As lovers of tubes and little exercise balls, you can get your gerbil moving around his enclosure or your house (with supervision), as well as in your hand or on your shoulder if you train him well.

One teaspoon of a fruit or veggie is plenty, and it should only be given to your gerbil twice a week, according to Glenway Animal Hospital.

You could try putting them in a ball to run around the house too, just make sure they are on the floor and not in danger of getting stepped on or falling down the stairs.

To do this, get a dish more than ½ inch deep, fill it with chinchilla sand (not dust) ½-inch full.

Put the sand bath in the tank for 10 minutes once a week, and your gerbil should take care of the rest.

If you have noticed that your gerbil’s nails have curled too much or started to grow back towards their feet, you will have to help them by trimming them up.

Image credit: Pixabay When your gerbil shows these adverse health symptoms, be sure to contact your vet right away:

The symptoms are diarrhea, tiredness, pain, a posture that doesn’t look normal, untidy hair, and dehydration.

If, however, the entire tail comes off in a traumatic accident, you should get your gerbil examined by a vet to make sure no other damage has been done.

This can happen when the gerbil has been handled too much, the surroundings have changed, when it senses nearby “predators” (like dogs or cats), and too much activity and noise around the habitat.

They come in many colors, the most common one being golden agouti, but also white, blue, lilac, and grey, with different patterns as well.

They were first mentioned in history in 1866 when Father Armand David, a missionary priest and zoologist, sent the gerbils he found in Northern China back to a French museum to be named and documented.

Image Credit: borisenkoket, Shutterstock These tiny creatures make good pet s for people who want something furrier and more sociable than a mouse or rat and less high-maintenance than a guinea pig.

If you opt for an aquarium tank, make sure it’s at least 10 gallons and has a wire mesh top that’s secure.

This could be an untreated piece of wood, a stick from outside, or even a dog biscuit, but your local pet store is likely to have something gerbil-specific.

An exercise wheel is ideal too, as well as a little hiding box or igloo for your gerbil to sleep in or escape into when he desires.

Gerbils also love to play in cardboard tubes or PVC pipes, so if you have any extras, you can put them in your gerbil habitat.

Fresh veggies and fruits that your gerbil will love include carrot, lettuce, peas, broccoli, mango, kiwi, pineapple, and banana.

Do not feed your gerbil cabbage, uncooked beans, chocolate, onions, candy, or junk food.

Also, don’t forget to wash your hands after handling a gerbil as they can carry diseases that could make you sick.