Care for your Gerbil
Sponsored by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the RSPCA Guides give you the most helpful and accurate advice on how to best care for your pet.Care For Your Gerbil is full of helpful advice about how to choose a gerbil and how best to look after it.All aspects of day-to-day care are covered:• Housing• Feeding• Handling• Hygene• Health• Exercise
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Collins
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London SE1 9GF
Revised edition 1985
New edition published in 1994 by HarperCollins Publishers
Reprinted 1995, 1996, 1997
This is a fully revised and extended edition of Care for your Gerbil, first published in 1980 and reprinted 4 times, with revisions in 1985
Text of the 1980 edition by Tina Hearne; text revisions and additions for this edition by Michael Pollard
Designed and edited by The Templar Company plc Pippbrook Mill, London Road, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1JE
Front cover photograph: Animal Ark, London
Text photographs: Trevor J. Hill
Illustrations by Colin Newman (Bernard Thornton Artists)
Copyright © Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 1980, 1994
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780004127316
Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2017 ISBN: 9780008241889
Version: 2017-02-16
First things first, animals are fun. Anybody who has ever enjoyed the company of a pet knows well enough just how strong the bond between human and animal can be. Elderly or lonely people often depend on a pet for their only company, and this can be a rewarding relationship for both human and animal. Doctors have proved that animals can be instrumental in the prevention of and recovery from mental or physical disease. Children learn the meaning of loyalty, unselfishness and friendship by growing up with animals.
But the commitment to an animal doesnât begin and end with a visit to the local pet shop. A pet should never be given as a âsurpriseâ present. The decision to bring a pet into your home should always be discussed and agreed by all the members of your family. Bear in mind that parents are ultimately responsible for the health and well-being of the animal for the whole of its lifetime. If you are not prepared for the inevitable expense, time, patience and occasional frustration involved, then the RSPCA would much rather that you didnât have a pet.
Armed with the facts, aware of the pitfalls but still confident of your ability to give a pet a good home, the next step is to find where you can get an animal from. Seek the advice of a veterinary surgeon or RSPCA Inspector about reputable local breeders or suppliers. Do consider the possibility of offering a home to an animal from an RSPCA establishment. There are no animals more deserving of loving owners.
As for the care of your pet, you should find in this book all you need to know to keep it happy, healthy and rewarding for many years to come. Responsible ownership means happy pets. Enjoy the experience!
TERENCE BATE BVSC, LLB, MRCVS
Chief Veterinary Officer, RSPCA
Mongolian gerbils have been kept as pets in Britain only since 1964. The first breeding pairs arrived in that year, intended as laboratory animals, but their qualities as delightful pets soon became obvious. They rapidly became established as one of the most successful pets ever introduced into this country, especially for families living in homes which are not suitable for larger animals.
GERBILS ARE:
⢠Diurnal. This means that they are awake and active during the day, when they can be observed and enjoyed.
⢠Hardy. In the wild they have to survive in very difficult conditions, and they carry this characteristic into captivity.
⢠Clean. Their natural habitat is the desert, where they need to conserve liquid. Consequently, they pass very little urine. There is no smell from healthy gerbils.
⢠Quiet and docile with people.
⢠Inquisitive, agile and active. They enjoy playing with simple toys and investigating new ones.
⢠Tame when handled. Any aggressiveness is almost always due to mishandling.
⢠Agreeably sociable when housed in compatible groups.
The golden agouti is closest in colouring to the wild Mongolian gerbil, but the black and albino are among the several colour variations now available.
