How easy are gerbils to keep?

[Bluestar23]

My daughters are really keen to get gerbils.
I've never had a small animal before. I grew up with cats, previously owned a dog and currently have chickens!
I'm concerned about us going away overnight and leaving them or when we're on holiday.
Also the running away and getting lost in the house.
I don't mind them and the cleaning and feeding would be good for girls.
I'm not sure if I'm bring naive!

Thanks

You can't have just one, they need company.
They are awake more than hamsters in the day so that's good, but they can make a mess due to their digging and tunneling.
They do make lovely pets though.
I fixed some laminate sheets to bars to help stop the sawdust getting kicked out lol

Sorry I didn't answer your questions. They be ok overnight, not sure I'd be comfortable leaving them any length of time though.
Ours ended up fighting after a time and had some nasty injuries even though they came together.

This small pet rescue is good so I'd go by their advice: https://www.tinypawsmcr.org.uk/advice/gerbils/

And just to note that you can adopt gerbils so please do if you can.

I'd be OK with leaving gerbils overnight but I'd want them to be checked at least daily whilst I was away. If you dont have friends and family who could do that, have a look for small animal boarding in your area.

It’s been a while since I had gerbils but they are brilliant pets! Way better than hamsters who sleep all day.
I’d definitely recommend getting a glass cage as PP said, they dig and make a mess. They’re very clean though, don’t need a lot of cleaning out as they’re quite dry. Again unlike hamsters who stink!
We starting buying this special reptile substrate instead of sawdust, it meant they only needed cleaning a few times a year, with fresh bedding material weekly.
You could easily leave them for a day or two without supervision, but otherwise you could take them to a friend or family member or ask them to pop in and change their food/water.
They need a run around outside of the cage but a pen and close supervision is fine.
I’ve had a pair, and 3 sisters. The pair was much better, no issues at all, whereas the 3 used to fight badly until we separated them. Apparently they do fight if there’s more than a pair.

I always had only 1, but that was a fair few years ago.

My dad bought a second hand oblong fish tank, filled it with peat, bits of wood etc and we put him in there. My gerbil loved it and you could see the tunnels and beds underground. Plus we only had to clean it out every 6 months, or so, rather than weekly.

Gerbils are more agile than hamsters and can jump , especially when they’re young. You need to get a pair and handle them a lot.
feeding is easy, basic kibble plus veggies- there’s not much they can’t have and you’ll find a list of bad foods online.
a large tank with layers of substrate for tunnelling is the ideal home, they love chewing on wood and cardboard and mine always loved shredding their own bedding from an old vest or some brown paper.
think about where you’ll locate them, I’d recommend away from bedrooms as they are noisy beggars and can get very busy at night.
Never lift or grab a gerbil by its tail! It will literally come off in your hand. The pet shop will teach the kids to handle properly if you ask.
they can be left for a couple of days, add a second water bottle incase the first one fails, leave food and make sure the house temperature will be okay.
many longer than that you need to pay someone to look in on them , feed and change the water.

Thank you everyone, that is really useful.
We would definitely get two and look to rehome a pair.
What kind of temperature do they need?
Our house isn't the warmest in the winter and we layer up etc rather than having the heating on. Can we get heat mats for the cage or lights?

I just need to convince DH it's a good idea to get some and fine a willing volunteer for holidays (only a few weeks a year).

We might do it as an iou Christmas present as far as paying for them /cost.
Dd1 is already saving up for some and done some research but I want them to show they're really prepared to look after them by researching how to care for them, best type of house, food etc. Not just purchase them without a thought.

They will be happiest in a really big cage. Some people buy an IKEA wardrobe and lay it down sideways, with mesh over the top. There are lots of good tips on r/gerbil on Reddit.

I love my gerb (her sister sadly had a stroke earlier this year) ... but I regret not getting a bigger cage to start with.

Yes, you can use heat mats. Our two didn’t need it as they cuddled up together and kept warm. When one died we always had the heat mat on though, for the other one.

I’d get a glass tank if your house is cold, at least then they won’t catch a draught.
they’ll curl up together in a fuzzy nest to sleep a great deal of the time so if you can tolerate the temperature with only light clothing then they’ll be fine. Deserts get cold at night! They were designed for a pretty rustic lifestyle. Every day, tempting them with a bit of fruit if necessary you need to look at their feet and watch them eat. Getting something stuck in the mouth or a bit of fibre twisted around their tiny toes is pretty common and if somethings not right you need to get them to a vet because they’ll decline really quickly.

You need a pair but they are very easy to look after. They’re fine to be left with a full water bottle and some food for a night or two.
Get a deep cage cos they dig like crazy and you end up with stuff everywhere. They also chew everything- plastic stuff doesn’t last long. A glass tank is actually the best thing we’ve found
I love them, they’re easy, engaging pets.