Are Gerbils Easy to Take Care Of? UK Guide
- Yes, gerbils are fairly easy to look after once their home is set up properly. Daily care takes around 10 to 15 minutes, plus a partial clean each week.
- Setup takes the most effort and money. Gerbils need a same-sex pair, a roomy gerbilarium such as the Savic Hamster Heaven cage, and deep bedding for tunnelling, which costs more upfront than a basic starter cage.
- Day to day they are simpler than hamsters. Gerbils are awake in shifts through the day, rarely bite once tame, and eat an inexpensive diet based on a mix like Burgess Hamster, Gerbil and Mouse food.
- The ongoing chores are topping up food and water from a glass water bottle, offering sand baths a few times a week, and refreshing dust-free bedding such as Carefresh paper bedding.
- Gerbils suit owners who want an interactive daytime pet and can commit to a pair for 3 to 4 years. They do not suit anyone hoping for a single pet that lives happily in a small cage.
Suggested reading: Our Complete Gerbil Care Guide, Best Gerbil Cages UK 2026, and Hamsters and Gerbils Compared for more small pet advice.
Are gerbils easy to take care of? For most UK owners, the answer is yes, with one important condition. The daily routine is simple and cheap, but only if you set up their home correctly at the start. Gerbils suffer more than most small pets when their housing is wrong, so this guide gives you an honest difficulty rating before you commit.
It draws on RSPCA housing guidance, breeder advice and owner feedback to score every part of gerbil care, from setup cost to daily chores. By the end you will know exactly what you are signing up for.
The Short Answer: Easier Than You Think, Harder Than the Box Says
Pet shop packaging often presents gerbils as the simplest starter pet imaginable. That framing causes most of the problems. A pair of gerbils in a proper gerbilarium needs about 10 to 15 minutes of daily care, which genuinely is easy. A pair squeezed into a tiny plastic cage with a shallow tray will chew the bars, fight from stress and fall ill, which feels anything but easy.
So judge difficulty in two halves. Setup difficulty is moderate: you need the right enclosure, deep bedding, a wheel, a bottle and a plan for buying a bonded pair. Ongoing difficulty is low: feed, water, spot-clean, sand bath, handle gently, repeat. Anyone who can keep a houseplant alive and commit a quarter of an hour a day can manage that second half.
What Makes Gerbils Easier Than Most Small Pets
They are awake when you are. Gerbils sleep in short naps around the clock rather than vanishing all day like hamsters. Children actually get to watch their pets digging tunnels, kicking bedding about and stuffing their cheeks, which keeps interest alive long after the novelty fades.
They tame up beautifully. A gerbil handled gently from a young age will climb onto your hand for a treat within a couple of weeks. They bite far less readily than hamsters, and a calm gerbil will sit in cupped hands while you check it over. That tameness makes health checks and cleaning far less stressful for everyone.
They are cheap to feed. The staple diet is a spoonful or two per gerbil per day of a quality mix such as Burgess Hamster, Gerbil and Mouse Complete Food, plus tiny portions of fresh veg and the odd mealworm treat. A bag lasts a pair of gerbils for weeks, so food barely registers in the household budget.
They stay relatively clean. Gerbils produce little odour compared with mice or rats, and their desert origins mean small, dry droppings. A partial bedding change each week plus regular sand baths keeps a gerbilarium fresh without the full-strip cleans that bigger rodents demand.
What Makes Gerbils Harder Than Expected
You must keep two. Gerbils are intensely social and a lone gerbil is a miserable one. That means double the vet bills, a bigger enclosure, and the delicate business of introducing strangers if one of a pair dies. Breeders and rescues sell bonded same-sex pairs, so always start that way rather than hoping two shop gerbils will get along.
Housing costs more upfront. The RSPCA advises at least 80cm by 50cm of floor space for a pair, with 20cm or more of bedding for tunnelling. That rules out most cheap starter cages. A proper setup such as the Savic Hamster Heaven cage or a glass gerbilarium costs noticeably more, but it is a one-off purchase that prevents years of problems.
They destroy plastic. Gerbil teeth never stop growing, and they test everything by chewing. Plastic wheels, bottles and thin cage fittings get shredded, so solid metal, glass, ceramic and wood fittings last far longer. A glass water bottle and a solid Niteangel silent wheel survive where flimsy starter-kit parts fail within weeks.
Vets can be tricky to find. Not every high street practice treats exotic species confidently, so check for a vet with small-mammal experience before you need one urgently. Ask local rescues who they use, and keep a modest vet fund set aside, since exotic consultations can cost more than cat and dog appointments.
The Daily and Weekly Routine
Here is what normal care actually looks like once everything is set up. Daily tasks run to about 10 to 15 minutes: check the bottle is flowing and top it up, scatter or bowl-feed the daily mix, remove any stale fresh food, offer a sand bath dish with desert bathing sand two or three times a week, and spend a few minutes handling or simply watching your pair.
Weekly tasks take around half an hour: remove soiled bedding from toilet corners and replace it with fresh dust-free bedding such as Carefresh natural paper bedding, wash the bottle, wipe shelves, and check the wheel spins freely. A full bedding change every three to four weeks keeps the gerbilarium sweet, though always leave a handful of old nesting material so the home still smells familiar.
Who Should Get Gerbils, and Who Should Skip Them
Gerbils suit families with children aged eight and up who want a pet they can watch and handle during the day. They suit flat-dwellers too, since a gerbilarium fits on a sturdy table and makes little noise apart from the evening wheel session. They also suit first-time owners who have done their homework on housing, because forgiving, hardy animals reward good setup quickly.
Think twice if anyone in the home is away for long stretches with no pet sitter, since gerbils need daily checks. Skip them if you only have room for a small cage, if you want a single animal, or if your heart is set on a pet that cuddles on the sofa. Gerbils are watch-and-interact pets, not lap pets, and buying them for the wrong reasons ends with bored animals and a dusty cage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Verdict
So, are gerbils easy to take care of? Once the setup is right, genuinely yes. A roomy home such as the Savic Hamster Heaven cage, deep paper bedding, a dependable glass bottle, a quiet exercise wheel, a steady supply of quality gerbil food and regular sand baths cover almost everything they need.
The effort sits where it should: a thoughtful weekend of setup, then a few easy minutes a day enjoying two of the most entertaining small pets you can own. If that trade sounds fair, gerbils will suit you down to the ground.
Products Mentioned in This Guide
- Savic Hamster Heaven Cage 80 x 50 x 50cm - Roomy cage with deep base that suits a gerbil pair
- Burgess Hamster, Gerbil and Mouse Food 750g - Complete everyday diet for gerbils
- Niteangel Hamster Desert Bath Sand - Natural sand for regular gerbil coat care
- Carefresh Natural Paper Bedding 50L - Dust-free bedding that supports deep tunnelling
- Trixie Small Animal Glass Water Bottle 125ml - Chew-proof glass bottle for daily water
- Niteangel Super-Silent 10 inch Wheel - Solid quiet wheel sized for adult gerbils
Nina Patel writes about small pets and birds for WhoPets, with a focus on proper care standards.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Last reviewed: September 4, 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links