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Angel22

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Messages
341
Location
Canada
Three sister gerbils in need of a new home as in new cage. I'm allergic to them but am going to try some changes to be able to keep them.
I need a 30 gallon aquarium for cheap or free!!!!!

Edit: Great news. I was able to rig up a box to set their cage in that will catch the shavings and changed the shavings. So far all is well and my three gerbils are as content as can be.
 
Seriously? You are giving up your gerbils because you got rats? Why would you get the rats if you knew you wouldn't have time for more animals? How is it fair to your gerbils that they get uprooted from their home because you got a shiny new toy to play with. What about when you find a new pet? Will you decide you have no time for your rats and re-home them? Animals are living things they aren't disposable. When you take an animal into your family it should be there for life. It is a commitment you make to the animals. Unless there is no possible way to keep them , like you are moving to Europe or you are deathly allergic or something like that, you should not re-home and animal simply because you got lazy or you got a new pet and are bored of the pets you have.

That is extremely irresponsible and unfair to the animals. Next time you decide to bring a new pet into your home make sure you carefully consider why you are getting the pet and if you are able to provide for it for the remainder of its life, financially and emotionally, otherwise don't get the pet.

I wont say anymore because I am rather infuriated right now.

Edit: I just saw your post about getting another rat? If you already don't have time for the pets you have why do you keep getting more?

Edit again: I see you have edited your original post to say you are allergic. To anyone else seeing this, the original simply said that her rats are taking up her time. I think I am justified in my opinion and this is the last I will say on the matter.
 
Lady u sound like a spolid preeteen. To inform you I am allergic to the gerbils but not rats. Got tested to make sure before I brought them into my home. FWI the lady who is getting Hex wants to trade me a female for him. She feels bad just taking him and had a dozen baby rats on her hands because of a mess up in the pet store just like me.
I came to this forum for advice not to be judged.
Good day.
 
Angel22 said:
Lady u sound like a spolid preeteen.
Click to expand...

By what right do you come to this conclusion? Cinder made some very valid points and I think that makes her sound responsible, not 'spoiled'. Your original post said that you wanted to get rid of the gerbils because they were taking up too much of your time and she told you frankly that if that was indeed the case, it was a poor decision to get rats (especially considering the fact that you are getting another rat - regardless of what the circumstances are). Only you know if you are being 100% honest about the situation. If you are then there should be no problem here; if not, hopefully she gave you something to think about.
 
Angel22 said:
Lady u sound like a spolid preeteen. To inform you I am allergic to the gerbils but not rats. Got tested to make sure before I brought them into my home. FWI the lady who is getting Hex wants to trade me a female for him. She feels bad just taking him and had a dozen baby rats on her hands because of a mess up in the pet store just like me.
I came to this forum for advice not to be judged.
Good day.
Click to expand...

The only mistake Cinder made was not quoting your original post. When you get a companion animal, you should honestly consider if you are able to care for them for the rest of their lives. If you are indeed allergic to gerbils, you should have rehomed them and made sure they were cared for before you got rats. What next? You're going to get ferrets and dump the rats? Maybe a dog? Or maybe you'll get pregnant and not have time for any of your pets.

In this this post you mention your gerbils in an effort to defend yourself as a responsible pet owner - did you not know you were allergic to them and had to rehome them a few days ago?

[quote2="Angel22":28fro05e]I can't afford the drive to the nearest rat vet to neuter him and if I return him to the pet store he will be sold as a feeder which is what I bought him from in the first place. Please someone help me out. I want him to go to a great home where he will be loved.
To SQ: I don't appreciate you only quoting that part of the conversation as it makes me look like a bad person towards animals and I am not. I own two amazing cats three gerbils and six beta fish plus my three female rats and Hex the male I am unable to look after properly, hence why I am trying to rehome him.[/quote2:28fro05e]

And seriously, if you're going to call someone a spoiled pre-teen, use proper spelling and grammar. Otherwise, you're the one that looks like you are either is junior school and still writing regular spelling tests or a tool that can't/won't use spellcheck. If you don't care enough about what you write to give it a quick once over, don't expect anyone to take you seriously.
 
The care and commitment of a pet is huge. Most of us here believe that pets should be with you for life.
Animals go through such stress and hardship when being rehomed constantly. When you think about it, those gerbils are still in a good home with you if you provide them with water, food and a clean habitat. If you can find someone who can do better than that's good but ultimately the responsibility is yours and that's what we are trying to "teach" you.
Be passionate for your pets. Be their hero and make sure they have the best lives.
 
As Jorats said, most people on here believe in making a commitment to your pets for their lives. Circumstances need to be very extreme for most to ever consider rehoming a pet and many on here rescue animals. I can't add to what the others have said so I'll give you some info.

Many people with allergies find that they are allergic to the type of bedding being used.
Just so you know, if you are allergic to a pet that does not mean that you need to rehome it.
There are quite a few people on here that are allergic to their rats but do things to deal with their allergies and would never consider giving them away.

For airborne allergies, many people use an air filter with a permanent hepta filter and replaceable carbon filters (Not an ionizer). If there is a problem with contact allergies from their little claws, wear long sleeves, and there is ointment you can use to help your skin heal.

Gerbils will do fine in a large clean cage with friends, toys, good food, water, vet care etc. Also, they really should not be in the same room as rats and the rats should never have access to them or to the gerbil cage because the rats will kill them .... horribly. To my knowledge, gerbils do not require the same level of interaction that rats require.

It is difficult to find good homes for small animals but if you really want to rehome them, I hope you only let them go to a wonderful home where people will make the commitment to care for them for the remainder of their lives. Make sure you use a contract with a return clause saying they must be returned to you if the person no longer wants them - this will help to protect them. Many animals rehomed on kijiji are rehomed many times and end up in horrible situations.
 
Id like to keep them but need a way to fix a few things before I can even hope to be able to try.
1) The mess. They constantly kick their shavings out of the cage and their poop, leading to making me even sicker.
Im using a two story hamster cage and they love it. I need a way to keep their shavings and poop in their cage!
2) Food bowl dumping. They never keep their food upright so they waste most of their food by kicking it out after they dump it. What can i use to stop this!!!!!!

If any of you have any advice I will gladly listen.
Also im using aspen shavings as I was told by the breeder that i got them from that thats all thats safe for them. Is this true? If not id love to change as it may be the shavings that are adding to the allergies.
 
Gerbils are the only rodent that is recommended to be kept in an aquarium. A 30 gal aquarium (the one measuring 30x12x12) with a secure wire lid would be a suitable habitat for them. Bigger is always better of course, just make sure the aquarium is not higher than it is deep so there is enough airflow. Gerbils really like to tunnel and burrow so if they're in a cage, it should have a deep base for them to do so.

You can put a couple of inches of bedding in every other week and add some cardboard tubes, egg cartons, etc. for them to shred. Everything in the habitat should be chew resistant (water bottle, bowl, wheel) as they can destroy plastic very quickly. I usually find those ceramic food bowls sold at pet supply stores (they're often brown and blue) are really difficult to be tipped or tossed around. (They should have a wheel the size of a medium Silent Spinner or larger.) Wooden houses, apple tree branches and twigs, and other safe wood chews are also appreciated.

I think some people have tried bin cages for gerbils with mixed success as sometimes they chew their way out. If wouldn't try this route with cats in the home.

Aspen shavings are safe but they often aggravate people's allergies. Carefresh or Boxo would be suitable substitutes and would likely not aggravate your allergies.
 
Thank you very much. I will begin to look for a cheap 30 gallon tank. I always give my girls things to shred. Their favourite is empty paper towel or toilet paper tubes as they love to shred them from inside them :emb:
In their cage right now are two wooden houses. One shaped like a house and one in a goofy shape to play on. They like to sleep in a three way ball ON the goofy shaped one. A medium sized silent spinner that they LOVE. A ceramic bowl that is always being knocked over. I think it's because there are three of them. Then of course their water bottle.
I will definitely try the other shavings!!!!
Now, how would I attach the water bottle to a tank?
 
There are metal holders designed to attach water bottles to tanks.

I forgot to mention - gerbils should also be offered sand baths. You can buy one of those critter baths for them to use or just put a bit of sand in a bowl and offer it for 10-15 minutes per day. It may take some time for them to figure it out if they've never used one but most of the gerbils and dwarf hamsters at the shelter figure it out.
 
You really shouldn't be so rude to people you don't know. Cinder is right, no matter how terrible of allergies you have, you should have found a home for your gerbils BEFORE you got your rats. my understanding is that your rats are pretty young and you only got them awhile ago, so stop acting like such a SPOILED PRE-TEEN by being so quick to get rats when you still had the gerbils. its like when kids my age (pre-teens) have a blackberry then go crying for an I-phone, but its obviously different because your getting rid of SOMEONE with feelings.
 

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