Gerbiltastic's handy guide on gerbils
BY GERBILTASTIC
Index:
history of gerbils
common illnesses
Gerbil profile
Nutritional requirements
Feeding your gerbils
Changing your gerbils diet
root ’n’ fruit treats
Selective feeding
Looking after your gerbilHousing
Cage hygiene
Cleaning spray
Bedding material
Supreme choice wood shavings
Supreme science- Carefresh
Dust bath
Exercise
Handling your gerbil
breeding gerbils
Gerbil breeding basic info
Picking your breeding pair
The breeding tank
The babies
Colours/patterns/markings
Hand rearing pups
Emergency kit
Introduction
This leaflet includes information on how to care for your gerbil including feeding, housing, and common illnesses.
® Gerbils are friendly and inquisitive animals and deserve consideration and commitment when being looked after as a pet.
Helpful information
History of Gerbils
In the wild, Mongolian gerbils live in the desert where there is little vegetation, low rainfall and temperatures that fluctuate enormously between Summer and Winter, and day and night. The survival of gerbils is down to their burrowing instincts. Burrowing allows them to protect themselves from the extremes in temperature as, under the soil, temperatures remain constant. Gerbil burrows in the wild are a complex network of tunnels, with nests and food storage chambers which allow the gerbil to stay underground for long periods of time. The gerbil species has evolved to need only limited food and water. Their long hind legs allow them to cover large distances in a harsh habitat in order to collect food. In addition, their bodies require little water as they do not sweat and they re-absorb their liquid intake producing highly concentrated urine and dry faeces. The Latin name for gerbils is “Meriones unguiculatus” which means “clawed warrior”.
common Illnesses
Dental Problems – As all rodents, gerbils teeth continue to grow throughout their life. Should your gerbil be injured and a tooth become misaligned, the opposite tooth will grow as it has nothing opposing it on which to grind. Gerbils require fibre in their diet and gnawing ensures their teeth are evenly worn, preventing overgrowth. Overgrown teeth can cause a number of problems including abscesses and inability to eat.
Diarrhoea – Overfeeding with green food is a common cause of diarrhoea. You should stop feeding green food immediately if your gerbil has diarrhoea, allow it only to eat its gerbil mix. Take your gerbil to the vet immediately as loss of fluid through diarrhoea can be life threatening.
Colds – Gerbils can catch colds from humans so, if you have a cold, you should keep the handling of your gerbil and its food to the minimum. Your gerbil will have a runny nose and sneeze if he has a cold and should be kept in a warm room. Isolate the affected gerbil from the rest of the group as colds can spread through colonies. Take him to the vet if the condition has not cleared in two to three days, or if you have any concerns at all.
Tyzzers Disease – This is a very serious condition and your gerbil will have diarrhoea, look tired and weak and will lose his appetite. Take your gerbil to the vet immediately if your gerbil has these symptoms, as this disease is often fatal. Good hygiene in the gerbilarium and using good quality bedding and burrowing material will help prevent this disease. Always consult a vet if you have ANY reason for concern.
Gerbil Profile
Latin Name: Meriones unguiculatus
Female: Sow
Male: Boar
Young: Pups
Life span: 3-5 years (rarely 6)
Litter Size: 3-10 pups
Birth weight: 1- 3gms
Eyes open: 17 days
Gestation period: 24-26 days
Average weight: Male 60gms
Female 50gms
Sexual maturity: Male 10-12 weeks
Female 10-12 weeks
Weaning age: 21-24 days
Diet: Omnivorous
In their natural habitat gerbils eat a selection of wind blown seeds, grain and grasses. Gerbils are often mistaken as herbivores, but they are omnivores and do need a small amount of protein in their diet to keep them healthy. In the wild they would satisfy this need by eating grubs and insects. They also have continuously-growing teeth so need to gnaw to help wear down their teeth. Gerbils have traditionally been fed on hamster mixes. However, this is not ideal as their requirements are different and hamster mixes contain too much fat for a gerbil. A coarse mix, such as Gerri gerbil provides everything your gerbil needs including vitamins and minerals and comes in one handy bag.
Feeding Your Gerbil
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Gerri Gerbil is a complete diet specially formulated for gerbils. It is a mix of ingredients, including alfalfa, maize, wheat, naked oats, carrots, peas, raisins and pumpkin seeds, as well as Soya to provide just the right amount of protein in your gerbil’s diet, whilst remaining low in fat. Gerri Gerbil does not contain any sunflower seeds as, although gerbils love them, too many can be bad for them. However, the variety of ingredients included encourages foraging which is natural for gerbils and helps prevent them from becoming bored. You can also use hamster mixes, though they are not as healthy, therefore your gerbil may get FAT..
Changing your gerbil’s diet
If you are not feeding Gerri Gerbil food at present but would like to try it, you must introduce it gradually into your gerbil’s diet. Mix about one quarter of the new food with three quarters of the old food on the first day and then gradually increase the new food and decrease the old food over a 10-day period. This should make sure that your gerbil has no tummy upsets.
A really delicious treat bar bursting with fruit flavours that your gerbil will love, including plump raisins, crispy carrot and tasty apple. Filled with natural goodness to provide loads of energy. Only give them a small piece at a time.
Selective feeding
Looking After Your Gerbil
Housing
In the wild gerbils live in burrows and spend the majority of time
foraging for food, so you need to provide plenty of room for your gerbil to eat, sleep and run around. Gerbils should be kept in pairs or groups and you must make sure that there is room for all of them. They need to be kept indoors and careful thought must be given to where your gerbils’ cage will be kept. The temperature in the room should be constant, away from direct sunlight and draughts, and out of reach of any other pets. Gerbils need good, secure, roomy housing. They can be kept in a wire cage with a plastic base or a plastic hamster home but the best option is to construct a “gerbilarium” (an aquarium with a well ventilated cover). Never keep them in a wooden hutch as they will gnaw their way out. A good cage will be two tiered and have at least two compartments – one for the day and one to nest and hide in at night. Don’t forget that if you have more than one gerbil you
Cage Hygiene
Cleaning Spray
Keep It Clean is a cage and hutch cleaner that eliminates pet odours, germs and bacteria (which can harm your pet). Keep It Clean can be sprayed on the bedding as well as inside the cage or hutch ensuring that your pet’s home is truly clean at all times.
Bedding Material
Russel Bedding is made from the highest quality barley straw, chopped for extra comfort. It fluffs up to provide a natural, warm bedding that is ideal for your gerbil. Because it is completely natural, Russel Bedding is safer than some other types of bedding. It is also treated with a non- toxic cleaning agent to eliminate pet odours, germs and bacteria.
Supreme Choice Wood shavings
A high quality, fresh bedding which is highly absorbent and dust extracted. Available in a compressed pack and is good value for money.
Supreme Science – Carefresh
Alternatively there is Supreme Science – Carefresh, which is even more absorbent than traditional bedding and eliminates pet odours. It is dust free and hypo-allergenic and is, therefore, particularly suitable if your gerbil has any sort of allergy or respiratory illness. It is safe and hygienic and has been heat treated to inhibit bacteria and fungi growth.
Dust Bath
Exercise
Gerbils are naturally very active and inquisitive animals. They like to keep themselves busy and, when allowed, spend the majority of their time running around and investigating their surroundings. It only takes a few items to create an exciting playground for your pet. Gerbils explore around the edge and hiding places first, rather than the middle of the area or run. Place objects like tubes, tunnels, untreated wicker baskets and boxes in the run for them to play with.
Piles of twigs (natural wood – willow, beech, hazel or apple) make platforms for them to explore or rest under. Gerbils will chew the wood and this will help keep their teeth in trim. By hiding food and the occasional treat in different areas of the animals’ cage, your gerbils will be forced to hunt for their food – this will keep them occupied for many happy hours and prevent boredom. Check out the ‘Furry Fun’ accessories range from Supreme Pet foods.
Handling Your Gerbil
Always approach him calmly and, once you are sure he is awake,slowly place a closed fist in front of him and allow him to approach. If your gerbil is confident and appears interested, slowly unclench your fist and open your hand. He may well crawl on to the palm of your hand or you can gently scoop him up. If he appears hesitant, you could gently hold the base of its tail, near its body, and lift up, placing its feet on the palm of your other hand (never grab hold of the end of his tail as gerbils can shed the skin to escape, and will be frightened next time you approach him).
Companionship
Gerbils in the wild live in large colonies. They are sociable animals and can be truly unhappy if kept in solitude. There should be no problems keeping gerbils together if the following rules are followed. Firstly, as we said before, you must have a cage which is large enough to accommodate more than one gerbil. It is best to acquire littermates in order to avoid fighting. Pairs or groups of males or females will be fine if they are from the same litter. They may accept a gerbil from a different litter, but they may fight. Females and males will be happy together but will result in litters.
Supreme Pet foods is dedicated to the feeding and well-being of small animals. Supreme specialises in small animal nutrition and each product is a complete food, individually formulated to fulfil the nutritional requirements of that species. All Supreme foods are a unique blend of selected high-quality ingredients to give a complete and balanced diet. Over 1 million small animals worldwide are fed with Supreme products every day, so you can be confident you have chosen the right food for your pet.
Breeding gerbils
Gerbil Breeding Basic Info
Gerbil pairs will have babies about once a month. It is very common for the female to get pregnant immediately after giving birth. If you are looking to just have a couple litters, you can put the male and female together, then when they have their litter they will most likely mate again and the female will be pregnant with the 2nd litter. When the 1st litter is fully weaned and old enough to be removed from mom and dad, take dad out as well. Leave only one of the daughters in with mom to help care for the next litter when it arrives. Keep a son with dad, so he will have company, too. Then, when that 2nd litter is ready to go, and they find their new homes, mom will have a daughter to live with, and dad will have a son, so no one will be lonely. Also, you'll need a permanent set-up for the dad and the son you keep with him. Mom and the older daughter can continue to live in the tank you used for the breeding tank, when the 2nd litter is moved out and into the nursery (which will, hopefully, be empty by this time). Breeding pairs (especially the females) will need to be fed extra fat and protein (cooked egg yolk, lite cat food, a few more sunflower seeds, etc.). You may also need to set up a 'warm corner' in the tank. You can do this by putting a light on the outside of the cage, to heat one of the corners. (Make sure it's not TOO hot!) Try not to disturb the mother and babies too often - ESPECIALLY for a first time mom. Change the litter a couple days before the babies are due, so you won't have to change it again until the pups are a couple weeks old.
Picking Your Breeding Pair
If you don't already have a breeding pair and are looking, here are some things you should keep in mind:
~It is better to buy from a breeder than a pet store, for MANY reasons. A pet store may be more convenient, but pet store gerbils are apt to have diseases or other problems, possibly be inbred several generations, probably are not handled therefore are very skittish and untamed, are more inclined to bite, and many other reasons. Also - it is VERY common for a pet store clerk to mis-sex gerbils (and other animals), therefore you really don't know what you're getting. Check out a good gerbil breeder. They will know the history of their pups, most likely at least some of the genetics (ask a pet store clerk the genetics of the gerbil and you'll get a blank stare), they will not sell you a gerbil if they don't know the sex, the gerbils will most likely be tame and very used to human handling, and all-around a better choice.
~Colour: Either you are looking for a certain colours of gerbils, or looking for gerbils that will produce certain colours of offspring. If that's the case, you'll need to know the genetics of the pair you get, so you will know what colours of offspring they can produce. No matter where you get your gerbils, make sure they are healthy: Alert, bright eyes, soft shiny non-greasy fur, full tail with tuft covered in hair. Make sure they have good temperaments - you don't want to breed bad-tempered gerbils. And make sure they are not inbred any more than a SINGLE generation (and their pups should not be bred together).
The Breeding Tank
You will need a tank for the breeding pair (10 gallon will work, 20 gallon is better, as it gives more room for when the pups start to scurry about), along with the water bottle, food dish, quite a bit of bedding (for nest-building - plain white toilet paper works great!), toilet paper/paper towel roll tubes, etc. (all the normal gerbils stuff). It is best not to have a wheel in the cage of a breeding pair, as the little ones can get hurt on it. Also, DO NOT use a bowl for water - little ones can drown. And make sure your bedding is safe!! No pine, or cedar, or cloth, or anything with fibre. Aspen, Carefresh, corncob - these are all great. You'll also need a nursery. This is another tank (10 or 20 gallon works), set up for the babies when you remove them from their parents. The same safety rules apply to the nursery as for the breeding tank. Depending on how long you keep the babies, you may also need a second nursery. Males and females need to be separated by 8 weeks old.
The Babies
Gerbil pups are born blind, deaf, hairless, very vulnerable, and very dependant on their parents.
They are weaned at about 5 weeks old, and can go to their new homes starting at about 6 weeks old. They can become sexually mature as early as 8 weeks old, so males and females will need to be separated before then. (I personally have never seen gerbils this young breed, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.)
Gerbils have only been domesticated for the last 30 years so there has not yet been an opportunity for extensive development of coloured varieties.
The Golden Agouti is the most common gerbil found in pet shops and is a sandy colour with a dark stripe down the spine and tail. Other varieties include Albino, Black, Cinnamon, White Spot, Dark Tailed White, Dove and Argenté.
Hand rearing pups
If you find that you have some pups that need hand rearing then this section of the leaflet is what you need to get through the gerbils stage of life with out any troubles:
Feeding instructions-
-First of all, just remember that babies 8 days and younger have a better chance of survival if you can find a 'surrogate' mom. A surrogate mom is a female gerbil who has recently given birth and is nursing her own pups.. there is no guarantee that she will accept these pups as her own, but there is a good chance she will.
-However, if you can't find another mom who has recently given birth to her own litter, then this is what you should do:
1. You should buy some "KMR" which is a milk replacer that you can find at most stores or pet stores. "KMR" (kitten milk replacer) can be used for gerbils and is essential in raising baby gerbils.
-Note that, if for some reason you can't find KMR, you can also use baby formula or evaporated milk (one half evaporated milk mixed with one half warm water).
2. For pups from birth to approximately 12 days old you have to feed them around the clock with an eyedropper or a syringe if you have none of these I suggest you buy a new eye shadow applicator and dip it in the milk and allow them to suckle , make sure not to force them to suckle as they might swallow it into their lungs. Feed them 3 drops of the milk approximately every hour.
3. Once they begin eating solid food (gerbil food), continue giving them the KMR, but feed them every 2- 3 hours instead.
4.Continue this schedule until they are 21 days when even pups with a mom stop nursing completely.
**An important step that you can't forget is that after each feeding you have to stimulate each pup to urinate and defecate just like the mom would do. To do this:
-gently rub each pup's genital and anal area with a warm, moist cloth.
Also remember that the babies lose body heat real fast and need to be kept warm.. you can use white, unscented toilet paper for this.
One last thing... pups also have a tendency to dehydrate rapidly so when you see them start to eat the dry food that is scattered around the tank/cage you can also supply them with a piece of peeled apple to prevent dehydration. Also when the pups are old enough to drink from the hanging water bottle fill it with water and unflavoured pedialyte (one half water/one half pedialyte). This will also help prevent dehydration.
Emergency kit
nursing emergency kit consists of three things:
1) powered kitten replacement milk and infant medicine dispenser or eye dropper; 2) A clamp lamp with 40 watt grow bulb. and thermometer; and 3) Ornyacycline (brand name for tetracycline) which is sold in pet stores in the bird section. Treat respiratory infection by warming one corner of the tank to no higher than 85 degrees F, kitten replacement milk feedings three times a day and Ornacycline (use the dosage for a small bird) in the water bottle with drops placed from your finger directly onto the pups lips three times a day. Do not mix the milk and the medicated water as the milk will lessen the effectiveness of the medicine.
if you cant find any kitten milk or lactol then I recommend going to your local superstore such as asda or Tesco and getting
‘carnation evaporated milk’ -
As it is a cheaper but just as effective as kitten milk would be.
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