rescue gerbils?

[ncjust4this]

Is it possible to find rescue gerbils?

We been considering some little furry freinds and as we live in a flat they need to be small and the least smelly the better. Gerbils seem to fit the bill but I would always prefer a rescue animal than one bought from a petshop (aunt bought a dog from apet shop in the 80's without thinking and it turned out to be from a puppy farm, lovely dog but the thought that she had given money to those awful people was haunting)

Any ideas of where I might find a gerbil rescue in the south east of England?

Hi - we got our rescue gerbils from the local Pets At Home store, they have a section for pets that are from the local animal charity and need re-housing. We are in the South West not South East but worth checking your nearest Pets At Home to see if they do similar.
They have been excellent pets, I would really recommend them.

egerbil

is a forum with masses of gerbil info. The page I've linked to also has an adoption page.

There are certainly specialists around - we got our from one in Dundee, but I think that rabbit/guinea pig general small animal shelters sometimes look after them too.

Good luck. [hsmile]

It was Pets at home that gave me the idea. We saw a few rescue hamsters and were tempted. But I thought I better look into it properly first. Then when I read up gerbils seemed likea better option (and they are really cute!). Maybe I should ask them to contact their rescue centre so they can keep us in mind if any come in?

Thanks for that website. The link doesnt work but I will google.

Thanks again

Be careful, the rescue section of Pets At Home are usually just left over pets that haven't been sold rather than from a rescue centre. Try your local RSPCA - ours has a few small furry creatures for adoption as well as cats & dogs.

rubberduck - ours were deinfitely from an animal shelter, they were pets that were not wanted anymore. Either that or PaH are pulling off an enormous scam!

Every time I've been in there over the last few months they've all been displayed with labels along the lines of "no-one wanted me" and only ONE has been brought back by a family unable to look after. The guinea pig rescue friendly forum I read is full of similar tales - it appears that it seems to be where they dump unsellable and returned livestock. Also anecdotal evidence that pets returned because they've been sold sick also get stuck in the "adoption centre" area rather than getting proper veterinary care.

I'd steer well clear of the P@H adoption centre and go to a reputable rescue, tbh.

Pets at home using adoption centre to sell sick animals is just one of the many threads on the subject :(

Though I can't really talk. I got my GPs from P@H (non-adoption centre). Was only after they started having health problems that I started reading the forums and realising the issues surrounding the chain. Would be much more wary in future.

Any of these handy for you, OP? Small Furry Rescues

Thats great. Thank you. DH now seems to have gone off the idea. He needs a little gentle persuasion.

P@H are seasoned story tellers about animals in the rehoming section, never buy an animal there if you have the assumption that a) they are telling you the truth and b) that they are rescues. They are not rescues, and no reputable rescue centre would place animals with Pets@Home to sell, for the exact same reasons that they don't stock animals from reputable breeders either.

There are rescues out there - I've seen gerbs on the Bath RSPCA website before, and I know a breeder/rescuer in the Bristol area who I've rehomed adults and youngsters from before. She's lovely, as are her many, many gerbs! (if you're anywhere near Bristol then let me know and I'll message you or something)