Gerbils!

[Kaiaa]

I bet there is a forum topic about this but I want my own special one! Yesterday I went out to Petco and purchased 2 new male gerbils! I'm so excited to take care of them!

Last August my first Gerbil, Biscuit died; he was a lonely fellow. I received him as a gift from a friend who could not take care of him anymore and he was the only one. If you ever get a gerbil, please get 2 of the same gender and keep them in the same cage! They can literally die of loneliness

Anyway, I just feel like sharing about my new pals. One gerbil is about 6-7 weeks old. He's a little brown guy and I call him Bear (my little cousins call him Teddy).

The other one is as cute as can be, his name is Skelt'yr (or Drikle according to my other little cousin). He is all black and he is probably 9-11 weeks old. I will try to coax them into taking a good picture to share with you all

Have you ever had a small pet/do you currently have one? Can you share pictures?
Also if you've ever owned a gerbil before (this is only my second time) do you have any tips?

 

[Jake]

I am probably gonna sound like the dumbest **** here, but what are gerbils?

are they like mice or guinea pig? i dont even know

and no i have no small pets only my baby

 

[Kaiaa]

This is a gerbil (not mine):

They are rodents like hamsters, mice, rats, and rabbits. They are also desert creatures like hamsters.

 

[Jake]

oh.

they're cute i want one. GET ME ONE

 

[Juicebox]

I've always wanted a gerbil! I've always had a love for rodents. I owned both a Chinchilla and a Hedgehog but they both ended up passing away unfortunately. I've been considering getting gerbils because they are smaller and lower maintenance when compared to a chinchilla.

 

[RoosterInURbutt]

Petco has a reputation for sickly animals especially the small and fuzzy kind


Edit add:
You know, one of my best pets was a female rat from Petco..
It was sickly. To the point where the rest of the rats isolated it and it was in a corner wheezing.
I saw it and was all sad for it, came back a few hours later and got it. It didn't have smooth furr at first it was puffed out. But I took care of it, brought it back to helth, potty trained it. It used its litter box. I took it out with me everywhere on a leash. If it needed to pody when I was holdin it, it would hold it and freek out till I set her down.
It would sleep with me too. But her cage was fully carpeted and really nice.
I miss me rat.

 

[Kaiaa]

Petco has a reputation for sickly animals especially the small and fuzzy kind


Edit add:
You know, one of my best pets was a female rat from Petco..
It was sickly. To the point where the rest of the rats isolated it and it was in a corner wheezing.
I saw it and was all sad for it, came back a few hours later and got it. It didn't have smooth furr at first it was puffed out. But I took care of it, brought it back to helth, potty trained it. It used its litter box. I took it out with me everywhere on a leash. If it needed to pody when I was holdin it, it would hold it and freek out till I set her down.
It would sleep with me too. But her cage was fully carpeted and really nice.
I miss me rat.

I was in a similar situation with my two little guys. The weren't sickly but they looked so miserable in their tiny cage. Since I brought them home they are now rambunctious and exploring their tank like crazy. I just ordered a cage extender that sets on top of the 10 gallon tank I have them in so they can climb up higher and have more room to move around and have fun. I think they will love it when it gets here.

 

[ShinyYoshi]

My first gerbil was named Lucy and she was the sweetest thing ever. She had a big cage that had tubes running to upper levels of the cage. But about 5 months after getting her, I came home from school and found she was stuck in one of the tubes. When I finally got her out, she wasn't breathing very well and her back legs looked like they were broken I don't know how it happened but I guessed it had something to do with the multiple levels in the cage that she could have fallen off of.

About a month later, I got a new gerbil named Jack! He was really sweet for a male gerbil, who tend to be a little more aggressive. But I got him a new cage that was large, but didn't have any upper levels just so I could have some peace of mind. He almost made it to 3 years old before he passed. He had gotten really old.

Gerbils are a lot of fun and I wish I had the time to keep one again

 

[broadwaythecat]

My mom dosn't like small furry animals. She says they smell like poo but I want a mouse soooo bad!!!

 

[Kaiaa]

My first gerbil was named Lucy and she was the sweetest thing ever. She had a big cage that had tubes running to upper levels of the cage. But about 5 months after getting her, I came home from school and found she was stuck in one of the tubes. When I finally got her out, she wasn't breathing very well and her back legs looked like they were broken I don't know how it happened but I guessed it had something to do with the multiple levels in the cage that she could have fallen off of.

About a month later, I got a new gerbil named Jack! He was really sweet for a male gerbil, who tend to be a little more aggressive. But I got him a new cage that was large, but didn't have any upper levels just so I could have some peace of mind. He almost made it to 3 years old before he passed. He had gotten really old.

Gerbils are a lot of fun and I wish I had the time to keep one again

I've heard tubes are a bad idea for hamsters/gerbils. The cage extender I ordered only has 1 extra level and is relatively safe.

 

[Keenan]

I used to have hermit crabs, a few of them for 5+ years which is rare for them. Now all I hab is muh puppy, Scarlet.

 

[Gummy]

My friend used to have two gerbils, but one killed the other and then ate it or something... good luck with your gerbils, though!

 

[Kaiaa]

Wow, were they introduced to each other too quickly? Usually to prevent that people have to do a split cage method before fully introducing them to each other. These two seem to be very kind to each other but I will keep an eye on them as always.

Keenan:
I wanted hermit crabs but they don't sell any around my area. I think they are cute.

 

[Gummy]

Wow, were they introduced to each other too quickly? Usually to prevent that people have to do a split cage method before fully introducing them to each other. These two seem to be very kind to each other but I will keep an eye on them as always.

That may have been the case. I'd just keep a close watch like you said, you can never be too careful!

 

[Dustbunnii]

My mom hates rodents, so I've never had a rat or a mouse (though I would love to get a rat in the future).
When I was younger we had a hamster named Speedy. He got pretty fat xD
We also got two gerbils shortly after he died, one for me and one for my little sister. The one that I picked out was black and her name was Frisky because she didn't like being held and was more aggressive in general. I think my sister's was named Sandy or something and it was a light brown and was also much friendlier. They were always pretty friendly to each other though.
My mom didn't like them as much because they had tails, and the tails reminded her of mice and rats

When I started college, I got a betta fish (Boo Boo) and near the start of my sophomore year he died, so I got another one (Porfirio). Porfirio didn't last as long .
I didn't get a betta fish after Porfirio because I didn't feel like taking care of them any more. I now have plants. xD
I think I would get myself a rat if my dorm allowed pets outside of fish.

As for not-so-small critters, my family has 2 cats and a dog (Mazzy, Bobby, and Maggie).

 

[Keenan]

Keenan:
I wanted hermit crabs but they don't sell any around my area. I think they are cute.

Really? I've never heard of such a place where hermit crabs weren't sold. It seems that they're a staple in most pet stores. You'll have a bit more fun with gerbils, though.

 

[Kaiaa]

Could be that I live in the middle of nowhere, the fact that we have a Petco nearby is a miracle in itself lol. It's an itty bitty store though.

 

[Keenan]

Could be that I live in the middle of nowhere, the fact that we have a Petco nearby is a miracle in itself lol. It's an itty bitty store though.

Well, considering that you live in a jar, I'm pretty surprised that you have a Petco near you as well.

 

[Micah]

I had quite a few gerbils growing up. My sister has one now, too. They were pretty much my life when I was younger.

 

[Kip]

My mom hates rodents, so I've never had a rat or a mouse (though I would love to get a rat in the future).

My mom also hates rodents. There aint no way I'd ever be aloud to have one.