Decisions, decisions... (new pet rodent! :D )

Want to just shoot the breeze? Forum 42 is the place!

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Post by vskid » Fri Apr 13, 2007 10:08 am

Felino wrote:Just fill you computer with mineral oil. Like water, but no conduction!
Fish can't live in oil though. :P

I'm considering getting a gerbil, any thing I should know about them?
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Post by Lady Indecisive » Fri Apr 13, 2007 10:09 am

I'd kinda like to get a mouse or a bird myself. :)
Some people are like slinkies. Not really good for anything but bring a smile to your face when pushed down a staircase.

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Post by teraflop122 » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:36 pm

I'm considering getting a gerbil, any thing I should know about them?
Gerbils are pretty neat, but they aren't particularly smart. They are relatively easy to "tame," but you will never be much more than a part of the environment to them. They will not bond to you as a person, like a cat, dog, or rat will. They don't need to pee often, which is always good. You'll need to get used to the sound of a gerbil running on its wheel, because they run quite a bit, both during the day and the night.

If you accidentally end up with a male/female couple you'll end up with a gigantic swarm of gerbils. When space runs out the mothers will eat their newborn babies, which I always found disturbing.

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Post by vskid » Fri Apr 13, 2007 4:04 pm

teraflop122 wrote:
I'm considering getting a gerbil, any thing I should know about them?
Gerbils are pretty neat, but they aren't particularly smart. They are relatively easy to "tame," but you will never be much more than a part of the environment to them. They will not bond to you as a person, like a cat, dog, or rat will. They don't need to pee often, which is always good. You'll need to get used to the sound of a gerbil running on its wheel, because they run quite a bit, both during the day and the night.

If you accidentally end up with a male/female couple you'll end up with a gigantic swarm of gerbils. When space runs out the mothers will eat their newborn babies, which I always found disturbing.
I have a cat for my bonding animal, so as long as I have something to watch run around a cage, that'll be fine. Do you know if males or females tend to be better than the other, or does it not matter? Females don't really mark their territory, so that would be nice. How much do you think it would cost to get the stuff needed and a gerbil from Petsmart? I might be able to get my hamster cage back from my friend.
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Post by teraflop122 » Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:23 pm

Males and females are both fine. Males will wrestle each other more often than females. Aside from that both genders have virtually identical behaviors, both grow to the same size and weight, and both live anywhere between three and five years.

Been a while since I last looked in PetSmart. Your best bet is to set aside ten bucks for every item: each gerbil, bag of food, bedding... Or you can just go to the PetSmart website and look =P

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Post by vskid » Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:19 pm

Do you know if this cage will be big enough for two gerbils? Its the one of mine that my friend has, or if he doesn't have it anymore, it'll be the one I'll get, unless its too small. Can they climb up that tube to the top thing? If it is too small for 2 gerbils, and I get mine back from my friend, I could get another and hook them together. Do you know how they would react to a cat (or at least the smell of her)? I know my cat would think it was dinner time, but I could just keep my door closed.
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Post by teraflop122 » Sat Apr 14, 2007 4:39 pm

That is too small. Two connected together should be fine. Very very young gerbils might have difficulty with the vertical tubes, but not for long. Every sight, sound, and smell will be new when you bring them home. The smell of a cat will not make any difference in their initial behavior.

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Post by Kurt_ » Sat Apr 14, 2007 5:09 pm

I had a hamster. He had a plastic cage. He almost ate through the plastic tubes.

Get a metal cage. Cheaper and will hold it better.
Hey, sup?

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Post by teraflop122 » Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:10 am

My hamster did that as well, but even a dozen-plus gerbils took several months to damage a scarce few of my tubes. For a pet meant to be watched, a metal cage could get boring real quick-like.

Actually, I always thought of the Crittertrail line as the best of both worlds. Plastic cages have the super awesome tube connections, but metal cages promote airflow and allow more interaction with the outside world. Put together and you get...Crittertrail!

Try to avoid all but the shortest of horizontal pipes, though, because they'll try to sleep in them or run and hide in them.

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Post by vskid » Sun Apr 15, 2007 11:41 am

teraflop122 wrote:Actually, I always thought of the Crittertrail line as the best of both worlds. Plastic cages have the super awesome tube connections, but metal cages promote airflow and allow more interaction with the outside world. Put together and you get...Crittertrail!
Thats why I got/had one, it wasn't just a metal box, but it wasn't a plastic death chamber either. I'll either get one of them again, or an aquarium and a screen top depending on how much they cost and how much money I have. Unfortunately, we got rid of all our aquariums (even had a screen top).
I'll hopefully get my gerbils before summer, but I have other stuff to buy right now for my laptops I'm getting. Should I go to a chain store or a little pet shop to buy them? I read that a breeder would be best, but a little shop should be the next best thing, shouldn't it?
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Post by Edutainment » Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:00 pm

I really don't like plastic cages and don't suggest them to anyone ever! Trust me, they smell completely horrible pretty quickly, and are hard to clean. I like the tubes though. It'd be good if you could put those tubes on a normal metal cage, otherwise I would just live without 'em. I once baby sat a hamster w/ a plastic cage and the hamster smelled like it hadn't been cleaned in 3 years. It also slept on its bottom with its face on its balls but lets not go there Plus! Metal cages are more mod-friendly. :lol:

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Post by teraflop122 » Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:21 pm

Dude, we were just talking about Crittertrail cages. Mostly metal + Tubing attachments = Crittertrail.

The Crittertrail 1 is kinda pushing it, but the Crittertrail 2 and 3 are nice and airy and open.

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