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Gerbilz Anonymous
Been seeing some amazingly adorable and social gerbils at the local pet store. Little buggers just run right up to the glass and jump at you. Damn cute shit.

Any /an/ons have experience with these little buggers? How are they as pets?
>> Anonymous
Very friendly. I had tons of them back in the mid 90's.
>> Anonymous
They fuck like animals.
>> Anonymous
>>323513
see
>>323512
>> Anonymous
smart little guys.
get a small colony of males, or if you want to breed, ONE female and a couple males.
>> Anonymous
>>323525

Fuck yeah, gerbil DP.
>> Anonymous
Never get just one. I got a gerbil as a kid and he turned into the most vicious bastard ever. I assume it was because he didn't have any company. Either that, or he was just a fucking psycho to begin with.
>> Anonymous
I have had all kinds of rodents and gerbils were one of the best. Well, I like active animals and they were always digging and gnawing something when not sleeping. They aren't exactly smart animals, but not hopelessly stupid either.

Mine weren't that social, but I didn't handle them that much either, so it was expected.
>> Anonymous
never owned one, but i've heard that they make exceptionally good pets. they're about as smart as a mouse, they don't give much smell and are pretty playful if they're handled well. bad part is that they chew on EVERYTHING, so make sure you give them plenty of wooden blocks to chew on, and keep them in a chew-proof cage.
>> Anonymous
I've only heard two things about gerbils:

1. Great pets! Smart and adorable, very social.
2. Satan's rodent. It just bites me, and bites hard.

Any way i can be sure to avoid #2 and stick with #1?
>> Anonymous
>>323796
Gerbils never bite unless you regularly abuse them
>> Anonymous
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>>323819
>> Anonymous
>>323796
Never get from Petsmart. Those are filled with the #2 kind. Get from a breeder.
>> Anonymous
>>323819
Yeah, right. And you came to this conclusion after abusing your gerbil regularly?
>> Anonymous
>>323796
They can be either. One thing to remember is to always use a wire cage. They look cute in those plastic tube hamster cages, but they'll chew out of them and being chased around the house doesn't do anything for their friendliness.
>> Anonymous
I had a gerbil for a couple years, until he got a growth on his leg and couldn't function anymore.

I got him from a petstore and he was a nasty, shy little beast. With time and patience he grew out of it though and would happily hop into my hand and eat food or take treats from my fingers (He loved sunflower seeds).

He did bite me once, but he was hanging from a wire and scared. They do chew on everything, mine loved the cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towel rolls.
>> Anonymous
>>323843
From personal experience, a large glass fish tank is your best bet, those wire cages have plastic bottoms for the most part and they will tunnel out after a while.
>> Anonymous
oh i LOOVEEE gerbils!! I would never ever own another hamster or rodent except gerbils. they're always active, SO entertaining, very friendly, and smart too. i had 2 girls in a 20 gallon tank and it was plenty. they constantly had tissue boxes, toilet paper roll tubes, paper towel roll tubes, boxes, etc in their cages to keep them busy. they'll chew on them and make extra bedding and make nests. they're not lazy and boring like hamsters. also, they're desert animals which means they drink less, pee less, therefore SMELL LESS! i cleaned their cage once every 2 weeks and it still barely smelled. i like carefresh as bedding, i dont like that harsh cedar/pine crap. just keep them entertained with a wheel, some hiding places, lots of bedding, and lots so chew on. DEFINITELY get more than one, 2 is a great number, i've heard 3 can get jealous and fight. good luck!
>> Anonymous
I heard that gerbils are insectivores, should I feed mine crickets?
>> Anonymous
I had a couple females while I was in middle school... Popples and Pickles.

Fed them gerbil pellets from the local store (sunflowers as treats), gave them cardboard boxes and toilet paper rolls to chew through / became fresh bedding.

Changed the cardboard bedding pretty often. Suckers chewed through half their tank's worth of cardboard in a day.

Pretty active at night. Mine didn't make any noise besides scrabbling with their claws.
>> Anonymous
I had one when i was a kid, her name was Mini; she was an adorable little black gerbil. Unfortunately never got her a friend, but she was very sweet and fun to pet and play with until my brother dropped her...then she turned evil and you had to wear gloves to get her out of the cage to clean it or she'd take a chunk out of your finger. Lived for about 3 years. Chewed on fucking everything, destroyed 5 of her wheels.
>> Anonymous
Sounds like the girls I went to high school with...
>> Anonymous
>>324036
Protip: They call them Syrian Hamsters for a reason.
>> Anonymous
>>324144
No, they are not insectivores. But since they, like many rodents, are omnivorous, the do like to eat insects too. Feeding your gerbil insects is by no means necessary.

>>324822
How very logical, considering they are neither hamsters nor from Syria.
>> Anonymous
I had two and I didn't like them. They were super hyper, and pretty pointless as pets unless you just want to watch them jump around in their cage all day. I couldn't really hold them or anything.

I gave them to my friend, and she seemed to enjoy them.
>> Anonymous
>>324825
>pretty pointless as pets
Enjoy your purpose-filled toaster-dog.
>> Anonymous
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>>324829
>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
Excellent pets, especially when you have a pair (make sure they are same gender and siblings. A pair of Males is your best bet, males are more social). Love attention and snacks, though you shouldn't feed them too many. I had them for years, in a dorm now so I can't but when I get a place, I want more! They usually live about 5 years. They are also prone to growths (sometimes cancer, usually not), and occasionally strokes at old age. Active at night, but are up during the day as well. Need A LOT of cardboard and paper towels to chew and make bedding. Fairly clean animals, too. I clean the cages about once a week. Not too noisy. I had one pair that banged the water bottle on the glass, but I stapped it down, otherwise pretty quiet. They can be very entertaining. I had a pair, Timmy and Kenny, that wrestled playfully a lot. A lot of faint squeaking with that, lol. But all in all, make EXCELLENT pets, and the more time you spend with them, the better. They love attention, once they get used to you and trust you.
>> Anonymous
Oh god, I had so many of those. Started out with one, she was pregnant, had babies, they incested, had more babies....

But they're great. I loved them. Very friendly and fun and cute and yes. Get some.