How To Care For a Pet Gerbil

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A gerbil makes a great "starter pet" for a child. Gerbils are friendly, fun to watch, quiet, and clean little guys whose cages don't get smelly as fast as some animals'.

To complete this How-To you will need:

A gerbil
A large wire cage or 20-gallon glass aquarium
Hay, aspen shavings, or recycled shredded paper
Gerbil food
Fresh greens and vegetables
A water bottle
Untreated wood blocks
Cardboard boxes, tubes, or flowerpots
An exercise wheel

Step 1: Set up home

Keep your gerbil in a large wire cage or 20-gallon glass aquarium, away from direct sunlight and drafts.

Tip: Gerbils are very social animals, so why not get two? A pair of male gerbils will live together happily if they're introduced at an early age. A pair of females will get along great. Male and female gerbils should live together only if you're prepared for the consequences.

Step 2: Line cage

Line your gerbil's cage with bedding—hay, aspen shavings, or recycled shredded paper are best. Gerbils love to dig and burrow, so make their bedding several inches deep.

Tip: Never line your gerbil's cage with cedar or pine shavings; these contain chemicals that could harm your pet.

Step 3: Feed gerbil

Feed your gerbil "gerbil mix," which is specially formulated for his needs and is available at pet stores. As a treat, give your gerbil small amounts of fresh vegetables and greens. Try small pieces of lettuce, broccoli, and carrots.

Tip: Keep your pet's home clean by removing uneaten fresh food daily.

Step 4: Fill water bottle

Every day, fill your gerbil's bottle with fresh, clean water.

Step 5: Use chew toys

Gerbils' teeth grow continuously throughout their lives, so they need hard stuff to chew on and wear their teeth down. Give your gerbil plenty of untreated wood to chew—or even the occasional dog biscuit.

Step 6: Offer hiding places

Gerbils love lots of hiding places to play in and to sleep in. Try shoeboxes, overturned flowerpots, and cardboard tubes.

Step 7: Exercise your gerbil

Put a large exercise wheel or two in your gerbil's cage and make sure he can get at them easily. Even rodents need to work out!

Step 8: Let the gerbil out

Get your gerbil used to you by handling him every day and letting him run around in a safe, enclosed area.

Tip: Never pick your gerbil up by the tail. The skin is very delicate, and might slip right off!

Step 9: Close the cage

When you put your gerbil back in his cage, make sure the door is locked. The little guys love to escape!

Step 10: Enjoy

Enjoy yourself. With just a little care, gerbils return a ton of fun for you and your family.

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[Catherine9041]

@999663isback Yea, when I was little I learned that the hard way, one of our girbils got out, and it was running straight at an area that, if it got too, there was no way we would ever get him out. So I made a mad dive, missed him, accidentally grabbed the tip of his tail, and the skin popped right off. :'(

I felt so bad after that, I would rarely handle him. D=

[sonbombe89]

isn't 2-3 inches bedding not enough? in a lot of videos the people use 6-7 inches so that the gerbils can dig............how much bedding now? pls help

[TheRocky890]

@StudioVibe your not good with gerbils i geuss because aspen is good for them i have 2 gerbils that been in aspen for 2 and 1 have years and nothing is wrong and ASPEN IS GOOD FOR GERBILS

[Hopesasha]

Plz make a video on hamster care. From my "studies" I found out that there are only 3 GOOD hamster care videos.

[animalluver37]

I ment them not , hehe

[animalluver37]

Wow! This is pro. The best gerbil care vid. Ever! This is actually the way ou should care for the,

[cantfiteveryheart]

My gerbil shred the cardboard into bits, what do?

[rainbowcane1]

I watched this video like 50 times because it's so cute!(:

[Doomridler]

mine ,when i leave his cage open he NEVER runs out

[LolzCam]

 good info

[Multisuga783]

i did everything right except step 9 but i got them back

[Chealseafever01]

Thanks i'm gettin a gerbil this helped me alot