Calling Mongolian Gerbil owners...

Anyone have gerbils?
I got my first brother pair in 2004 and have had one litter and now have 10 altogether. I would like to have another but no one around me has shown interest even though there are some in the petstores.
I have DEH, nutmeg, Agouti, Argente Golden, Schimmel, and Honey Schimmel (deh/schimmel)

I have two little girls right now They are a mother (jasmine) and daughter pair, adopted from a rescue:

Jasmine:


Luna:


Together:


Where did you get your gerbils from?

If you didn't get them from a reputable breeder, and don't know the genetic backgrounds of each gerbil, and have an understanding of lethal and compatible genes in gerbils, it really is a bad idea to be breeding them.

It is kind of annoying when people think the worst right away. I love your black (which is aaC-E-G-P- yes, I know genetics). All my adults are from petstores.
What is a lethal gene in gerbils?

So are you breeding the pet store gerbils then?

Pet store gerbils really should not be bred from....That is like breeding pet store puppies.

It would be a good idea to find a reputable breeder to buy from and to breed from, because really, only strong healthy lines of any animal should be continued.

And I didn't assume the worst, I asked a question and stated my worries.

You make me smile and shake my head. I believe I said all my gerbils are from petstores so obviously that was what I bred. Hello!!!! I kept all the pups!!! I'm thinking that makes me a responsible person. If there are no home bred gerbils around, my only option is to buy petstore gerbils, breed the healthiest and friendliest and make a good line that way. And if you read over your post, you assumed the worst. You assumed that I purchased gerbils and bred them with no knowledge of genes (you did not answer my ? about lethal genes), gestation, labor, care of pups, etc. perhaps just for profit? Not all pet store gerbils are bad--nice specimens can be found. Out of my pups, only 2 of the 6 are breedable in my opinion, so I go from there. Lighten up! (said friendly)

I was really just looking to chat with other gerbil lovers, not discuss if I am right or wrong in breeding them.

There was a breeder near my sister's house (like 2 hours away from us) that had a pair of agouti and schimmel males for sale. I did TONS of research on mongolian gerbs, and we were almost going to contact her when my dad read an article on recent salmonella outbreaks from hamsters in pet stores. It's not like we were even going to get them from pet stores. The breeder was very small and responsible, and NEVER sold her pups to pet stores, and besides, they're gerbils, not hamsters. Then he said something like 'We're NOT EVER getting a rodent!' -sigh- We ended up getting bettas instead (a black/green OHM and an orange HM).

But anyway, I'd love to hear about everyone else's gerbs!

That is sad Mary Kate. Especially since they were schimmel. I love Bettas and rescued one from Walmart. Some employee had placed all the bettas in tanks with other fish. It was horrendous and I was physically ill by the carnage. The other fish killed the bettas. There were betta heads floating in the water. One poor fish was trying to swim with just part of his body left. The employee was annoyed when I demanded something be done and she just threw him in the trash. I took the only one that was not injured. Uh.