sure whether the advertisers are sincere.

We’ve had ours three years. They’re lovely and interesting. Love human interaction but need to be in pairs really as it’s no fun for them otherwise.

My friend bought her daughter a gerbil and although the cage was cleaned out very regularly, the house smelled awful. It was obvious as soon as you stepped in the front door. So be aware of that!

I wouldn’t get such a small pet for such a young child.

I've had them in the past, they are nice creatures and more amusing than hamsters as you get the social interaction to watch, three seems to be a good number. But I think they are less inclined to be interested in people than hamsters because of that, I tend to find hamsters very nosy and attention seeking!

Gerbils are quick, and jump, but they do get used to being handled if you persist with them and they enjoy exploring. I had one rescue one that was a biter but she was definitely an exception.

Years ago a friend had 3 male gerbils. In a huge glass tank. Came back from shopping one day and we found them all massacred..
By each other. Our dc were horrified. No hiding that in a glass enclosure..
Grim.
Rats are much better pets.

Rats are by far the best pet for children , they like being handled and are generally not frightened if humans if they are properly socialised from a young age . You do need at least a pair though and obviously quite a large cage .

I had gerbils as a kid, and I enjoyed it so much my DH and I had a pair as adults in our first house! They are happy to interact or play in their enclosure (digging and resigning tunnels in sawdust - quite fascinating if you have a clear tank!). Make sure you have part of the cage as open bars though as high humidity levels is one of the few things they struggle with. They are fun to let play about in the bath with a few toys. Our last pair would happily climb onto our shoulders and arms too!

They JUMP. To quite impressive heights for their size.

Your child is very young for a small pet, do be sure that you are happy to do all of the pet care, cleaning out, finding someone to have it for holidays etc. It will all fall on you!
Both hamsters and gerbils are also mainly asleep in the day so will wake up round about her bedtime, does that bother you? (My gerbils are more awake at dawn and dusk, they definitely won't keep the same hours as a 7 year old).
And will there be somewhere to keep the cage which is not in a bedroom as they are both very noisy and active at night- gerbils will be digging, hamsters in their wheel. Make sure if you do go ahead that you get two gerbils not one, and the very largest tank you can stretch to. They are buggers for escaping and jump high. She won't be holding them and quietly petting them.
I love them though

I think guinea pigs are a much better pet for young children

Get rats, they are the BEST. Like miniature dogs. You do need a huge cage though, and they can't live alone. They have amazing little personalities.

I got DD (then 8) a Syrian hamster for Christmas, he's very sweet and sociable. She's able to clean him out and handle him with supervision. My eldest DD had degus when she was younger and they were lovely too and lived a lot longer than hamsters. We've already decided that we want rats next!

Gerbils are lovely but not really suitable for a 7 year old. Very fast, jumpy and skittish. They're better for teenagers really.

Rats from a good breeder are the best small animals for children. Hamsters can be good for older children (9 or 10+) but remember they're nocturnal, especially the Syrians.

Most small animals with the exception of hamsters need to live in pairs or groups.