Seeking Advice About a Pet Gerbil for My Nine Year Old

From experience ,you the mom will be talking care of it, once the excitement wears off, no one else will care for it.

I had two gerbils when I was younger. i don't recall them being very fun pets They bit my mother several times and they did not live very long. I don't remember if there was an odor, just that they were not that much fun.

Hi, P.. I bought my sister a gerbil when she was nine years old(25 years ago). They will make quite a bit of noise at night. I do not suggest that the gerbil be put in your daughter's room. In order to control the odor, I changed her every week during the summer. I also used a pine scented bedding for her cage that minimized the odor. During the winter months, you can change the cage less ofter (dependent upon how well you tolerate the odor). I don't have any experience with cats and gerbils. However, I can tell you that my cousins had problems with their animals with the gerbils in the house. They needed to keep them out of harms way. You may also want to consider the lifespan of a gerbil. They only live between four to five years. I know how hard it was on my sisters when we had to bury it.

Good luck.

When I was little I had a Hamster. I think I was 12 when I got it, so I was old enough to take care of it myself.

Last year a friend gave us her Gerbil because she was moving out of the country and obviously couldn't take it with her. My kids would not play with it because it bit me once. I had to clean the cage, and feed it and everything. My older kids are 7 and 8. Then it finished off the hole it had started chewing at my friends house, got out of the cage, and disappeared. We never found it, but my husband did find a bag of bird seed that had a hole eaten through it in the basement.

I like rats myself. They are awesome pets, and big enough so you don't feel like you will squeeze it too hard. We also have rabbits who are litter trained. Which ever small pet you decide to get, make sure you get it while it's a baby (I mean as soon as it's weaned). Hold it a lot so it's friendly. That way you have less chance of it biting you. Also, when you get a cage wire is probably best, but you have to make sure the wires are very close together. Full size gerbils, hamsters, and rats can get out of a hole the size of a quarter!

One more thing (keep editing), if you get a rat only get one. The same probably holds true for gerbils and hamsters. They are very social little things, and will not want to play with you if they have a friend in their cage. Of course that means you'll have to spend plenty of time with them, but that's the point of getting one, right? And as for the night time noise, you'll just have find a place furthest from your bedroom. They will definately keep you up at night if they have a wheel in their cage.

From a mom whose daughter has had 2 hamsters amongst other things. Think it throught.... your concerns are valid. They can stink, but usually only if the cage is not cleaned often enough and thourougly. Which is really important, cause if not done properly they can get sick and possibly even die. And you think the whining is bad now... wait until one dies ( they only live a few years)and she wants a replacement. They are nocturnal and you can only imagine how that wheel squeaks at night, when everything else is super quiet and your mommies ears are
tuned in to hear every mouse fart :). The cats unless very docile will likely torment it, especially at night when they also are more awake and nobody is waching their misdeeds. I don't mean to be a party pooper, I love pets and we've had everything, dog, cats, birds, a 6 ft lizard ,hamsters, gerbils, hermit crabs and fish and several combinations of the above. Also the rodents can be quite the excape artist. Everyone seems to be fond of guinea pigs, personally I can't stand the constant squeaking and grunting. Who wants to hear that all the time.
A pet is a "until death do us part" commitment, as far as I am concerned, so be careful for the critters sake what you decide. Good luck hope it all works out

I will tell you from my experience. My daughter was 3 when my sister bought her 2 gerbils, and boy was I thrilled (I'm am being sarcastic). Actually they are very easy to take care of. We had a plastic habitat for them. They really don't smell as long as you clean the cage every 1 - 2 weeks. They sell odor absorbing wood chips, adn even though they poop alot it doesn't smell. Make sure you get a metal wheel because mine would chew on the plastic ones that come with the cage setup. As far as food, they don't much, I gave them a little each morning and changed the water every other day. Of course at the age of 3, my daughter really didn't take care of them, I did, but it was pretty simple. At age 9, I think it is a good pet, adn they usually live about 2 - 3 years. You are right about the noise though. They are active at night and I kept the cage in the kitchen in an open plastic storage container becuase they would kick the bedding out of the cage frequently. They tame very easily and become friendly. Not sure of how your cats would respond. We have a 7 lb. chihuahua who could have cared less even when he was nose to nose with them. All in all it was a pleasant experience.

Rachel's Mom

My daughter turned 8 last September and we got her a gerbil after much research. Some things you should know: gerbils are not nocturnal in the sense that they nap for a few hours and then play for a few hours all day/night long. I would not recommend that you keep the cage in your daughter's room. Gerbils will pick one area of the cage for their potty. If you keep the cage clean (I clean ours about 1 time per week) there's usually not too much odor. The main difference between gerbils and hamsters is that hamsters don't mind being handled when they're awake (which may be at night of course). Hamsters can be cuddly whereas gergils are quick as lightening and all but impossible to catch in your hand and certainly hard to hold on to. Ours will tolerate being held while in a somewhat sealed fishtank (they are able to jump quite high), but we can't take him out and play with him. If yours were to get out of his cage, your cats would certainly go after him like they would a mouse. My advice is to get a book about gerbils at the library or do some online research. We learned a lot ahead of time, but we're still learning. All told, we enjoy watching ours eat, play and chew on anything cardboard (great way to recycle). If your daughter is looking for a cuddly pet, try something besides a gerbil. Good luck.

My daughter is now 9 and we got her a hamster when she turned 8 last year. It was rough at first because she is now on her 3rd hamster due to a defect in the first cage we got. My advice is go with a metal cage and not plastic, for the cats I have a cat and a dog and we keep the hamster on my daughters dresser which is up high and the other animals leave it alone. For the stink, we change the cage once a week and this seems sufficient. For the noise at night mostly it's the wheel that creates the problem, easy fix if your daughter is a light sleeper take the wheel out at night. For the most part my daughter has done well with this pet, she just needs reminding every now and then to give her pet food and water. I think a small hamster or gerbil is the perfect first time pet for a 9 year old to be able to take care of herself.

My first pets were a pair of gerbils - I begged my dad for them when I was 8, I think. There may be cleaner, cuddlier pets, but I absolutely loved them. I remember using a disinfectant spray made especially for gerbils when I cleaned them, having to oil their wheel, and making sure that their lid was always secure (we also had cats). My best memory is when they had babies on Christmas day - we sold the babies back to the pet store when they were weaned. All in all, I think each family has different criteria that needs to be met regarding noise level, cleanliness, and interaction. (for example, rats really are great pets, but my mom had a thing about hairless tails...so we compromised with gerbils!) Good luck finding the perfect first pet! :-)

Gerbils are NOT nocturnal, but they have do have several sleep/awake cycles during a 24 hr periods so they can be up at night at times. The aquarium (best choice) helps buffer some sound of the scratching and chewing, but you might want to find a spot that is not near where people sleep. With an aquarium you need a mesh cover. They are busy, and better than hamsters since they do things during the day the kids can see. Hamsters are VERY noisy at night. They say that gerbils are social and do well in pairs, but I'm not sure how the pet store knows how to tell the sex. If they can it's good to get 2 females since the males are a little smellier. Unlike hamsters, you have to be careful about a wheel since their feet are smaller they could get caught in wire wheel, and they have longer tails that can get caught in wheels as well, so if you get a wheel it needs to be one for a gerbil, or modified with duct tape so there are no spaces in the wire. They chew on plastic cages and can get themselves out, and they try to chew on wire and squeeze themselves out, plus they make a mess with the bedding. They like to run through toilet paper rolls and reduce them to shreds. They are desert animals (they don't pee and poop alot) so bedding can be changed twice a month, you can use a paper pulp based bedding - cedar and pine shavings are not good for them. They will need a water bottle, they eat seeds for food and they needs toys to chew but not plastic. They are work but can be fun and a good way to learn for kids; about caring for pets and eventually death (they live about 2-3 years). They are not as smelly and as noisy as hamsters. And the cats - if the gerbils are in an aquarium they will be safe from the cat, my cat loves to watch any other animal in a cage, she is fascinated and will touch the glass but never tried to get in. Believe it or not, I have found frogs and lizards to be the easiest for kids to help to care for, except they eat live crickets (but you don' thave to touch them, just dump the bag in the tank). The kids can learn to spray them with water 2-3 times a day. My husband takes them out of the tank and puts them in a smaller one for cleaning, but my son can help clean since you only need to rinse and then put it all back - he has fun with it. Cats are also easy, anything else we have had (including fish since tank cleaning can be time consuming) is just as much work as a dog. Good Luck!

my sons had hamsters-similar but smaller. The nocturnal aspect is not to be ignored. They are very very active at night, and unless you have a house where you can put them far far away from where you sleep, you will hear them. Also, hamsters really want out-- I don't know about gerbils. So they spend their time chewing their habitat to escape.We found that glass aquariums worked better than 'hamster habitats' because they would chew through the plastic but not the glass.
It is great for kids to have pets to learn to love and bond and to take responsibility, but that's my experience.

I went through the hamster stage and 2 dogs...one who wanted to eat the hamster so it would be close to a cat. We just kept the hamsters out of reach

Having a pet is wonderful to develop a sense of responsibility for your children. However, my experience that the children can not be the only caretaker. It takes several months for them to initiate cleaning and feeding the pet on their own. If you are looking to have them take full repsonsibility, it is not a good idea.

Noise helps us sleep better so is your child a sleeper already? My kids did fine with the noise. Odor is simply addressed by cleaning the cage frequently. Let it it go and the gerbil will sleep among its XXX. CLean them with a baby wipe for sensitive skin.

If you can flow with the above, having a pet is a wonderful, nuturing experience and it is a healthy progression to learn how to care for something else - so much so that I have pets in my classroom just for that reason.

I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to get a gerbil for your daughter. We currently have 2 dogs and 2 kittens

My best advice is to let her go ahead and get a pet. I feel that it is a good for children to learn responsibility. My daughter started having animals way younger than 9 (looking back I wish that I was as smart as you to waite until 9) We started at like 3. Gerbils are loud at night but you can solve that by getting a cage that you can just remove the wheel at night. WARNING - they do bite - and it hurts. If your daughter has never had any kind of animal at all - I might suggest a small fish tank first. My daughter had a hamster - once he bit her he became my pet cause she would no longer go near him. They only live for a few years. BUT my daughters favorite pet is her parakeet, which she got at 10. We purchased him as a baby, and she has trained him to sit on her shoulder. They are still quite the pair. She not only has pride in caring for him, they actually hang out and watch TV and play games together. Best of luck, but consider the good with the bad.

P.
I have had every pet imaginable and your best bet is a hamster. Gerbils are unpredictable, they are hyper and all over the place. Hermit crabs, for as quiet as they are, are not that easy to keep. If the temperature or humidity is not just so and right, they die. They need special care as they are considered exotic pets. You also have to find yourself explaining why they died and you don't need that. Hermit crabs for as much as they are simplified, really should be left to the adults that are really into crustaceans. The same goes for reptiles. Hamsters are great pets. They live a good while, you can play with them when you want and put them back in their habitats when you are done. They now have the plastic balls you can place them in so they can freely walk around the house. As for the odor, they usually pick a corner or two to urinate in. You can tell your daughter to scoop it out daily. Not only will you not smell anything, but it will slowly show her to be responsible. Have her clean the cage once every week to 10 days. Change the food and water. As for the night time noise, it really shouldn't be a problem, if it interferes with her sleep, you can perhaps put the habitat outside her room at night. When you go to the pet shop, ask to hold the one she is interested in Good Luck!

While living in the city, We had many gerbils and hamsters, be prepared to do all the work. I don't think a 9 year old will be able to keep the cage clean. You will have to change the litter and do it often to keep the smell down. Your daugther will be able to feed and water it, but you will have to keep an eye on how much she is giving it and if the water bottle is hung correctly(we had have problems with this)They have a musty smell that can be kept in check if you change the litter often. Make sure you get a gerbil that is willing to be handled and then make sure your daughter does this correctly. They make noise at night, but if it's too much, just take the wheel out at night and replace it in the morning.We had to put a very large book on top of our cage because of one of our cats, but they make locks as well. We got rid of them after our cat finally won in a battle. Cats 1, Gergil Missing ? ! ? ! Good luck, cats are easier and more rewarding. sorry

I have 2 daughters as well. My 6 year old wanted a gerbil, but we got a guinea pig instead. The lady atthe pet store said gerbils bite and are not very lovable. We have had a lot of luck with the guinea pig. They are warm, can recognize your voice, you can hold them and pet them etc. To be honest, I am the one who cleans out the cage though. It's not that bad, it's my Wednesday morning chore, takes 10-15 minutes. I have never had a problem with odor, they sell these little pouches that hang on the side of the cage to adsorb any urine smell, and it works great. Although if you clean the cage once a week, you wont have a problem regardless of that little pouch. I also have a huge dog, a Boxer, who, after about 2 hours of sniffing, could care less about chocolate, (guineapigs name). Cats on the other hand, well, my friend has 2 cats and a dog, they just recently got a guinea pig, and there has been no issues. My daugter (6) does all the feeding and gets fresh water daily, so it does teach responsibility. I have the cage right in her bedroom as well. the nighttime noise is not that bad, you get used to it. Gerbils have that loud wheel all night, guinea pigs do not, something to think about. I hope this helps with your decision. Have a blessed day Jen

Hi P., I am Mary and I have raised 5 children. We have had Gerbils. They are friendly and if you like to handle them, do this gently and often. You can get 2 of the same sex. About the noise at night: if they have a wheel, you can take it out a night. They do scurry around but it is not too noisy. I kept mine in a glass fish tank with a mesh cover. The cats will be very curious and interested but they should not be able to get in. If they(cats) are creative you can put something heavy on top. I hope this is helpful. Kids need a pet! Mary

Yes, gerbils definitely have an odor. You would probably need to clean the cage every day to control it. If you like the smell of cedar, the cedar chips will often help control the odor. (Plastic usually holds odor more than glass. And glass is easier to get really clean) And rodents usually are loud at night. So, you may want to keep the cage somewhere other than a bedroom. As far as how the cats will react, that completely depends on the cats. Some cats will ignore the little critter, some will just sit and watch it, and others may be sitting on top of the cage and possibly even knock the cage over trying to get to the gerbil. As for a pet for a nine year old, that also depends on the child. Children really have no idea just how much responsiblity is involved in caring for a pet on a daily basis. So, if you decide to get one, be ready to step in and feed, clean, etc. when your daughter forgets, or just loses interest, in caring for the pet. (Again, you know your daughter better than anyone. So, this would be a judgement call on your part)
Believe it or not, pet rats actually have much less odor and are generally more sociable with people than gerbils and hamsters. (I've had all of the above since I was your daughters age, and I'm 36 now) I also worked at an animal shelter for years, which is why I'm familiar with the child/pet question. Good luck with everything!

I work at an animal shelter and gerbils do require a bit more work than a cat and may be more than a 9 year old can handle. The carefresh bedding has to be replaced every other day. If it becomes soaked in too much urine you will smell ammonia and this can actually be deadly to gerbils and hamsters. So keeping the cage clean is important. The entire cage should be emptied and washed with soap and water weekly. If you dont mind doing that, then look for a gerbil that can be handled and likes it. Many dont care for being picked up and I imagine your daughter will want to hold it. You may even find gerbils available at a local animal shelter and the shelter will know which ones can be picked up and which ones dont like it or will bite. Guinea pigs require similar care, but are a much more affectionate rodent than either a hamster or gerbil and may be something you want to consider. They need a larger cage so you need more space. But your daughter may be happier with one. Your cats may be very interested in any rodent you get so you will need to be sure the cage is in a place that is hard for the cats to get to and you will want to be sure that the cage locks so that a cat can't get in or the gerbil out. Good luck!

Gerbil, cage, filling, food, tools (water bottle, trail, dish, pine shavings, cage) can be an expensive prospect when you look at it.

Absolute cuteness is a great factor, not to mention, depending on the breed, they're fairly 'friendly' for non-communicative animals.

- They're nocturnal. If you like your sleep, don't get one - or make sure the wheel they exercise in is oiled well (and not plastic - they'll chew it to nothing).

- They're relatively clean, but only as clean as you leave their cage - every day. This means fresh food enters the cage in the AM, and leaves in the PM. Decomposition rates are amazing when you forget things for a day!

- They're not really neat about where their food lands, and highly recommend water BOTTLE over water dish.

- They're curious. So are your cats. A stable cage with secure lids, and a stern injunction to let the gerbil 'play' in his habitrail is always the safest way to avoid the gerbil becoming food. My friend's cats knocked my gerbil cage off the dresser. They just watched him and that was it. My parent's cat did a bit more damage. :(

- Most are friendly. Most don't like to be squished or scared, and have a tendency to nip.

Your daughter will be learning everything for the first time with this new pet, and you will be her teacher. Her pet and their health and environmental conditions will be her grade. She may do well, she may not. I don't think her age is a factor, but her disposition and attention span is.

Remember, it takes 47 repetitions to apprehend new information. For some kids, it's a lot fewer. Best bet: don't make this a discipline-able situation. The little beastie is going to be part of the family, and family doesn't get forgotten.

Good luck, and remember, have fun. Gerbils are all about fun. Especially when making short work of TP tubes.

from what i hear gerbils bit. we had a hamster once and he was cute. but now we have two guinea pigs, boy they are great. much more playful and friendly than a gerbil. we also have four cats and a dog. sometimes the cats will stick there paws in the cage to touch them, but the guinea pigs think its a game, and start running around and back to the paw. after a few weeks of being curious the cats really dont bother them. i dont hear them play at night, and the odor is low. my sons are 8 1/2 and 4 1/2 they both love to play with them. if you change your mind and get a guinea pig instead make sure you get a baby one, so check around. good luck

Herbils and hamsters escape and get eaten, Anything that poos and pees will smell. Having had a menagerie with my kids the best rodent type pet is a guinea pig. They never ever climb out of the tank. They are affectionate and like to cuddle, Not so in my experience with small rodent pets, We had a rabbit that was box trained, but then we had a problem with him chewing electical wires, and so did he. My vote is for guinea pig. Read up on them, Needs cleaning though, Whatever you get make sure it has a secure lid.
Good luck

Hello:

When my son was 10 (2 years ago) he got a hamster. Needless to say I did the bulk of the cage cleaning. And yes! She (Charlotte) was noisey at night. We set her cage on the bathroom vanity because of it. Every once in a while she would "escape" at night and end up on my pillow! She was cute so I didn't mind. When she departed us, my son begged for another one - I held the ace - If he wanted another hamster he would take full responsibility of her care and cage cleaning every Saturday. And that's what he did. Lay down your rules before you acquire the pet. Both our hamsters were very sweet and there was really no odor but they are rodents. Good Luck!

Small pets are great pets for kids this age, however, THEY must keep the cage clean, not you (at least once a week). It depends on the child, my one daughter faithfully cleaned her hamster's cage weekly, my other daughter, no, I would end up doing it. Watch the cats, some seem disinterested, but if left alone, cats will be cats, we've had our share of fatalities that way; it's terrible. Yes, they are nocturnal and many a night I ended up putting the cage in the bathroom away from sleeping people!! Try it -- it's a good experience for all--you won't know until you actually do what's in store!

I am a school teacher and mom. I've taught 4th, 5th and 6th grades. I've also worked in a pet store. Kids are not responsible enough to have a pet on their own. Please know that you would be the primary caretaker of this pet and that after the novelty of it wore off, you'd be in charge of giving the animal love and attention. Rodents also have a notoriously short lifespan and the loss of a pet can be tragic. Especially when ended by a natural predator in your home: the cats. I'd pass on this one.

Ick. Been there, done that. I couldn't deal with the smell. I had to clean the cage bc no one else would. I never realized how ICKKKKKY these boogers were. AND ours just wouldn't DIE. Not that I wanted it to die, but after THREE YEARS, he was still kickin. OMG.

I had 2 cats (now 1, since our other passed away) and a dog. That little rodent was 3 times the work of BOTH the cat and the dog put together. If you have ANY reservations, don't bother. Trust me. Get a fish. THEY don't bite....

You could always try a guinea pig. They still have an icky factor, but at least they are somewhat entertaining. The downside is that they need a friend...you usually have to get 2.

Good luck..................

Mom,

if it was me I would NOT get the gerbil,these pets are alot of work, more than a cat or even a dog.
for one it is very difficult to find someone to care for this kind of pet, while your away,and the summer is coming.

another thing is they need A/C in the summer,but not too much where as cats will go outside,and under a bush.or if they are house cats they find a place too cool off. and can move themselves from room to room.

they are supposed to be with other gerbils but reproduce like crazy and then you can't find anyone to take them,

they are very smelly even tho you are supposed to clean their cage every other day. they always seem to be covered in poo and stink.

My biggest concern is germs, and your daughter will want to hold him.

they have Gosh I forget what its called but they spread bacteria and viruses,

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=18&cat=17...

http://www.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cat=1799

http://www.petco.com/Content/Article.aspx?PC=article&...

http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_keep-gerbil-teeth-ge...

Hope these links are helpful to you.

M

Edit:

Just read the others comments, and wanted to mention something about my experiences with rats
( we did not have the whote ones tho)
They multiplied and then ATE their babies and went wild.
the baby eating happened 3 times before we got rid of them and YES there was MORE THAN ENOUGH FOOD.AND ours bit also.

We have had 3 lizards, snails, turtles, crabs which are AWSOME
so low maintanance, cats , dogs, fish also very low maintanence but die frequently, we had a mino in a tiny little aquarium but I accidentally killed it when i added too much oxygen tablet. We have had a lamb, a Chick, and rabbits.
And our neighbor had some horses and ponys and cows.

We have also had birds, and a Quaker bird that talks, which is still alive and living with Granny.
This was a very good pet , and fun, it sings and talks
( just buy the CD that teaches them)easy to hold, and everyone likes to watch it because it talks, ONLY thing is it can be smelly and cleaning bird poo in winter is ANNOYING
and gross.in the summer ya hose the cage down. And AFTER it learns to talk it can also be like a kid that never stops talking,

OUR would yell HELP, and in the summer when the doors and window are open and she yells help ( a neighbor came to the house trying to HELP) LOL.

Sorry for the rambling

M

Hi P.! this is going to sound crazy, but instead of a gerbil, how about a rat! gerbils are so cute but they are so active and she might not be able to hold it as much as she would like. not saying that they are all like that, but i think that more of them are opposed to less. yes they (all rodents) are nocturnal, but that is something that is just natural, and you learn to deal with the noise, i have. as for the smell they arnt to bad if the cage is cleaned once a week( you should only buy ASPEN shavings for all of the little caged critters, pine is toxic) now back to the rats!!! i own two that i got for my stepdaughts this summer and i have owned them a few times in the past. they are the sweetest things, they dont bite,like hamsters, they can be tought to do tricks, they cuddle and they are clean animals. alot of people have the misconception of a RAT ugh but trust me from experience you will fall in love with them. the best for the rat thought is to have at least two they need to be with each other because if not they will not do well and could actully die from loneliness. of course get the same sex for the obvious reason. and also the younger the rat the easier it will be train them and you will get a little more time out of it life exp is only 3-5 yrs but can live alittle longer. the cheapest food i have found for any caged animal is a target (just a fyi) feel free to ask any more questions and good luck!!!!!

I personally would go smell a gerbil cage before you make any decisions. If they are not kept very clean, my husband swears it will draw mice into the home, as a result of the spilled food and the odor of the animals them selves.

And YES we also have had many different animails. Dogs, cats, fish, turtles, hermet crabs, camilians (sp?), eguania and birds. Birds are also very hard to keep clean. Plus a few more that I can't think of off hand.

Hermet crabs are easy, *QUIET*, fun to watch and play with. Especially if space is an issue. They climb up all kinds of branches and things you put into the cage. They also don't make a big mess if you take them out. IE: little poopoo

Hi-
I am a mom/science teacher and will do my best to fill you in as I know it.
You seem like you already know quite a bit about gerbils, so you will prob make the right decision in the end anyway.
In terms of odor, gerbels are vegetarians so the odor isn't as bad as many creatures. The males have a slightly stronger scent to their urine, but if you are pretty vigilent about keeping it clean, there really is no huge odor. Get a glass tank, not wire cage and also, use cedar shavings. They smell better and can be put into your compost/garden after you are done. Gerbils are nocturnal and will be very busy at night. Keep them in a different part of the house and put a non-metal exersize wheel in the cage. The metal ones always seem to rust and squeak within days! You will never break them of this habit, but you will soon stop wondering what the noises are downstairs at 3am! They are, by nature, very trusting of humans and will be pretty darn tame if they are handled gently every day while they are young. If they are not handled often they may bite. Yes, it hurts, -they sometimes break the skin. Gerbils are rodents and teeth are for chew-chew-chewing! Give them plenty to chew on or they will take an experimental nip on you. Nothing personal but their front teeth grow from birth to death-so this is just the way they must file them down to a useable size. toss in sticks, cardboard, bite biscuits. But they wil be tearing these paper items to bits at night while you listen from your bed! Gerbils are also very fast and can easily disappear around the house. They are less likely to bolt from you if they have been hand trained and they feel no threat about staying and playing in your hands. Overall
they are a pretty INexspensive, and kinda cute, pet. I prefered hamsters, I liked their fur-but they're not too different from each other.
The cats will be cats. Curious at first, but after several unsuccessful attempts to get at the gerbil, they most likely will give up, or half-heartedly camp out next to the cage and make sure their chances of seeing one escape are greater during cage-cleaning days.
Your real deciding factor is your daughter. Will she play with it daily, feed it and change it's water often? Clean out the cage once a week? Find a "sitter" for your vacations? And how willing are you to pick up the pieces while your daughter is learning about this pretty valuable animal responsability stuff? make a schedule or a contract. Use it to teach her a few things.
Good Luck-there are much tougher pets to love!
M. P

My daughter had gerbils also..and they are the rodent that is not nocturnal, making them more fun and interesting to have as a pet for your daughter. We always had 2 (usually both females) as they interact well with each other and are fun to watch...
We kept ours in a glass aquarium, with a screen top. Our cats were only mildy interested...
Good luck...they are fun!!

hi. personally, i am more of a guinea pig person. they are not a member of the rodent family, are quite tame, and i have seen them in many pre school classes over the years. since i have asthma many typical pets are out for us. cedar chips are not too bad dust wise. guinea pigs do not use cedar chips but this paper base stuff that is very absorbant. so, if there are friends that frequent your house make sure to check with their families.all kids are different. some nine year olds i would not trust but others i would, so consider how your child handles normal responsibilites for their age. there are some wonderful responses to your request that have already answered some of your basic questions. this is just my two cents. good luck. sue

Hi, P.: I had gerbils, mice, hamsters, etc.. while growning up. The cages didn't smell too bad and our cats never really bothered them. Just make sure you have a good lid on the cage, my cats used to like sitting on top it sometimes. The only thing I would worry about is, gerbils tend to bite and scratch. I know I lost interest in them after being bit a few times. Good Luck. Oh, one other thing, if you have one of those high frequency things that plug in the wall to keep mice out, you will have to get rid of it. It affects all rodents.

P.,
I am writing as a person who has had just about every pet you an imagine. I started with a hamster. It was fun and able to be held and pet. It was neat to put him in his ball and watch him run around the house. I then had gerbils. they were very wild. It was not easy to play with them, they were not as "affectionate" as the hamster. however the best small pet was a fancy white rat. I know it really might sound gross, but they were the best. I was actually able to sit with mine and pet them while watching tv. It was like having cats.
As fat as cleaning the cages, as long as it is done on a regular basis it is not bad. Most Rodents will urinate in one corner of their cage. If you scoop the litter in that corner every other day or so it is really not bad and then just empty the cage and put all new bedding in it every week. I had the best luck with bedding called Care Fresh (i think that is what it was called) It is made of recycled paper and there is no odor from the animal waste or the bedding itself. As for them being nocturnal, they can all be noisy, although most of the noise is the squeeking of their wheel that they run on. i found that a little bit ov vegetable oil on the sides of the wheel every other day or so cut down on the noise. The best thing to do would be to put the cage in an area of the house where no one is sleeping.
Good Luck!!