Care and Feeding of Gerbils

The most common gerbil breed is the Mongolian, or Meriones unguiculatus. The name "gerbil" derives from the Arabic Yarbu or jerboa, a jumping rodent.The first Mongolian gerbil was discovered by a French missionary in the 1860s. In the 1930s a Japanese professor captured wild gerbils and was the first to breed them in captivity. In the 50s they were studied by scientists and imported into the US to be exploited in labs for research. By the 70s, gerbils were popular pets around the world.

It's better to buy gerbils from a private or hobbyist breeder, with the second choice a pet shop, because there is better planning in breeding, you can see the parents and know the date of birth, and they're used to being handled. If they are from a pet shop, make sure they look clean and tidy.

Get at least two because lone gerbils die sooner, are not as healthy or happy, harder to tame, and are less friendly. And make sure you get a same sex companion.

Gerbils measure from 5-5.5 inches excluding the tail and weigh, 2-4 oz, with 4 front toes and 5 rear toes. Their lifespan is 3 to 5 years.

They are generally docile and friendly, with little odor, they enjoy a high level of activity including building projects, and their antics and interactions are fun to observe. They will climb up on your shoulder or head and sit, but they do not like to be interrupted to be held or played with. A proviso is that they may not be ideal for children.

A gerbil's tail skin is very fragile, so be careful when handling. They are easily maintained in standard rodent cages or tunnels and produce only small amounts of urine and feces.

Gerbils require a basic gerbil mix each evening with additional supplements. Fresh water should always be available. Vitamin drops can be added to the water. Young gerbils have difficulty chewing hard feed pellets, so it's best to soften them with water.

Because they clean themselves, gerbils don't need grooming. However, their cages need to be cleaned weekly. They like deep bedding, but avoid cedar shavings and fluffy bedding.

Gerbils are robust, but they can get respiratory infections from viruses, bacteria, the environment, or stress. Cedar and pine shavings can be irritants. Signs of illness are rumpled coats, clicking noises, and hunching in the corner. Their health deteriorates quickly. If your gerbil is not eating, drinking, or has constipation or diarrhea, take him to your vet. Other problems are scent gland tumors, broken tails (medical attention not required unless it becomes infected), strokes, seizures, going "limp", bloody nose (caused by allergy, pine or cedar bedding, or chewing cage bars), mites, Tyzzer's (a deadly, contagious diarrhea), and overgrown teeth (remedied with tree branch to gnaw, or trimmed by vet).

To sex a gerbil, lift the tail and rear and look at the distance between the urinary and anal openings. The female's is less. Also, the male has a bulge (scrotum) at the tail base, and females have more obvious nipples. As with cavies and hamsters, breeding is not a good idea. Gestation takes only 24 days, and a mating pair can produce 40 pups in a year!