Abandoned Gerbils

[oceanic whirl]

ok so, one of my neighbors recently moved, leaving behind two gerbils in a cage outside (a brown one and a white one). they were outside for a week in the rain. i don't know if they were underneath something when they were found but there was nothing in their cage to hide under.

the guy that found them was told to bring them to my mom since she takes in strays, but she isn't around a lot so it's me and my brother working together to take care of them. thing is, we've never owned gerbils before and so i was wondering if anyone could link me to some helpful websites about gerbils, or give me some advice on taking care of them?

here's the situation: when we first got them they looked kind of ragged and skinny. we've had them for almost a week and the brown gerbil looks a little better and is very adventurous and curious, i've been letting them get used to us before i touch them but today the brown one stuck his head out of the cage for the first time, so i stuck my hand in the cage and the brown gerbil circled around my hand licking me. lol. i'm worried about the white gerbil, i'm not sure what's normal behavior for gerbils but this one seems very wary of us. it's missing part of it's tail, but it looks like that happened a long time ago. i have an inkling that might be why it's slower to get used to us, but like i said, i'm not sure. i've tried slowly offering it my finger but it freezes and stares at me. it still looks ragged and even tho it runs on the wheel every now and then, it sleeps a lot more than the brown gerbil. i don't know if it's sick, if it's reacting badly to the environment or if there' some other reason.

we've been feeding them various veggies, fruits and seeds and they're still in the cage they were found in, which is kind of small. i'm thinking about getting them a new cage, but not sure what would be best for them.

[Keyona]

HI!

thank you guys so so much taking in these guys.

The white one's tail should be fine, since you said it looks like it happened a long ago i'm assuming the only reason you noticed is because it is shorter. Gerbils tail can deglove (skin comes off the bone) rather easily and is a defense mechanism to get away from predators that catch them by the tail, it will not grow back. On that note, never pick up a gerbil by the tail.

If you can I would suggest upgrading the gerbils to a ten gallon or larger (i like something around 20g longs for gerbs. But if you get a ten gallon you can make their current cage possibly a topper for it to give them more room. Gerbils are borrowers and when given the proper enviorment will dig and make nests tunnels (this can not happen in cages, and will lead to stereo typical behaviors like digging in corners, and bar chewing.)

I would of taken them to a local exotic vet (normal vets wont see them), and make sure they don't have any respitory problems from being out in the elements, and if they do get them some antibiotics to treat them, as untreated RIs will kill small animals.

To help their fur look healthy, get play sand or Chinchilla sand and place it in a shallow bowl or other container and they should happily roll around in it and get their coats clean. if they don't roll you can sprinkle dust on their backs and this will cause them to shake it off but does help get them clean. Only time a gerbil should get a wet bath is if they get into something sticky or super smelly. Even my gerbils can look ragged if I don't give them sand bathes.

Be careful adding veggies and fruits into their diet, to much can cause more harm than good. But it is great that they are eating. I would suggest Tropical Carnival as a good stable food for them (I use it as the base to my home made mix), I suggest it to all my new gerbil owners. Another good food if you can find it for cheap (which if you are in the US you wont.) is Gerri Gerbil. Avoid EcoTrition, it really isn't that great. if you have to go to a grocery store, hartz and wild harvest can be used. Though I personally don't buy anything to support Hartz as a company. If you guys don't mind buying hay, it is a great thing for them to chew, eat, and play in.

Bonding. patients is KEY! try to offer special treats like sunflower seeds, these can be pulled from their food mix, but if you do this make sure they still get them all as removing them from the mix changes its nutritional content.

If you have a bath tub or a bathroom that you can make gerbil safe (bathtub just make sure they can't go down the drain XD ) you can bring them in there and open their cage and let them choose to come out and run around. or you can take them out of the cage and bring them in there with you. then you sit and be a giant jungle gym (even more so in a bath tub).

For the white one, make sure that they cage is set up in a quiet area of the house, and they have a place to hide.


trying to think if I forgot anything.
Have owned gerbils for going on 5 years. Started breeding late fall of last year. and currently own 6 gerbils and have 5 pups on the run.

Useful sites:
The Gerbils ---awesome info
eGerbil ---though i don't think this site is being updated as much as it has some 404 links. but still tons of good info
Twin Squeaks Gerbils--- Gerbil breeder, awesome info on her site.
The Gerbil Forum ----Awesome forum for well... GERIBLS. People from around the world, sometimes replies are slow, but they are helpful.


*Note on tank sizes. For America the minium requirements for gerbils set by the American Gerbil Society is 10 gallons for a pair, and 5 gallons for each additional gerbils. Though as you come to learn and (possibly love?) gerbils more natural behaviors seem to show themselves if you go with at least 10 gallons a gerbil. and having 4-6inches of bedding is highly encouraged by everyone. smile


I can post pictures of my current set ups later if you want. Though I will admit my cages are low on bedding currently due to just being cleaned and running low/out of hay and bedding to give them.


EDIT: Plastic... plastic is bad, and the only plastic that should be in a cage is the plastic wheels called Silent spinners, as they are to hard for a gerbil to chew. if you can't get that type of plastic wheel get a metal one with mesh (not bars). But depending on the age and past experinces they might not be interested in wheels. and need one that is at least 7 inches

[oceanic whirl]

Keyona

HI!

thank you guys so so much taking in these guys.

The white one's tail should be fine, since you said it looks like it happened a long ago i'm assuming the only reason you noticed is because it is shorter. Gerbils tail can deglove (skin comes off the bone) rather easily and is a defense mechanism to get away from predators that catch them by the tail, it will not grow back. On that note, never pick up a gerbil by the tail.

If you can I would suggest upgrading the gerbils to a ten gallon or larger (i like something around 20g longs for gerbs. But if you get a ten gallon you can make their current cage possibly a topper for it to give them more room. Gerbils are borrowers and when given the proper enviorment will dig and make nests tunnels (this can not happen in cages, and will lead to stereo typical behaviors like digging in corners, and bar chewing.)

I would of taken them to a local exotic vet (normal vets wont see them), and make sure they don't have any respitory problems from being out in the elements, and if they do get them some antibiotics to treat them, as untreated RIs will kill small animals.

To help their fur look healthy, get play sand or Chinchilla sand and place it in a shallow bowl or other container and they should happily roll around in it and get their coats clean. if they don't roll you can sprinkle dust on their backs and this will cause them to shake it off but does help get them clean. Only time a gerbil should get a wet bath is if they get into something sticky or super smelly. Even my gerbils can look ragged if I don't give them sand bathes.

Be careful adding veggies and fruits into their diet, to much can cause more harm than good. But it is great that they are eating. I would suggest Tropical Carnival as a good stable food for them (I use it as the base to my home made mix), I suggest it to all my new gerbil owners. Another good food if you can find it for cheap (which if you are in the US you wont.) is Gerri Gerbil. Avoid EcoTrition, it really isn't that great. if you have to go to a grocery store, hartz and wild harvest can be used. Though I personally don't buy anything to support Hartz as a company. If you guys don't mind buying hay, it is a great thing for them to chew, eat, and play in.

Bonding. patients is KEY! try to offer special treats like sunflower seeds, these can be pulled from their food mix, but if you do this make sure they still get them all as removing them from the mix changes its nutritional content.

If you have a bath tub or a bathroom that you can make gerbil safe (bathtub just make sure they can't go down the drain XD ) you can bring them in there and open their cage and let them choose to come out and run around. or you can take them out of the cage and bring them in there with you. then you sit and be a giant jungle gym (even more so in a bath tub).

For the white one, make sure that they cage is set up in a quiet area of the house, and they have a place to hide.


trying to think if I forgot anything.
Have owned gerbils for going on 5 years. Started breeding late fall of last year. and currently own 6 gerbils and have 5 pups on the run.

Useful sites:
The Gerbils ---awesome info
eGerbil ---though i don't think this site is being updated as much as it has some 404 links. but still tons of good info
Twin Squeaks Gerbils--- Gerbil breeder, awesome info on her site.
The Gerbil Forum ----Awesome forum for well... GERIBLS. People from around the world, sometimes replies are slow, but they are helpful.


*Note on tank sizes. For America the minium requirements for gerbils set by the American Gerbil Society is 10 gallons for a pair, and 5 gallons for each additional gerbils. Though as you come to learn and (possibly love?) gerbils more natural behaviors seem to show themselves if you go with at least 10 gallons a gerbil. and having 4-6inches of bedding is highly encouraged by everyone. smile


I can post pictures of my current set ups later if you want. Though I will admit my cages are low on bedding currently due to just being cleaned and running low/out of hay and bedding to give them.


EDIT: Plastic... plastic is bad, and the only plastic that should be in a cage is the plastic wheels called Silent spinners, as they are to hard for a gerbil to chew. if you can't get that type of plastic wheel get a metal one with mesh (not bars). But depending on the age and past experinces they might not be interested in wheels. and need one that is at least 7 inches

thank you! i'm reading them right now.

i took them with me into the bathtub, we have a plug for the drain and i laid a towel down. i think i managed to get the white gerbil to trust me a bit, it climbed on top of me and peaked over the side of the bathtub.

i agree that taking them to a vet is a good idea, the white gerbil is still active but i managed to watch it and it seems shaky and a little slow.

so far i like them way more than hamsters. i wanted to name them but someone else called dibs on that. emo

oooooh, guess i'll remove the plastic container they've been hiding in. what could i use for a temporary hiding place instead?

[Keyona]

and dancing ensued

Keyona

HI!

thank you guys so so much taking in these guys.

The white one's tail should be fine, since you said it looks like it happened a long ago i'm assuming the only reason you noticed is because it is shorter. Gerbils tail can deglove (skin comes off the bone) rather easily and is a defense mechanism to get away from predators that catch them by the tail, it will not grow back. On that note, never pick up a gerbil by the tail.

If you can I would suggest upgrading the gerbils to a ten gallon or larger (i like something around 20g longs for gerbs. But if you get a ten gallon you can make their current cage possibly a topper for it to give them more room. Gerbils are borrowers and when given the proper enviorment will dig and make nests tunnels (this can not happen in cages, and will lead to stereo typical behaviors like digging in corners, and bar chewing.)

I would of taken them to a local exotic vet (normal vets wont see them), and make sure they don't have any respitory problems from being out in the elements, and if they do get them some antibiotics to treat them, as untreated RIs will kill small animals.

To help their fur look healthy, get play sand or Chinchilla sand and place it in a shallow bowl or other container and they should happily roll around in it and get their coats clean. if they don't roll you can sprinkle dust on their backs and this will cause them to shake it off but does help get them clean. Only time a gerbil should get a wet bath is if they get into something sticky or super smelly. Even my gerbils can look ragged if I don't give them sand bathes.

Be careful adding veggies and fruits into their diet, to much can cause more harm than good. But it is great that they are eating. I would suggest Tropical Carnival as a good stable food for them (I use it as the base to my home made mix), I suggest it to all my new gerbil owners. Another good food if you can find it for cheap (which if you are in the US you wont.) is Gerri Gerbil. Avoid EcoTrition, it really isn't that great. if you have to go to a grocery store, hartz and wild harvest can be used. Though I personally don't buy anything to support Hartz as a company. If you guys don't mind buying hay, it is a great thing for them to chew, eat, and play in.

Bonding. patients is KEY! try to offer special treats like sunflower seeds, these can be pulled from their food mix, but if you do this make sure they still get them all as removing them from the mix changes its nutritional content.

If you have a bath tub or a bathroom that you can make gerbil safe (bathtub just make sure they can't go down the drain XD ) you can bring them in there and open their cage and let them choose to come out and run around. or you can take them out of the cage and bring them in there with you. then you sit and be a giant jungle gym (even more so in a bath tub).

For the white one, make sure that they cage is set up in a quiet area of the house, and they have a place to hide.


trying to think if I forgot anything.
Have owned gerbils for going on 5 years. Started breeding late fall of last year. and currently own 6 gerbils and have 5 pups on the run.

Useful sites:
The Gerbils ---awesome info
eGerbil ---though i don't think this site is being updated as much as it has some 404 links. but still tons of good info
Twin Squeaks Gerbils--- Gerbil breeder, awesome info on her site.
The Gerbil Forum ----Awesome forum for well... GERIBLS. People from around the world, sometimes replies are slow, but they are helpful.


*Note on tank sizes. For America the minium requirements for gerbils set by the American Gerbil Society is 10 gallons for a pair, and 5 gallons for each additional gerbils. Though as you come to learn and (possibly love?) gerbils more natural behaviors seem to show themselves if you go with at least 10 gallons a gerbil. and having 4-6inches of bedding is highly encouraged by everyone. smile


I can post pictures of my current set ups later if you want. Though I will admit my cages are low on bedding currently due to just being cleaned and running low/out of hay and bedding to give them.


EDIT: Plastic... plastic is bad, and the only plastic that should be in a cage is the plastic wheels called Silent spinners, as they are to hard for a gerbil to chew. if you can't get that type of plastic wheel get a metal one with mesh (not bars). But depending on the age and past experinces they might not be interested in wheels. and need one that is at least 7 inches

thank you! i'm reading them right now.

i took them with me into the bathtub, we have a plug for the drain and i laid a towel down. i think i managed to get the white gerbil to trust me a bit, it climbed on top of me and peaked over the side of the bathtub.

i agree that taking them to a vet is a good idea, the white gerbil is still active but i managed to watch it and it seems shaky and a little slow.

so far i like them way more than hamsters. i wanted to name them but someone else called dibs on that. emo

oooooh, guess i'll remove the plastic container they've been hiding in. what could i use for a temporary hiding place instead?

got any cereal boxes? or tissue boxes that no one would mind if you took? can cut them down so they aren't as big and use them as hides. smile

save your toilet paper tubes and kitchen tubes. Have yet to meet a gerbil that didn't go crazy over those to chew on.

[oceanic whirl]

Keyona

and dancing ensued

Keyona

HI!

thank you guys so so much taking in these guys.

The white one's tail should be fine, since you said it looks like it happened a long ago i'm assuming the only reason you noticed is because it is shorter. Gerbils tail can deglove (skin comes off the bone) rather easily and is a defense mechanism to get away from predators that catch them by the tail, it will not grow back. On that note, never pick up a gerbil by the tail.

If you can I would suggest upgrading the gerbils to a ten gallon or larger (i like something around 20g longs for gerbs. But if you get a ten gallon you can make their current cage possibly a topper for it to give them more room. Gerbils are borrowers and when given the proper enviorment will dig and make nests tunnels (this can not happen in cages, and will lead to stereo typical behaviors like digging in corners, and bar chewing.)

I would of taken them to a local exotic vet (normal vets wont see them), and make sure they don't have any respitory problems from being out in the elements, and if they do get them some antibiotics to treat them, as untreated RIs will kill small animals.

To help their fur look healthy, get play sand or Chinchilla sand and place it in a shallow bowl or other container and they should happily roll around in it and get their coats clean. if they don't roll you can sprinkle dust on their backs and this will cause them to shake it off but does help get them clean. Only time a gerbil should get a wet bath is if they get into something sticky or super smelly. Even my gerbils can look ragged if I don't give them sand bathes.

Be careful adding veggies and fruits into their diet, to much can cause more harm than good. But it is great that they are eating. I would suggest Tropical Carnival as a good stable food for them (I use it as the base to my home made mix), I suggest it to all my new gerbil owners. Another good food if you can find it for cheap (which if you are in the US you wont.) is Gerri Gerbil. Avoid EcoTrition, it really isn't that great. if you have to go to a grocery store, hartz and wild harvest can be used. Though I personally don't buy anything to support Hartz as a company. If you guys don't mind buying hay, it is a great thing for them to chew, eat, and play in.

Bonding. patients is KEY! try to offer special treats like sunflower seeds, these can be pulled from their food mix, but if you do this make sure they still get them all as removing them from the mix changes its nutritional content.

If you have a bath tub or a bathroom that you can make gerbil safe (bathtub just make sure they can't go down the drain XD ) you can bring them in there and open their cage and let them choose to come out and run around. or you can take them out of the cage and bring them in there with you. then you sit and be a giant jungle gym (even more so in a bath tub).

For the white one, make sure that they cage is set up in a quiet area of the house, and they have a place to hide.


trying to think if I forgot anything.
Have owned gerbils for going on 5 years. Started breeding late fall of last year. and currently own 6 gerbils and have 5 pups on the run.

Useful sites:
The Gerbils ---awesome info
eGerbil ---though i don't think this site is being updated as much as it has some 404 links. but still tons of good info
Twin Squeaks Gerbils--- Gerbil breeder, awesome info on her site.
The Gerbil Forum ----Awesome forum for well... GERIBLS. People from around the world, sometimes replies are slow, but they are helpful.


*Note on tank sizes. For America the minium requirements for gerbils set by the American Gerbil Society is 10 gallons for a pair, and 5 gallons for each additional gerbils. Though as you come to learn and (possibly love?) gerbils more natural behaviors seem to show themselves if you go with at least 10 gallons a gerbil. and having 4-6inches of bedding is highly encouraged by everyone. smile


I can post pictures of my current set ups later if you want. Though I will admit my cages are low on bedding currently due to just being cleaned and running low/out of hay and bedding to give them.


EDIT: Plastic... plastic is bad, and the only plastic that should be in a cage is the plastic wheels called Silent spinners, as they are to hard for a gerbil to chew. if you can't get that type of plastic wheel get a metal one with mesh (not bars). But depending on the age and past experinces they might not be interested in wheels. and need one that is at least 7 inches

thank you! i'm reading them right now.

i took them with me into the bathtub, we have a plug for the drain and i laid a towel down. i think i managed to get the white gerbil to trust me a bit, it climbed on top of me and peaked over the side of the bathtub.

i agree that taking them to a vet is a good idea, the white gerbil is still active but i managed to watch it and it seems shaky and a little slow.

so far i like them way more than hamsters. i wanted to name them but someone else called dibs on that. emo

oooooh, guess i'll remove the plastic container they've been hiding in. what could i use for a temporary hiding place instead?

got any cereal boxes? or tissue boxes that no one would mind if you took? can cut them down so they aren't as big and use them as hides. smile

save your toilet paper tubes and kitchen tubes. Have yet to meet a gerbil that didn't go crazy over those to chew on.

i don't have those specifically, but i found a small cardboard box that i cut into a smaller shape.

i think we already have a a few tubes, but i don't think there's enough room for them now in their current cage.

anyway, ty again

[Keyona]

and dancing ensued

i don't have those specifically, but i found a small cardboard box that i cut into a smaller shape.

i think we already have a a few tubes, but i don't think there's enough room for them now in their current cage.

anyway, ty again

np. I don't work as a janitor any more so I don't get garbage bags full of tp rolls any more so I just give one when ever the roll runs out.

[591257puppyeyes]

and dancing ensued

ok so, one of my neighbors recently moved, leaving behind two gerbils in a cage outside (a brown one and a white one). they were outside for a week in the rain. i don't know if they were underneath something when they were found but there was nothing in their cage to hide under.

the guy that found them was told to bring them to my mom since she takes in strays, but she isn't around a lot so it's me and my brother working together to take care of them. thing is, we've never owned gerbils before and so i was wondering if anyone could link me to some helpful websites about gerbils, or give me some advice on taking care of them?

here's the situation: when we first got them they looked kind of ragged and skinny. we've had them for almost a week and the brown gerbil looks a little better and is very adventurous and curious, i've been letting them get used to us before i touch them but today the brown one stuck his head out of the cage for the first time, so i stuck my hand in the cage and the brown gerbil circled around my hand licking me. lol. i'm worried about the white gerbil, i'm not sure what's normal behavior for gerbils but this one seems very wary of us. it's missing part of it's tail, but it looks like that happened a long time ago. i have an inkling that might be why it's slower to get used to us, but like i said, i'm not sure. i've tried slowly offering it my finger but it freezes and stares at me. it still looks ragged and even tho it runs on the wheel every now and then, it sleeps a lot more than the brown gerbil. i don't know if it's sick, if it's reacting badly to the environment or if there' some other reason.

we've been feeding them various veggies, fruits and seeds and they're still in the cage they were found in, which is kind of small. i'm thinking about getting them a new cage, but not sure what would be best for ok I have had gerbils all my life and its normal for them to react to being left behind Jan make them sad give it time my male lost his mate 3 weeks ago and he wount eat for 3 days he has been hideing under his hut most of the time he will be getting a new mate in a couple days so I would sugest that u try and handle them and get them used to ur smell if they bite but don't break the skin its a nibble if it breaks the skin thean that a bite and get them a wooden chew or sometimes u can get a hut that they can eat I advise putting sunflower seeds in they love them .