Welcome to Gerbils and Hamsters Please!  

Hi I’m Scott Laurie,

Thanks for being here. I put together this site for those of us who love animals, especially Gerbils and Hamsters. I have owned gerbils, and several of my friends own hamsters. One of the reasons why I decided to spend to time in creating this website was to facilitate the well being and care of all animals.

When we take them into our home, we become responsible for them. We need to provide them a safe place to live, food, water, and a healthy environment. Because I feel so deeply about this comment we each make when we take ownership of a gerbil, hamster, or any pet, I wanted to share this information with you to help all of us become informed, wise and caring pet owners.

I hope you find this place helpful and let me know your thoughts.

 www.gerbilsandhamsters@sbcglobal.net        

About Gerbils 

Gerbils are small desert rodents the most common pet species being the Mongolian gerbil. The Libyan gerbil the Duprasi gerbil and the Shaw’s jird may also be seen in veterinary practices.

Mongolian gerbils love to burrow and gnaw and will spend many hours in these activities. They are communal and need to live in groups to enjoy the companionship of others. They have very acute sense of hearing and smell and communicate via foot thumping. Both sexes also scent mark by using a ventral scent gland.

Gerbils live for approximately 3-4 years,and are non smelly compared with other rodents, they are generally fairly docile and tend not to frequently bite.

Gerbils come in a whole range of colours

About Hamsters

Like gerbils, hamsters are mammals which belong to the rodent family having large incisor teeth that are continually growing necessitating gnawing to prevent the teeth from overgrowing. The word 'rodent' comes from the latin word 'rodere' which means 'to gnaw'.

There are many different species of hamsters throughout the world and most hamsters inhabit semi-desert areas where they live in burrows. These burrows consist of many tunnels and separate chambers including chambers where they store food and sleep. Hamsters are nocturnal, sleeping during the hot days and waking in the cooler evenings. They have very poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell and excellent hearing. They are solitary creatures for the part and will usually fight if placed in the same cage with another of its kind. However, some dwarf species to well together.  

Most species of hamsters have expandable cheek pouches in which they can carry food and bedding back to their burrow where they will store food. The word 'hamster' comes from the German word 'hamstern' which means 'to hoard'.