I have questions about my gerbils.?

Question

Everyone says they're gerbils run on their wheel all the time. Mine never do. And also, can they just run around my room if my door is closed? I would love to give them more freedom. The thing is that they have a pretty small cage. It was my hamsters cage but it was a baby and there was only one...there's two gerbils. Another thing is that I never see my gray gerbil drink water from the bottle but the other one does. My gray one acts scared of the water bottle.

Is it okay if my gerbil chews on the bars on the cage? And they always crawl under the wheel. Is there a way to connect two cages together?

Answer 1

well i have two gerbils to but i don't think u should let them chew on the bars instead get a enclosed cage and give them sticks or paper toilet rolls because eventually they will knaw there teeth to the gum if they chew on the bars and it is ok if they don't run on the wheel for the drinking problem he probaly does drink just at night

Answer 2

its perfectly fine that they don't run on the wheel . if you let them run in your room make sure that theres no cords and small spaces keep them in an open area and don't let them under the bed. just to let you know if you don't always want them out runing in the open get a big tub continer (my gerbils have 4 cages  2 tubs and 2 mini cages that are all connect with tube )go to the pet store and ask about the water thing.(chewing on bars) no that means their bored do you have toilet paper tubes so they can chew on. its okay if they go under the wheel but its better if you get a house for them (be prepared to by a new one about every 1 year and a half ) o yah another fun thing for them is to chew on twine. if your gerbil is lickinig the cages that mean they need water ask at the pets store or the vet (if you have one) you can also check the wed. no you do not lose trust if wake them up.be sure to handle  them together  don't take 1 out and leave the over one in the cage . make sure you handle them at least once a day .never leave the cage door open trust me. hope I  helped.  

Answer 3

first get your gerbils a bigger cage, that will cure a lot of the problems. it will make them run on the wheel, stop chewing the bars, and give them more space so you wont have to connect two cages together. gerbil proof your room, so get all electrical wires and any other hazardous thing out of their reach before you let them run around and know that gerbils can fit into very small spaces, they are very fast, and are often hard to catch. your gray gerbil sounds like he drinks at night, which is fine, you hardly ever see a gerbil drink.

Answer 4

i have a gerbil, (soon i'll have 3 gerbils), gerbils don't run in wheels is actually a good thing, thats means they're not stupid enough to be entertained by running in a wheel, hamsters are not that intelligent, so for hamsters, they can run in a wheel for 2 hours that'll entertain them, my gerbil doesn't run in a wheel either, so im glad, you should be happy that your gerbils don't run in wheels, it means they arn't as dumb as hamsters. lol.

for the gerbil roaming in you room, big no no. Gebrils can easily get shocked or get lost in a room, they also can walk under your door. they can chew on dangerous stuff, like wires and other bad material, and they also can eat bad stuff.

Gerbils for some reason don't like to drink much, my gebrils is grey too, shes a lilac, she don't drink much either

and no, it isn't good for gerbils to chew on bars, i really do no know how to stop gerbils form chewing on bars, my gerbil doesn't chew on bars much.

you can connect 2 cages together, u need a plastic one tho.

Answer 5

Get a pen or a ball for them to exercise more. Mine only went on the wheel a bit. They shouldn't chew the bars. There are ways to connect cages. Give them empty tissue boxes or empty toilet paper rolls to chew on. They drink usually when your not there. I wouldn't let them run around the room unless it has absolutely no place they can run under, which is unlikely.

Answer 6

I own two gerbils myself, and the first thing that I would say is that a hamsters cage is not suitable for two gerbils. Gerbils are different to hamsters you see, they like digging more. Not many people know this. You can buy them a special cage called a 'Gerbilarium'. Effectively, this is pretty much the size of a hamsters cage but has a large plastic base at the bottom which they can dig within and can be filled deeply with sawdust.

http://www.petsathome.com/Assets/PetsAtH...

The link above will take you to an image of the exact one that my gerbils use, and they are very happy within it. Its their natural instinct to sleep under the sawdust aswell, so it really is a good thing to get them. You can buy them at PetsAtHome, but I'm sure you can buy them over the net and in other stores too, my one only cost £30 including free equipment.

Next, if you want to give your gerbils more exercise, then buy them exercise balls. You place the gerbils inside and they can run around safely - if they are loose on the floor they may be in danger of being stamped on, or getting lost behind a crevice in your bedroom. These only cost a few quid (or dollars) at the most, and are well worth the investment.

Gerbils naturally chew on everything they can find! Their awfull for it! I would suggest buying them wooden chew toys from pet stores, and also they like tearing up toilet role tubes for bedding, mine love them. They probably will still chew the bars after all of this, just because they like to - just keep an eye on the cage and ensure its not going to give way. My gerbilarium has withstood years of chewing.

I wouldn't suggest connecting cages together, as their may be weaknesses where the gerbils can break out as a result of this.

I hope that helps :)

Answer 7

I have 3 and only one of mine runs on the wheel. It's ok if they don't. They probably don't know how.

I let mine run around my room all the time. Just make sure the door is closed, and there are no wires they can chew on. (mine ruined my computer speakers, lol)

How long have you had them? If you've had them for atleast a week, then obviously they are drinking. What do you mean he acts scared of it?

It's fine if they chew on the bars of the cage, mine do all the time. They will eventually learn that all it does is hurt and get them nowhere.

It depends what kind of cages, as to whether you can hook them together, but it's possible.

Maybe you should consider buying a bigger cage for them when you get the  money.

I hope I helped!

Answer 8

I don't know about the wheel, but i wouldn't let them run around unless you're sure it's safe and you can get them back in. You'd have to gerbil proof your room and make sure you keep the door closed. You'd also have to watch them to make sure they don't get into trouble.

Chewing on the bars is normal, it's normally to keep their teeth at a reasonable length. You can add chew blocks and that might reduce the amount of chewing.

And how long have you had the one that's scared of the bottle? If it's more that a week i'd say it must be drinking some time or another or else it'd be really dehydrated. If it acts scared you could try giving it a bowl, but you'd have to change it often because it can be soiled with various things.

Answer 9

I'm pretty sure they drink water just not when ur there and if you have a crittertrail cage then u can get tubes that connect them

Answer 10

wow you've asked a mouthful!  if you feel the cage is too small you may be right, its time to get a new one.  check out this link to get an idea of whats out there:

http://www.petsmart.com/family/index.jsp...

also, there are little plastic balls youi can purchase to help them get some exersize and exploration with out the danger of getting lost or getting into something dangerous (like electrical wires) that are loated around your room.  plus in these little things you can take them anywhere to roam around!  i used to put my hamster in the yard, he loved to nibble on blades of grass that poked into his exersize ball.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

They can chew on cage bars as long as bits of paint aren't coming off of them or they are escaping.  most rodent cages have pet safe paint though, so the risk of them getting sick from chipped paint is usually pretty low.  but be sure they have rodent safe chew sticks to gnaw on, they need to keep their teeth healthy and this is why they chew.

Dont worry about them crawling under the wheel and not using it, some gerbils just don't get it.