Helenka

Gerbil

Food:

The Mongolia gerbil is the most common to be kept as a pet. Gerbils learn a lot from their parents, favored foods

normally come from their mother. Gerbils normally eat:

~Vegetables

~Fruit

~Cereals and nuts

~Herbs and flowers

~Pellets

~Meats and insects

~Dairies

~Grass and hay

~Chewing snacks like :woodchips and wheat

Gerbils shred material for nesting, a mixture of rough grained woodchips and hay will be a perfect nest.

They will gnaw on it too!

Exercise:

Gerbils are active animals. They should exercise daily. They love to run and climb as well as dig because they are

borrowing rodents. Gerbils will enjoy their "out of tank time" and it will be good to put a play area in their tank via -a ladder

to make them feel more secure.(An exercise wheel would be good too).

Habitat:

Gerbils live in extended families and are sociable in the wild. When in captivity an ideal temperature would be:20-24Celcius.

Also, keep them comfortable and draught - free. Gerbils make great pets but make sure they're not exposed to damp conditions,

and don't keep them in direct sunlight or next to a radiator.

Life span:

Gerbils are most common to live up to:

3-4 years, some may live longer. The longest living gerbil was 8 years and 4 months.

Cost:

For Mongolian gerbils, you can expect something between £5-£20 per animal. Whilst this will vary depending on where

you purchase them from, there won't be much difference between buying and adopting-adoption centres can give you

gerbils for a very low cost.

Companions:

It will be good if you provided a cage for your gerbil.

Also, get gerbils, not a single gerbil !!!!!!

Unlike hamsters, gerbils are not happy alone. So if possible, get a pair of gerbils. And because they live in big families,

a male-female pair will quickly have babies (and then the babies will have babies and so on).So try to get a male-male

pair or a female-female pair if that will be the case.

Training:

Move slowly and speak softly around gerbils. Limit interaction to times when the gerbil is awake-waking a gerbil isn't a

good way to gain it's trust! Initially just sit