Talk:Gerbil
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It is possible that some reference could be made to the fictional activity of gerbilling. But not in the way that was made in the article (it implied that the activity was real). I think that since the article on gerbilling makes it clear that no such activity has ever been recorded then any mention of it here would be spurious. Cheers. --Monk Bretton 23:40, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)
- Oh please, not that story again... :) Would it not be far nicer to have more information about keeping gerbils as pets. They have very interesting character and behaviours. Very funny too! They are not "cute" and shy like hamsters but rather very brave and inquisitive. Housing them properly can also be a challenge since they can be quite good little escape artists. -- me
Gerbiling does not belong in this article.
- You're wrong. Gerbil stuffing, however mythical, relates directly to gerbils, therefore its mention is absolutely essential, no matter how much it offends the prudes. There is absolutely no precedent for excluding real information simpily
because it's distasteful, nor should there be. --Kaz 17:45, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
The idea of putting "gerbilling" in this article is all kinds of stupid, and not just because it "offends the prudes." Plenty of people insert hairbrush handles into their orifaces for sexual gratification. Should we add that information to the hairbrush article? How about we amend tongue to say "the tongue is an excellent tool for licking a horse's scrotum in the act of bestiality"? Let's amend the emergency room article to read "if you stick a gerbil in your rectum, you may need to go to an emergency room to have it extracted." I know you want to shock the prudes, but how about doing it the old fashioned way, by spray-painting swear words on overpasses?
Good point. Although "gerbilling" is more well known. I don't think it belongs in this article. It already has an article of its own. WU03 03:12, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
More about gerbils as pests, sorry, pets, would be nice. afaik they are like hamsters except even smellier. They probably make great cat food. muddypaws
- Are you kidding me? Gerbils are desert animals, which means they don't excrete much water, which means that they don't urinate or smell as much as hamsters. WU03 03:58, 29 April 2006 (UTC) -- Confirmed. - Mad_Cheese_Eater
- I once saw a gerbil chasing a cat. No lie. -- one of my gerbils attacked my rabbit. twice. - Mad_Cheese_Eater.
- yes there have been incidents like this. Gerbils (the mongolian type) can live up to their name (which means warrior of tooth and claw) so I would think any cat on the receiving end might be wise to make such a retreat...although equally there have been incidents sadly of gerbils killed by cats so those who have both should exercise caution.
Gerbils are very different from hamsters. Many are social animals and preferrably kept with the company of their own kind. Hamsters (syrians) are solitary animals. The mongolian gerbils, although mainly crepuscular, can be up or sleeping anytime of day or night, they are not nocturnal, more they have short naps followed by periods of activity. -- Confirmed. Mad_Cheese_Eater. It is also true that gerbils use water effciently and therefore produce less urine to react with bedding than hamsters, meaning less smell and less frequent cleanouts. Gerbils cat food would never take off, for the smae reason as mouse catfood, the owners wouldn't like the idea!!!
- Gerbils bite less than hamsters, have nicer tails, and interact with people better. Mad_Cheese_Eater
[edit] Picture
Which species is shown in the picture? RJFJR 16:48, August 21, 2005 (UTC)
- Mongolian. (Meriones unguiculatus?) --Rebroad 16:11, 10 September 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Merge
I disagree with suggestions that individual species of gerbillines be merged into this page (as suggested at Gerbillus gleadowi. The page is for the subfamily and if all 110+ species were merged here we'd have a mess. --Aranae 06:58, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
- Take a look at Gerbillus gleadowi, it's simply a dictionary definition. Are we going to have 110 dicdef stubs about gerbil species? I think a list on the main page would be simpler. Ifnord 14:56, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
Yes, it is now. But these entries will probably once be extended to real articles. Ucucha (talk) 15:29, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
Gerbillus gleadowi is a specific species under the generic name of Gerbil. And yes we should at least give a stub page to this and every other species that we share the planet with ;) ! All the gerbil species pages seem to be ok and the merge notice on just this one species is retrogressive. Shyamal 03:37, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] banned in California and Hawaii?
can someone explain the ban against owning these pets?
- I think it has to do with them being a possible invasive species (i.e. if they were to escape they might damage the environment), but I wouldn't put it in the article unless someone could find a reliable source (possibly the legal code in each state). WU03 04:23, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] My Gerbil
I've had guinea pigs... but now I have one gerbil. My gerbil was alone at the pet store with no family, so i took him and now he is happy. The only time i recommend getting a gerbil on its own is when it was always alone and you will constantly play with him. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.126.130.149 (talk • contribs)
all right just shut up and stop trash talking gerbils right on the gerbil talk page!
-- But you should definately try to get gerbils in groups if you can. That's very important. They are social animals. 82.110.218.140 12:46, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Mongolian Gerbil vs. Gerbil
There is an awful lot of information here that is species-specific to the Mongolian Gerbil, which has its own article. The information needs to either be taken out or revised to make it more general, since this article is about all of the Gerbillinae. ShootingStar89 15:23, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
-- The pet gerbil origonates from mongolia, making it a mongolian gerbil by full name. Mad Cheese Eater 17:35, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Trivia
"The reason it has more toes on the back feet is to allow the gerbil better balance when it is standing on its hind legs." Do we have a reference on this? I don't see how that statement could possibly be made, did someone ask a gerbil and that was the response? Xnuiem 00:44, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
- Would the gerbils know? Only the good Lord knows that, and he might have done it for no reason. Unless you believe in evolution, in which case there is no "purpose", only genetic deletion removing the fifth finger on the front paws (note: I have not studied evolution or basic biology). Either way I removed it.
- What moronic nonsense how could someone as ignorant as you possibly be able to say "Only the good Lord knows that" - it's certainly something which it would be theoretically possible to know and quite possibly some people do know. There's only one part of your statement which makes any sense and that's the part where you say you've not studied anything about what you're discussing. Keep your asinine idiocy to yourself in future. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Trewornan (talk • contribs) 21:02, 1 June 2008 (UTC)
-- does it not make sence that more toes on the back feet provide more bablance? the purpose of the tail is purely for balance. Mad Cheese Eater 17:38, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
I have see them use their tails as safety hooks. They cant quite wrap them around someething, but they can catch a horizontal object up and behind them with an upwardly curved tail when in a precarious position on all fours.
As for the "reason" for the missing thumb, there is none from a scientific view. Other than that, truly only God knows. Rather we must ask how the lack of one functions.
Keeping the thumb/big toe on the hind feet is not so suprising as is the lack of one on the hands. The gerbs I have known used a protrubence on the palm as the opposition to the four finger of the hand. Could there be a thumb bone in that? Could the protrubence on the palm make a thumb unnecessary, and therefore dispensible, or evence a hinderance, in the evulutionary process?
It seems to me that most mammals do not make much use of theit thumbs, if indeed they have them, and most primates can't oppose them to all of their fingers. A look at the skeleton of the arm and hand might reveal the answer, since it seems that most animals without certain fingers or toes, keep vestages of whatever seems missing, as do horses et al. Meanwhile, the gerbil has something opposible(!), thumb or not.
George Staffa (talk) 17:22, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
> Unless you believe in evolution, in which case there is no "purpose", only genetic deletion removing the fifth finger on the front paws <
It's simple really, if some gerbils were born with only 4 front claws as a mutation and had no disadvantage from it, the energy that their bodies would have used growing that 5th claw can get used for other purposes, so they are a tiny bit stronger than the other gerbils overall, giving their offspring an advantage. Over the hundreds of generations its the 4 claw model that becomes the standard. Flightless birds lose their wings in exactly the same way. Unless you dont believe in gravity.
--PRL1973 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.157.16.202 (talk) 22:40, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Wikiproject
I have proposed the creation of Wikiproject Pocket pets, if interested, please visit the proposal page. thanks! VanTucky 05:08, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Females more friendly than males?!
I have been breeding gerbils for years now, and have over 100. And from my observations, gerbil females are the nibbelers, males dont bite at all, unless you interfere with a viscious fight.
gerbil males kept together in large groups are usually peaceful. its smaller groups of 3 or 4 you have to watch, as they become confused over whether they are dominant or submissive. a male and a female can live together without breeding, although dont rely on this. female groups are much more quarellsome: groups of two work best. males will fight more viciously, but it is much less frequent.
- Mad_Cheese_Eater
[edit] Sexing
you can also sex a gerbil by looking at its underside when it is a blind, deaf baby. look at his/her underside, and you will see either a thick line in the middle of the stomach (the scent marker) if it is a boy, or 8 dots, soon to be teats, if it is a girl. this is easier, as some gerbil males are poorly endoured in their adolecence, and can be mistaken for girls, and sometimes the gap between the genitals looks too large for the gerbil to be a girl. we have made those mistakes many times, with inconvienient consequences ["Jethro" the girl had a litter when in with 6 males - they didnt even fight over her! weve no idea who the father is] if they are adults, they usually have quite obvious scrotal pouches - a large bump at the base of the tail, pink or black and covered with fur. females have perfectly rounded backends.
- Mad_Cheese_Eater
[edit] Drink
Gerbils do enjoy water and it is advisable to have a supply in a bottle. a bowl will have bedding flicked in it, as they are usually digging. they will also step in it, as they are not used to vast quantities of standing water, being desert animals. this may cause them mild distress. you would most probably see them running fast around the cage, shaking the water off. gerbils usually hate to get wet, again due to their desert environment.
a bottle should be fixed through bars on the outside of a cage, as if the gerbil gets to it, it will almost certainly attempt to chew the bottle. if a wire cage is used, a tray around it to catch flicked out bedding is advisable, so as to avoid mess.
water does not have to be fresh from tap, there is no harm in rainwater. however, actually, gerbils have a mechanism inside them that allows them to re-absorb their own urine, therefore meaning they need little liquid for survival, although it is kinder to supply it. fresh vegetables and fruit can be provided to give moisture. if one is doing this it is wise to not put too much in as too much will simply be buried and left to befoul the bedding.
- Mad_Cheese_Eater
[edit] Food
gerbils favorate food are seeds and nuts, high in fatty oils. sunflower seeds, pumkin seeds and peanuts are favorates of most gerbils, though they have individual preferences. do not give them too many - you will make them fat, and unhealthy. gerbils like them so much they will eat huge amount even when they are not hungry, and will even take them from your fingers, often.
they also enjoy fruit peel such as orange and banana. in fact, gerbils will eat almost anything - standard gerbil and hamster food comes with thin black pellets which are the gerbil equivalent of brussels sprouts (which they like, incidently) and usually get left until last. i have fed my gerbils on dog buiscuits and chews, rat food, rabbit food, guinea pig food, oats, various "special" treats from petshops, which in fact were not appretiated nearly as much as some parsnip cores. dont waste your money. most weeds dubbed as safe for grazing animals like rabbits or guinea pigs are fine for gerbils, although if unsure dont take the risk.
- Mad_Cheese_Eater
[edit] Cleansing
gerbils do not need water to get clean - interestingly enough, the thing that makes them clean, smooth, shiny, and cool is a sand bath. when taking gerbils out for exersize, a small basin of cool sand will be much appreciated, and true to instinct, a gerbil will automatically roll over in the sand. the effect is instinanious - their fur becomes much smoother and shinyer. no joke.
- Mad_Cheese_Eater
[edit] Health and Birth Defects
gerbils are quite hardy, and it is rare for them to get sick. seizures are comman, but usually a gerbil recovers best if left alone. direct imbreeding can be done without too much harm, but if you want the most healthy young, dont try it. we have 2 gerbils with a front poor missing, one with a back paw missing, 2 blind ones and a few strange conditions, such a bloated shape or listing slightly to one side, before righting themself and doing it again.
gerbils in age can develop deafness - a problem with the inner ear can be spotted by a gerbil leaning to one side quite obviously. the fluids in the ears affect balance. however, this does not appear to affect the gerbils too much, who have an aptitude of just getting on with things, and getting used to their conditions.
Heat and cold are not too much of a problem for gerbils. As desert animals they are used to better cold in the night and boiling heat in the day. this does NOT mean you can leave them in direct sunlight or in subzero temperatures: the reason they survive is because they take frequent shelter in their tunnels. if there are lots of gerbils, they will sleep in a huddle to avoid cold. lots of bedding should be in their cage in case of cold, as they will fluff it up to crate a nice warm bed. in heat, they will trample on it and lay on top of it. Heat can make gerbils noticably lethargic, so shade is important. They do sweat when very hot, and become thirsty more often than usual.
- Mad_Cheese_Eater
Swollen belly--
A gerbil may develop a swelling of the belly caused by leakage of urine from the kidneys. The leakage is probably caused by ureter blockage by kidney stones (says my vet after a necropsy.) The stones, in turn may be caused by too much protein in the diet (ditto the source).
It is probably best, then, to keep protein intake down below 15%. 10% is not too low. 10% is the protein content of commercial birdseed and commercial gerbil feed (the two being about the same thing). Save peanuts and sunflower seeds *mostly* for treats and training. (Some sunflower seeds can be found in commercial birdseed and commercial gerbil feed.) Definitely do not mix dog or cat kibble in the regular feed. Gerbils will dig through their feed to get at the high protein stuff.
If the swelling does occur, wait until it about doubles the gerbil's girth to obviate the need for frequent use of the following proceedure. It is probably better to take the patient to a vet for this proceedure. In the 1970's there were two independant vets, where I lived then, who would do it for $2.oo. So ask around, first. A third "Animal Hospital" charged me $20.oo. Also, one of the $2.oo vets used the same needle on both sides, giving the poor little beastie an infection that killed it. So beware.
The Proceedure
Use a *sterile* hypodermic needle and syringe to draw out the fluid, using at least a 3 ml. syringe to obviate the need for more than one puncture per side, and an i.m. needle to save time and effort. Then, one person, wearing thick leather gloves, holds the gerbil upside down and streached out so that another can (1) wipe the belly well, against the lay of the fur, with betadine (2) puncture about 1/2 inch away from the center line (which you must not cross), very obliquely and very gently until the bevel of the needle is all the way in and you can very gently draw fluid. This will be barely beyond the limit of the bevel. ( The fluid is all located outside of the peritoneum which also you must not puncture.) (3) Repeat on the other side with a second *sterile* needle for the second puncture, or resterilize the first. Best that the syringe should be new or restirilized as well.
On sterilization
If you or anything but the betadine-soaked area of the gerbile touch any part of the needle or the fitting end of the syringe, it is not sterile enough for the first puncture. Breathing on a sterile object renders it not stirile. After the first puncture also, the needle is not sterile.
While it is easier, and cheap, to use new needle and syringe for each puncture, but hear are some tips on handling and resterilization:
A new needle will be sheathed in a hard cover by which it may be handled. To manipulate any loose sterile needle use a *sterile* tweezer or forcepts to grasp it around its butt end. To sterilize the needle, first clean the outside with a clean cloth and clear any debris from the inside with clean piano wire (don't trust your eyes). Once physically cleaned, a 20 minute thorough soaking in clean household bleach in a clean container should be sufficient to sterilize, with rare exception (see "chemical sterilization"). Use the sterile tweezers/forcepts to grasp around the butt end of the needle and to attach it to the syringe. It is also best to resterilize the syringe, but with careful handling of syringe and needle, it might not be necessary between the two punctures. If resterilized on any part of the inside, the inside must be rinsed afterward with sterile water and allowed to dry. Tube and plunger must be resterilized separately and rinsed and allowed to dry separately on a sterile surface. Again, sterile forcepts are in order for all manipulation after the bleach soak.
George Staffa (talk) 23:45, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Escapes
escaped gerbils are not easy to catch, but the best way is to put food on the floor. gerbils are inquisitive, and will come out to explore. it is best to try and trap them in a space, and scoop them up gently. yu can also pick a gerbil up by it's tail, but ONLY if it is near the base of the tail (the bit nearest the back). holding the tuft may pluck out their tail fur, much to the gerbil's disgust. it is inadvisable to hold them too long by the tail - if they are in a panic they will either wriggle out your grip, twist aroud and try to nibble you, or in extreme cases, shed the tail.
you are easily alerted to gerbil escapes, as they generally make a loud drumming noise with their back feet. this is a gerbils way of warning others that danger is around, or asking for help. males also do it when fustrated, if a female will not let him mate her immediately. gerbils also seem unaware of how much noise they are making when they walk over certian surfaces: if you cannot find a gerbil, put plastic bags on the floor. the gerbil will walk right over them without thinking, and alert you to their position.
gerbils appear not to care how high up they are when they escape - they will happily drop down about 1.5 metres and just run off, landing on their feet. sometimes this cases damage to their feet, however.
- Mad_Cheese_Eater
I always throw a towel or blanket over them. They'll give you a decent bite if you snatch one too quick. 76.111.77.215 19:05, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Interaction
Gerbils love to be with other gerbil friends, and you will often see them having mini boxing matches. These are gentle play fights which usually ends in the winner pinning down the loser and grooming them. Gerbils like to sleep in a big lump, often on top of each other and in silly positions! sometimes they will absetmindedly groom each other when half asleep. Squeaks can occasionally be heard from the cages - this is nothing to worry about, as ifa gerbil is hurt it will remain silent. a squeak is usually an indication of annoyance: When a fellow gerbil steps on another without thinking, they will give a squeak, when a gerbil tries to steal another's food, they will turn into the corner with a squeak, and when a male tries to mate an unsuspecting female, she may well turn around sharply to face him and squeak at him.
Gerbils do not make eye contact with each other, as for a gerbil this is an agressive and threatening pose. The female is dominant to the male, so in a mating situation if she turns round and looks at him, he will usually squint and cower to show her he is not threatning her dominance.
When holding a gerbil, there paws and claws may be a little scratchy. you can hold them on the flat of your hand, but usually they will feel unsuported and accidently back off your hand and fall. Usually, to cup them in your hands or hands is best, or if they are wriggely, let them run from one hand to the next. Don't squeeze them, or hold them too long! When annoyed, a gerbil who is feeling cranky might give you a nip. They're more likely to be cranky if you keep disturing their rest.
Gerbils like to run in exersize wheels, but if you let them run in the house, they may get stuck under chairs and suchlike. The naughty ones may chew the lid to try and escape, and most of them will poo, which means you would have to clean the ball, and some would probably drop through the air slits and onto the carpet... Not nice! if the ball can be attached to a rack and placed to box, with the oppertunity to get out when they wish, that would be better. However, if the ball or wheel is in their cage, it is always availabel to chew. a period of 15 - 30 minuites playtime in a seperated area is probably best. gerbils alos love to play in sand (see above).
DO NOT let your gerbils loose of the floor. They WILL run away, and hide in the most inaccesable places. Gerbils are used to tunnels, so are likely to find somewhere dark and narrow. not the most intelagent creatures, they may not be able to get themselves out again. So, watch them carefully! If you place them on a table or any surface without solid, gapless walls, floors and ceilings, they require your full attention.
gerbils love to jump, climb, chew, and dig. they digging motions are very comman: the gerbil screwes it's face up and moves its arms so rapidly they are a blur, making a light scratching noise on the side of their cage... IF it is solid. gerbils cannot do this in a barred cage, but use their powerful back feet to dig holes and tunnels in the bedding. gerbils are not unhappy in their living environment when they dig - they are merely acting on instinct. even if you get them out to play, the moment you put them back in they'll start digging, most likely. thy are unaware that their attempt are fruitless. if they are in a clear tack, they will scratch at the corners and you will be able to see them. it's very amusing to watch.
gerbils often stand at a high place and keep lookout. if you make a noise, they will often stand up straighter to investigate. every s often the "lookout" switches. Sometimes gerbil zone out while chewing on the bars, giving them a dazes, half asleep look. often they will stop moving and just sit there with their teeth clamped firmly over the bars. dont be concerned, thats just gerbils for you. they are still sensitive to noises and shadows, as in the wild gerbils are prey for birds and snakes.
George Staffa says:
I always used cedar chips, two to three inches deep, in a fish tank to contain it and to give them a wall they could not chew at andd break their teeth on. Then I would give them an old sock (anything with knapp--eg. no stretch nylon, but fuzzy orlon is fine). They would chew all of it to shreds and threads and mix it together into a fluffy matrix through which they could tunnel. It was a hoot! It was also neat to see them try to tunnel through the glass. With nothing else in the tank they would dig at the corners. But give them a tomato paste can with the ends cut out, and inner edges buffed with emery cloth, and voila! instant hole, which they would place end flat to the glass, and dig furriously from inside of.
They also had 2 remarkable sleep behaviors. Alone, they would tuck their noses between their hind legs and rest on their heads. As a group, they would form a heap with the dominant gerb on top, and the most immature on the bottom. I surmise that the top gerb was on lookout, while the bottom gerb was most protected. The pattern never changed. It was truly touching to observe.
Then there was grooming. They could each groom her own belly, but another gerb was needed to groom other parts, during which the groomee would make little high pitched sighing noises. Since I have it on good authority that most gerbil talk is too high pitched for human ears, perhaps these were not so much sighs as groans as a human would make during a massage. (I have been "groomed" by a gerbil. their little tongues press suprisingly hard.) The litter, as I describe it above, also grooms them as they tunnel through it. But the most interesting and amusing grooming behavior is the double-team belly groom. One gerbil cannot overturn another without a fight, but two can wrangle a third belly up to groom. They sigh/groan during this grooming as well.
George Staffa (talk) 17:28, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
12.34.17.158 (talk) 21:57, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Life in the Desert
Gerbils live undergrond in a network of tunnels. these tunnels include chambers with families. adults move away and meet otehrs from other chambers, extend the network, create their own chamber and breed. gerbils come up for food and water. there is no evidence of hourding food... it looks as though its every gerbil for themself. its possable both parents leave nesslings to fend for themselves, as youg'uns have a remarkable ability to jump very high, even with their underdeveloped back feet. they are wrigglely and even when they are only lightly furred and blind, on the slightest disturbence of the nest, they bumble as fast as they can in all directions, until the mother comes and gathers them all up, hoding them in strange places with her teeth. The young squeak when feeding and being picked up. a litter will be of about 6 gerbils on average, although losses due to runts, defects and occasionall, unexplainable persecution from other gerbils sometimes make the eventual litter 1 or 2 short. [I know this should be in the raising young section...]
Gerbils feet are hairy on the botton, to protect them from the scorching hot sand.
[edit] Mating and Raising Young
gerbils will spend a long time mating, it is frequently short bursts folowed by frantic chases around the cage. do not try and intervene: the female is not unnhappy, she just likes to make the male work hard. occasionally, she will squeak and make flick motions to get him off. thats normally when hes a stranger, as often, you can introduce a male and a female and they will get on straight away. males will not attack females except in rare circumstances, which include them having been sepperated from their origonal wives, or widowed. a female may attack a male, but he is more than a match for her.
mothers have been known to eat their young, which could be for a number of reasons. if more than one female has litters, they are unlikely to peacably share a nest, and will instead kill and eat each others babies. hareems are not really ideal for gerbils. some gerbil females attack young once they are weaned if she is expecting again: this is when she feels she has not got enough space to rear new young, and wants the older gerbils out.
males generally leave the young alone, but they do help wash them and suchlike. interestingly, usually only the mother returns nestlings to the nest if they bumble out. the other gerbils sniff them and walk off.
[edit] Fighting
Gerbils, when fighting, may chase each other frantically round the cage, amid small squeaks of protest by the victim. This is usually a case of bullying by one gerbil. If the feeling is mutual, the gerbils will stare each other down, pounce on one another and clamp their teeth around each other's neck, faces or suchlike in an attempt to draw blood. Gerbils can injure each other seriously in this way, but they will most often recover of their own accord if seperated and kept in a clean, safe environment with food and water. gerbil fighting is not difficult to spot - it is very loud and may last a long time.
Gerbils fighiting will usually be on top of each other, rollong over and over rapidly, banging hard into the side of the cage and off of sideless surfaces without seperating or even noticing. It is difficult to pull wo fighting gerbils apart, and you may be tempted to put your fingers in between them. BUT gerbils will accidently bite you in the fray if you do this, so either use an object to seperate them or wear thick gloves, as gerbil bites obtained in this way can be quite deep. If gerbils are left to resolve the dispute, they will most likely fight to the death, so they must be placed in different cages or areas. Attempts to put them back together when they calm down are sometimes succesful, but more often than not, it will not work.
A lead up to a fight is also not too hard for an astute person to spot: can include chasing, persistent sniffing and following, and one gerbil forcing another to stay in a set area of the cage, usully in a corner or higher up. Also, one gerbil hunched, ruffled and looking thin due to not being alowed near the food bowl can indicate a disagreement prior to a fight. [however this behaivour is also presnt in illnesses, mostly Tyzzer's Disease.] If you observe these behaivours, it is best to watch for changes fo better or worse for a bit longer. If it appears to be effecting health of one, both or all gerbils, it is best to remove one / seperate both gerbils. It is not clear whether it is better to remove the victim or bully, as sometimes the bully turns on another cage mate if there is more than 2 and he is left with them, sometimes other cage mates attack the victim. Removing both could result in confusion of dominance, breaking out in more fighting. One with an injury other than a shed tail should be removed (shed tails are comman and not serious).
Fighting is very rarely between gerbils of opposite sexes - if you have a lone gerbil, they are more likely to go with a gerbil of the opposite sex (unfortuanatly there is a 70% chance they'll breed if in their fertile period) Female fights are more comman, but male fights are generally more viscious.
[edit] GERDS
Perhaps because I'm not 100% sure of the spelling, I can't find these on the internet. Ther are big versions of gerbils, with ears more pinned to the side of the head, larger, very yellow nearly orange teeth, and less likely to have tails as they fight and bite them off. because of their destructive nature, not-so-social to cage mate behaivoour, size, and liability to get sick very easily, they are not kept as pets. however there are specimins in a cage in london zoo, near the children's zoo. there was also a wildlife program covering - apparantly if their teeth go white, they are unwell.
-- I think hey are called "Jirds" - article says "bushy tailed jirds" but has no wikipedia page.
Mad Cheese Eater 17:33, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
EDIT: GRRR! it's really annoying, I'm trying to find sources from the internet to back up what I already know, but it's impossable! The sites that talk about gerbils are either non specific, or just plain wrong. For example "Gerbils don't sweat"... Where the hell did that come from?! They DEFINATELY sweat!!
[edit] Diurnal?
Source please. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 02:50, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
- William Weber's Care of Uncommon Pets says, "While not nocturnal, they are active both night and day". Septentrionalis PMAnderson 17:08, 23 June 2007 (UTC)
My experience has been that they are active more at night than in day time.
George Staffa (talk) 17:33, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Ref tags
Are broken, and could use some cleaning up... Chubbles 00:31, 7 July 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Reasons for popularity
My guess is that this was written by a gerbil fancier who wanted to promote gerbils as pets. The care section, as well, needs major cleaning or removal--reads like a how-to guide. 206.248.157.12 01:27, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
[edit] fixed "Cite error 8; No text given"; no claim of accuracy etc.
Those errors in your refs were eyesores. I went way back in the page hist to recover the refs and replace the original refs on the page... They do not look they are formatted in any standard manner, plus I simply deleted one that did not look like a reliable source. I can't do everything for you; y'all need to wash your own dishes. 'Nuff said! Ling.Nut (talk) 09:45, 20 November 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Can I add my information to the page?
As everyone can see, the gerbil page is severly lacking in information on gerbil care and behaivour. I know quite a lot about gerbils and I would like to be able to add the information I have written in the discussion page (see above) to the main page. I don't have any sources, because these are my own observations as a gerbil breeder. The information is both detailed and accurate, but I would like some kind of official permission to add it to the main page, otherwise I have done little more than vandalise the article.
Any ideas?
Mad Cheese Eater (talk) 10:32, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
- Don't be afraid to add stuff. Just please don't go overboard with outbound links. Things will stick when most of the editors like it. Go for it, surprise us all Wit (talk) 16:25, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
I have added my experiences, and I will attempt to find valid sources. Please bear with me. I would also like to suggest we change the main picture - when people think gerbil, it is usally the typical mongolian gerbil they expect to see. That specimine is the fat tailed gerbil, and i misleading. It also looks like a consistency error. Mad Cheese Eater (talk) 23:33, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
- I disagree with an image change. There are over 100 species of gerbil and this page pertains to all of them as a group, the Gerbillinae. We should have an image representing that diversity precisely because most people think of Meriones unguiculatus. If any change is called for, it should be an animal in its natural habitat. --Aranae (talk) 02:08, 13 December 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Staying on topic
This article seems to have way too much unneeded information. It talks about how to catch escaped gerbils, how to feed gerbils, and things like their cage and handling. This is just a manual for owning a gerbil, not an actual helpful article about the origin of gerbils as a species or what areas of the world they came from. Really, it even cuts off and starts talking about a Jerboa at one point. Even if they are related, I came here to learn about GERBILS not Jerboas! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zakreon (talk • contribs) 23:49, 25 January 2008 (UTC)
- I propose major deletions to this article. I have marked the sections I think need cleaning up with the How To template. Not only is this material contrary to the WP:NOT official policy, but it is also written in a chatty, unencyclopaedic style. There are lots of other wikis out there which specialise in this sort of stuff about pets. I am sure that the editors who wrote this can find a more suitable home. Sadly, Wikipedia is the wrong place. SpinningSpark 08:56, 8 February 2008 (UTC)
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- You have done a grand job, Apostle Joe, of getting this material into a more suitable style - well done. However, there is still the question of whether it should be in this article at all. It is still my opinion that it is more suitable to another wiki (eg Pets Wiki) or if not that, at least a new page (eg Gerbils as pets). Any other opinions? SpinningSpark 23:32, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
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Don't seem to be getting much of a discussion on this from the editors adding the material. In one final effort to get them to state their case before I actually go ahead and start deleting, I have now added the "Relevance" tag to the disputed section. This is a slightly different issue to the "Howto" tag which has now had some attempt at addressing this, at least in style if not in actual content. Just to make it clear - the material is not relevant to this article because it all relates to a single pet species whereas the article relates to the entire Gerbillinae family. Further, it is in any case against policy (WP:NOT) to have articles which are "how to" guides. This includes "how to" keep pets. SpinningSpark 19:31, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
- For what little it's worth, from someone who doesn't know this particularly subject that well, I think material on gerbils as pets is at best peripheral information for this article. This article should be basically about the subject of "gerbils" in toto. Certainly, there is probably enough information on the subject to make the article a long FA. This is not to say that the content regarding gerbils as pets is necessarily ineligible for inclusion, as there is, so far as I can tell, a good deal of information from apparently reliable sources on that subject. However, I too tend to agree that that content, which deals with a rather limited aspect of the larger subject, should be perhaps placed primarily in a separate article, with a comparatively short summary section and a link to that article in the main article. Anyway, that's my not particularly well-informed opinion. John Carter (talk) 17:44, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
Ok, that seems pretty unanimous in favour of deletions with the exception of ApJ who was copyediting, I believe, in response to the previous HowTo tagging rather than expressing an opinion. In any case, there have been no counter arguments so the consensus is delete. SpinningSpark 19:26, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
- I think you've overdone it somewhat. Not all of that was about how to keep them as pets. And besides (at the risk of insulting all of wild gerbilkind) they are in fact mainly pets Wit (talk) 22:47, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
I agree, too much seems to have been deleted. Therefore I have reverted. I suggest the deletions are done in a succession of small edits rather than one big edit which is hard to revert if done incorrectly, as it appears to have been done in this case. --Rebroad (talk) 10:57, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
May I also advise, as should be done with gerbils, that any deletions are not simply discarded never to be seen again, but instead moved to a new home that will look after them in the way they deserve. Suggestions include wikibooks (for the howtos), or Gerbils as pets on here. Once these new articles are created, they should be referenced from this article, so that people may still find them. Cheers, --Rebroad (talk) 11:00, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Image
I disagree with the use of an image of Meriones unguiculatus in captivity as the taxobox image. It's part of a rampant emphasis on this species that is found throughout this article, which belongs in the species specific article or in an article specifically about pet gerbils. The Gerbillinae is a diverse group, part of our goal is to inform the reader, and I think we do that best if we choose an image that reflects some of that diversity. --Aranae (talk) 18:19, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
- So do I, so I have reverted it. I find it unacceptable that this change was made after you had objected above without replying to you with a rationale. SpinningSpark 23:05, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
I agree that the diversity of any subject should be included in wikipedia articles. However, other than avoiding systemic bias, the main article picture should be representative and easily identifiable for the subject matter being covered. Any deviations from the norm, such as Meriones unguiculatus, should be included elsewhere in the article. Imagine, for a moment, if we were to adopt the policy you suggest for all wikipedia articles - no one would be able to recognise half of the subjects being covered! Do I need to give examples to further explain my point? --Rebroad (talk) 15:52, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
By the way, the image that was used to replace the long-standing image is ALSO an image of two gerbils on a wooden table - is that their natural habitat?! --Rebroad (talk) 15:54, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
Aw man I love that picture. As for natural habitat my gerbil seems to live under my cupboard —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.16.79.39 (talk) 08:28, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Captive-bred gerbil colors
The title says 'color,' but the article uses 'colour.' Should the title of the section be changed or should the words in the paragraph be changed to reflect the title? —Preceding unsigned comment added by The Equilibrium (talk • contribs) 01:20, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
- I went ahead and made some changes to make the word consistent. Hope it is not a problem.The Equilibrium (talk) 03:24, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
I was wondering if gerbils can be bred to get a longhard variety any suggestions are welcome.
