A gerbil for DD's 5th birthday

[chicaguapa]

I like to do things properly so wondered if there's anything I should know about buying a gerbil for DD. Like size of cage, equipment, best place to buy etc.

I know she'll want to handle it so do I need a playpen or similar for her to sit in while she holds it? I don't fancy chasing it round the house if it jumps down!

The best thing to get is a large(ish) aquarium (a gerbilarium ) and fill it with sawdust (gerbils will chew their way out of cages with plastic bottoms). Gerbils love to dig and will make their nest under the sawdust. Also I would recommend that you buy two gerbils, they will be so much happier than if you just buy the one. Also it is great watching them interact and build their little home together. Also get a cut of a tree branch to put in the gerbilarium as gerbil LOVE to chew at wood, it will keep them entertained for hours, they can also climb on it and bury under it. Definately make sure that your dd is supervised when she has the gerbil as they are a bugger to get back once they escape - they are super fast. Gerbils are generally friendlier than hamsters and less likely to nip, but just make sure that dd is very gentle with it as when they do nip it can be quite sore.

Equipment needed:

• a water bottle with a suction cup to fix it to the glass of the gerbilarium

• a log or branch

• old toilet roll tubes

• some plastic tubing that you can bury under the sawdust to help the gerbils build their tunnels.

• shedded paper for bedding (gerbils will shred their own paper, so you can use old bills or magazines and tear them into strips, the gerbils will do the rest)

Good Luck. Gerbils are super little companion for a child.

Thank you. Just to clarify, roughly what size aquarium would you suggest? And what goes on the top?

but they do smell! I think guineas are a better choice

Hi, we have 2 gerbils! Earl is grey as tea (as in earl grey and Ebony is as black as soot! They are fantastic little creatures, and despite their names, both are females My niece has 16 of them at the minute and they stink the house out..but I have only 2 and can honestly say they only smell if you are lazy about changing their sawdust and fluffy stuff they burrow in I change mine every fortnight or therabouts (read "any time I can bribe my nieve or nephew to come and do it )

Joannie2 thankyou for posting about the branch of a tree, I didn't know that! I can vouch that they eat plastic the little buggers! They have already chewed up one of their wheels and their food bowl, plus the wee house I have in their cage, next time I need a cage I will buy one of the glass ones you recommend, are they more expensive than a cage?

The aquarium can be any size (the bigger the better) the one I had was about 2.5 foot long and about 1.5 foot tall. I made a lid out of chicken mesh wire after they chewed through the plastic top and went AWOL for two days . Fill 2/3 of the tank with sawdust, the branch can go on top of the sawdust. Try to get a branch with a thick centre branch and a few branches coming out of it so that the gerbils can use it as a climbing fame. I also put in a terracota plant pot on it's side for the gerbils to use as a den (they chew through plastic and wood houses from the pet shop). I used hard plumbing piping and cut it into length of about 5 inches and buried them at diffent levels under the sawdust.

Prozacmighthelp - I bought a secondhand aquarium out of adtrader, I think it was £10

I know people think they are horrible but rats make better pets for children. Gerbils tend to sleep in the day and wake up as the child goes to bed, rats are more willing to play in the day, are bigger so they are easier to handle.
I had 2until 5 months ago, you could walk around with them sat on your shoulder or head, would take food out of your hand and would run to the bars when you went to the cage to come out and play. (one also followed the dog when i put him on the floor).

I agree about rats - they are brilliant pets, much more intelligent than other types of rodents, I had one that knew his name (Reg, of course!) and was a lovely laid back character. They really seem to recognise and bond with their owners, they don't smell any more or less than any other rodents, and you can teach them tricks - seriously!! Get a rat, or better get 2, so they are company for one another. If you can't face rats, I would go for guinea pigs as a sencond choice, but you really need to get more than one of them as they are group animals hth

We had max and paddy, made things for them to play with as well as just handling them, great fun!

Gerbils aren't nocturnal and they are v v sweet. Joannie's advice is fab, the only thing I'd add is to get hay for bedding rather than paper - they love it, it goes in stiff and prickly and they do something to it with their mouths to make it soft and snuggly (and then they eat it! Imagine eating your sheets!)

Thank you for all the advice. DD is now the proud owner of Chocolate & Cream - 2 little girl gerbils (DD was quite adamant they had to be girls!) and their gerbilarium looks fab. I bought one with 3 shelves and a ladder and they are having a great time exploring it. I'm really pleased with it and would have definitely gone for a hamster cage if I hadn't been advised otherwise. So thanks again.

Hi wanting to set up gerbilarium for son's birthday this month. Does it need to be DIY with an aquarium or are they available to buy complete? Any advice welcome.