Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I just got my gerbils on saturday and they are so cute. The black one with a little white on him is very personable and likes to be out and on my shoulder. The all black one doesnt like to come out and doesnt like to be on my shoulder (he trys to jump off). I have two questions that I hope you can answer. Are popsicle sticks ok for them to have? I eat popsicles a lot and thought that would be a cheap way for them to get to chew on wood. Instead of buying wood chew sticks I could just wash off the popsicle stick and give it to them. Thanks . Also I have another question. My black one with a little white itches all the time. Other than that he is normal. His eyes are wide and bright, he is very active, and eats/drinks normally. He itches constantly and is always licking his private area. Is that area supposed to be all pink or is that because of his licking, etc? The all black male's private area is fine looking and is black like the rest of him. Thanks

>>Are popsicle sticks ok for them to have? I eat popsicles a lot and thought that would be a cheap way for them to get to chew on wood. Instead of buying wood chew sticks I could just wash off the popsicle stick and give it to them. Thanks .

Popsicle sticks are fine. Cardboard cereal boxes/egg cartons are also good chewing toys for gerbils and help to offset the cost of bedding as the critters are essentially recycling the cardboard items into a bedding material therefore meaning you don't need to use as much of the store bought stuff <g>

>>Also I have another question. My black one with a little white itches all the time. Other than that he is normal. His eyes are wide and bright, he is very active, and eats/drinks normally. He itches constantly and is always licking his private area. Is that area supposed to be all pink or is that because of his licking, etc? The all black male's private area is fine looking and is black like the rest of him. Thanks

The gerbil may have an allergy to something (a certain type of material in the cage or even to a certain food item) or he may have mites/lice. You may want to take him to a vet to be looked at. A simple skin scrape by the vet and then looked at under a microscop should be able to show if there is possible mites/lice. If that comes up clean, then it's possible it could be an allergy. I had a long-haired, black-eyed white hamster who had irritating skin allergies to most bedding materials... took me a few weeks of trying different things to find what caused the flare ups and what didn't.... green chlorphyl bedding while it didn't bother him...didn't mix well with a white hamster... you end up with a critter who has a green rear-end all the time <g>. I eventually opted for aspen bedding for him.
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Wyvern

Ok good. I will have to try cereal boxes and egg cartons once we run out of those. Oh poor thing. My dog has MAJOR BAD allergies and its even so bad that she has to get shots by me every 6 days. For the mites/lice, wouldnt I be able to see them crawling on him? And wouldnt he give them to the other gerbil? The other one seems fine. I think I will change the bedding to aspen once the HUGE bag of carefresh runs out. If he still itches as much then I will take him to the vet and get a skin scrape. Thanks a lot

>Popsicle sticks are fine. Cardboard cereal boxes/egg cartons >are also good chewing toys for gerbils
>
>The gerbil may have an allergy to something (a certain type of >material in the cage or even to a certain food item) or he may >have mites/lice. You may want to take him to a vet to be looked >at. A simple skin scrape by the vet and then looked at under a >microscop should be able to show if there is possible >mites/lice. If that comes up clean, then it's possible it could >be an allergy. I had a long-haired, black-eyed white hamster >who had irritating skin allergies to most bedding materials... >took me a few weeks of trying different things to find what >caused the flare ups and what didn't.... green chlorphyl >bedding while it didn't bother him...didn't mix well with a >white hamster... you end up with a critter who has a green rear->end all the time <g>. I eventually opted for aspen bedding for >him.
>Wyvern

I understand the economics of waiting until you run out of bedding, but maybe you should try buy small bags of other stuff and just put the large bage of carefresh away. AS you well know i'm sure, ceder bedding- that red stuff- can be leathal to pets. So stear clear of that. At least if you start trying new beddings now, you can know for sure. those big bags are usually only 6 bucks anyway, i'm sure the gerbils cost more than that.