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Gerbilling
It is possible that some reference could be made to the fictional activity of gerbilling. But not in the way that was made in the article (it implied that the activity was real). I think that since the article on gerbilling makes it clear that no such activity has ever been recorded then any mention of it here would be spurious. Cheers. --Monk Bretton 23:40, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)
This is a completely ficticious practice. Think about it. http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/celebrities/a/richard_gere.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.189.88.13 (talk) 12:13, 8 November 2009 (UTC)
As pets
More about gerbils as pets would be nice. afaik they are like hamsters except even smellier. They probably make great cat food. muddypaws
Gerbils are very different from hamsters. Many are social animals and preferrably kept with the company of their own kind. Hamsters (syrians) are solitary animals. The mongolian gerbils, although mainly crepuscular, can be up or sleeping anytime of day or night, they are not nocturnal, more they have short naps followed by periods of activity. -- Confirmed. Mad_Cheese_Eater. It is also true that gerbils use water effciently and therefore produce less urine to react with bedding than hamsters, meaning less smell and less frequent cleanouts. Gerbils cat food would never take off, for the smae reason as mouse catfood, the owners wouldn't like the idea!!!
- Gerbils bite less than hamsters, have nicer tails, and interact with people better. Mad_Cheese_Eater
Picture
Which species is shown in the picture? RJFJR 16:48, August 21, 2005 (UTC)
Merge
I disagree with suggestions that individual species of gerbillines be merged into this page (as suggested at Gerbillus gleadowi . The page is for the subfamily and if all 110+ species were merged here we'd have a mess. --Aranae 06:58, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
- Take a look at Gerbillus gleadowi , it's simply a dictionary definition. Are we going to have 110 dicdef stubs about gerbil species? I think a list on the main page would be simpler. Ifnord 14:56, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
Yes, it is now. But these entries will probably once be extended to real articles. Ucucha 15:29, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
Gerbillus gleadowi is a specific species under the generic name of Gerbil. And yes we should at least give a stub page to this and every other species that we share the planet with ;) ! All the gerbil species pages seem to be ok and the merge notice on just this one species is retrogressive. Shyamal 03:37, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
banned in California and Hawaii?
can someone explain the ban against owning these pets?
- I think it has to do with them being a possible invasive species (i.e. if they were to escape they might damage the environment), but I wouldn't put it in the article unless someone could find a reliable source (possibly the legal code in each state). WU03 04:23, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
It has to do with the department of agriculture. They have laws against gerbils because they would harm crops and stuff if they got out and formed groups. It would be horrible according to them. I got that from a book from my school library from 1989.
Yep, and still is for that reason, at least of 2005 From Gerbils: The Complete Guide to Gerbil Care
My Gerbil
I've had guinea pigs... but now I have one gerbil. My gerbil was alone at the pet store with no family, so i took him and now he is happy. The only time i recommend getting a gerbil on its own is when it was always alone and you will constantly play with him.
all right just shut up and stop trash talking gerbils right on the gerbil talk page!
-- But you should definately try to get gerbils in groups if you can. That's very important. They are social animals. 82.110.218.140 12:46, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
Yes, because they sleep together (adorable!!!) and groom each other and stuff. They live longer together than alone and are happier and more social. But pet stores don't tame them. And note that if you get them in a group, make sure that they are the same gender!!!!!! Ask a breeder to tell you the gender, not a pet store person. And also make sure they are from the same litter! I recommend the AGS for more information. (American Gerbil Society)They don't HAVE to be from the same litter. That's the same thing my g/f's pet-store advisor claimed, and we have 3 from different litters. She was smart about it, went through a period of gradual introduction - 1. new gerbil behind glass or plastic for a series of meetings (so to see). 2. New gerbil behind a perforated screen for a series of meetings (as in an aquarium divider, so to see and smell) and 3. new gerbil introduced to older inhabitant (to get the full effect). All of this was done under constant supervision just in case (and it happened once) a fight broke out. It's a reality that gerbils from different clans can be introduced to each other, and just to keep it pacifistic it's best to do so gradually unless you want to keep breaking up "fights of dominance" ad infinitum.
It's also worth noting their personality traits before putting them together. Gerbils, like humans behave in a variety of ways, they each have their own idiosyncrasies. For instance: we have - the "escape artist and jefe" - the guy always looking for a way out who is also the dominant male. The "obsessive compulsive digger and cleaner" - he's too busy digging, chewing and cleaning the other two to worry about dominance struggles. And lastly: "the pseudo-skittish baby" - who'll run to hide if you look at him, but remains stoney-calm when being handled. Being that he's the youngest and most newly introduced he has no dominance struggles with the eldest gerbil. Two type-B and one type-A. -MD —Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.196.16.77 (talk) 23:16, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
Mongolian Gerbil vs. Gerbil
There is an awful lot of information here that is species-specific to the Mongolian Gerbil, which has its own article. The information needs to either be taken out or revised to make it more general, since this article is about all of the Gerbillinae. ShootingStar89 15:23, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
-- The pet gerbil origonates from mongolia, making it a mongolian gerbil by full name. Mad Cheese Eater 17:35, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
Trivia
"The reason it has more toes on the back feet is to allow the gerbil better balance when it is standing on its hind legs." Do we have a reference on this? I don't see how that statement could possibly be made, did someone ask a gerbil and that was the response? Xnuiem 00:44, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
-- does it not make sence that more toes on the back feet provide more bablance? the purpose of the tail is purely for balance. Mad Cheese Eater 17:38, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
I have see them use their tails as safety hooks. They cant quite wrap them around someething, but they can catch a horizontal object up and behind them with an upwardly curved tail when in a precarious position on all fours.
As for the "reason" for the missing thumb, there is none from a scientific view. Other than that, truly only God knows. Rather we must ask how the lack of one functions.
Keeping the thumb/big toe on the hind feet is not so suprising as is the lack of one on the hands. The gerbs I have known used a protrubence on the palm as the opposition to the four finger of the hand. Could there be a thumb bone in that? Could the protrubence on the palm make a thumb unnecessary, and therefore dispensible, or evence a hinderance, in the evulutionary process?
It seems to me that most mammals do not make much use of theit thumbs, if indeed they have them, and most primates can't oppose them to all of their fingers. A look at the skeleton of the arm and hand might reveal the answer, since it seems that most animals without certain fingers or toes, keep vestages of whatever seems missing, as do horses et al. Meanwhile, the gerbil has something opposible(!), thumb or not.
George Staffa (talk) 17:22, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
> Unless you believe in evolution, in which case there is no "purpose", only genetic deletion removing the fifth finger on the front paws <
It's simple really, if some gerbils were born with only 4 front claws as a mutation and had no disadvantage from it, the energy that their bodies would have used growing that 5th claw can get used for other purposes, so they are a tiny bit stronger than the other gerbils overall, giving their offspring an advantage. Over the hundreds of generations its the 4 claw model that becomes the standard. Flightless birds lose their wings in exactly the same way. Unless you dont believe in gravity.
You could always reason that most rodents with a well developed 5th dig
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