# gerbils



## 17624 (May 1, 2008)

Hi all,

Im considering breeding my own gerbils and i would like any advice on keeping them etc, etc and especially hows best to kill them.

thanks

jpster


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## mangotango (Jul 7, 2008)

Give em to my sister...

Lol anyway on a serious note you can download plenty of caresheets, but il run you through what I can remember.

There social animals so keep them in pairs,

There easy to sex lift the males up and you can see there bollocks,

They loved pipes to nest in and chew, we give them drainpipe of cardboard tubes,

Keep them in deep bedding so they can burrow,

Use aspen bedding to avoid harmfull resins

Its best to have a purpose made enclosure with a deep bedding take below and some climbing area above

clean water and food, tho dont change there food till they've eaten it all so they dont get fussy.

dont add new gerbils to an established comunity after 10wks old of they will fight.

They do a stange lil mexican tapdance when there horny or scared....

Thats all I can remember...

And pets and home do a care sheet you can pick up instore...


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## Trillian (Jul 14, 2008)

Gerbils are great. I have a pair of males, brothers from the same litter, called Kanga & Roo - named by my 2 year old who thought they were kangaroos!:lol2:

They're great little characters and very easy to hand tame. Trouble is, they chew _everything_ and basically destroyed everything that came with their cage - food bowl, play tunnels, plastic house etc. :devil:

So anything plastic will be decimated and incorporated into their bedding. Even wooden stuff will eventually be destroyed so it's important to give them a steady supply of animal friendly wood, cardboard toilet rolls etc. to keep them busy. :2thumb:


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## Trillian (Jul 14, 2008)

Just realized that this thread is in the Feeder Forum so I take it you're thinking of breeding them as food...Eek! mg:...and there was I endorsing them as pets. Doh! :lol2:


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

i wouldnt think they`d be much good as feeder food,

they arn`t very prolific, pairs usually have about 5 litters then their breeding life is over!

wouldnt you be better with rats or mice?


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## itubagus (Sep 2, 2007)

My breeding pair are knocking out a litter of 4-6 every month-month and a half. Have been doing this for about 6 months and no signs of stopping yet!


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## Daredevil (Jul 10, 2007)

You could use them as an alternative every now and then, or to get a Royal feeding again, but they don't breed as well as rats and mice and a snake may be reluctant to eat a mouse after eating gerbils for the first year of its life so just make sure you have a good supply of them. Kill them either by CO2 (ask someone who knows how to do this to show you) or bang them against a hard surface (again ask someone to show you first).


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## Razaiel (Oct 17, 2006)

The natural food for royals in the wild aren't they? I am thinking of trying to locate some for my BP for a treat but never seem to see them.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Razaiel said:


> The natural food for royals in the wild aren't they? I am thinking of trying to locate some for my BP for a treat but never seem to see them.


No, because the pet-trade gerbils come from Mongolia, in Asia.
Royal pythons come from Africa.

What royals probably like about gerbils is that they're a relatively low-odour rodent - just like the rodents they do probably eat in the wild (Multimammate mice, incidentally).


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## Herpquest (Jul 18, 2008)

Razaiel said:


> The natural food for royals in the wild aren't they? I am thinking of trying to locate some for my BP for a treat but never seem to see them.


As Ssthisto states, gerbils(Mongolian) are not the natural food of Royal Pythons in the wild and you would be well advised not to get your snakes started on gerbils unless you have a constant and steady supply of them. It is extremely difficult to wean Royals off gerbils once they have a taste for them. Mice, Multimammate rats and fancy rats prove the best food source.
Eric Davies.


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## Razaiel (Oct 17, 2006)

No worries - she's quite happy with her mice and rats


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