Average Size: 4-5 inches

Lifespan: Up to 5 years

Hygiene and Health: You may want to supplement your gerbils regular diet with small pieces of fruit. Over time you will find out which types of fruit your gerbil prefers as they will usually leave the ones they do not like untouched. By observing this you will know which kinds of fruit to feed them in the future. Be sure to remove uneaten pieces of fruit before they become rotten.

Avoid feeding your gerbil fatty foods such as peanuts and sunflower seeds on a regular basis. Gerbils do really enjoy these foods but only use them as a treat on occasion. In moderation there are no negative health effects but in large quantities they can cause significant weight gain. If you notice that your gerbil is gaining excess weight you may wish to eliminate these fatty foods from their diet entirely.

Gerbils will clean themselves and each other but If you notice that they are not keeping their fur as clean as it should be you can offer them a shallow container of sand to roll in. By rolling in the sand the gerbil will be better able to clean its fur.

Starvation is something you should watch for with groups of gerbils. Starvation most often occurs in environments where the gerbils are overcrowded. When they are too many gerbils housed together they will often fight for food. This will cause the weaker or younger gerbils to not receive enough food and water. Sometimes when a new gerbil is introduced to a habitat the previous ones will prevent the new one from receiving food. This is a show of dominance by the older gerbils.

If overcrowding is the cause you can try to add another dish of food or monitor them more closely to ensure all gerbils are receiving a sufficient food supply. If this fails the only way to eliminate this is by moving some of the gerbils to another cage.

Young gerbils may have trouble reaching the food or water supplies. Since young gerbils need a large amount of food and water to properly develop it will not take long before serious health issues arise with them. To ensure these young gerbils have access to food and water you can use a shallower food dish and place the water bottle closer to the surface of the cage.

Behavior: Gerbils are one of the easiest pets to care for which plays a large role in their popularity. Gerbils tend to be frightened less easily than most other rodents such as hamsters or guinea pigs. As long as you keep your gerbils cage clean and provide it with plenty of food the gerbil should remain happy for many years. Gerbils must be kept in pairs or more because they are social and if kept alone they will become lonely and depressed. Gerbils love to run on wheels and play with toys.

Diet: Commercially prepared gerbil food is usually the best choice when it comes to feeding your gerbil. The manufacturers of these foods have taken into account the various vitamins and nutrients that a gerbil needs to remain healthy.

Do not keep replenishing your gerbils food dish before it is empty. They have a tendency at first to pick out the items that they enjoy the most. This means that they will only receive a select few vitamins and nutrients as opposed to the full-spectrum that the gerbil mix was intended to provide.

Fresh water should be available at all times.

Habitat: Gerbils are very small animals and thus do not require a large amount of room for a habitat. A 15 to 20 gallon aquarium tank is usually plenty of room to house one or two gerbils. As with all pets a larger area is always better and will allow you to give them more toys to play with. Gerbils are good at both climbing and jumping meaning that whatever enclosure you decide to use for them should have a secure top on it.

Many hamster owners like to place a hamster wheel inside their gerbils cage which will give your gerbil some much needed exercise. However, gerbils have a tendency to get their tails caught in the spacing within the wheel so make sure that either the spacing is not too wide or that you cover the holes up.

Gerbils love to burrow because that is what they naturally do in the wild. To facilitate this when keeping them as a pet you should provide them with a large amount of wood shavings on the bottom of their cage. These wood shavings should be taller than the gerbil is so that it can cover itself entirely.

Taming, Training and Handling:

Loner or Groupies: Gerbils can be kept together and should be because they grow lonely and depressed if they are alone in a cage. Make sure there is always food available for them because they will fight if not.

Additional Info: Gerbils are very popular pets as even children can take care of them, although adults should supervise their children to ensure that proper care is being given at all times.

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