small and furry!

[Bernice]

Im going to get me some gerbils! *Glee*

I cant wait! the cage for them is arriving on saterday, and Im hoping I can pick them up the same day... will post pics!

[Bushviper]

Bernice I hope you know Gerbils are illegal in Gauteng. They make great pets and rather feed them lots of raw vegetables. They must have mealworms or some other animals protein if you want them to breed. They are longer lived than hamsters and are pretty flighty. Dont ever grab them by the tail though.

Your cage can never be too big. They love to bounce around and play.

[fredsmith]

@ BV - Illegal in Gauteng huh? Didn't know that... I kept a few last year that I bought from a pet shop in Boksburg. I haven't got them anymore as they wound up being sacrificed during the great rat shortage of 2008, but was never informed in any way by anyone that keeping them was a crime.

[Bernice]

Oh hek!

Thanks for the heads up BV! I did my research as far as feeding/handling went and knew all that stuff... but what my research didnt through up was that they are illegal!

Do we know why the Gauteng authorities in thier wisdom decided that gerbils are illegal?

[Bushviper]

Well all exotic rodents are listed under Schedule six animals together with Ferrets, Bob tail quail, Nutria and Chukka partridges. These are animals which have been deemed to be potentially invasive. The only ones that are excluded are the Golden or Syrian hamsters The ban does include Chinchillas, Russian dwarf hamsters, and all Gerbils. In the past you could get away by saying that it was indigenous but that loophole has ben closed and now you require a permit for indigenous gerbils as well.

I would class this under the same as the law that says if you want to sweep your pavement outside your office or house you are guilty of a crime if you did not sprinkle water first. Like spitting on the road, this is one of those laws that nobody is going to really care about.

[jka]

@bushviper, When was this law inplememnted?

I had a few dwarf hamsters and a guinea pig and was planning on getting gerbils as well all from my local pet shop but then (luckily) I discovered reptiles and now I'm looking at rodents through different eyes.

[Bushviper]

This law has been around since 1983. This is only applicable to Gauteng but I think we can assume that Mpumalanga. Limpopo and North West also have it from the old Transvaal ordinance which they re-worked for themselves. The Cape provinces seem to ban everything so I guess it is safe to assume you cannot keep them there either.

[Bernice]

Oh for pity sake... good luck enforcing that one... every other little kid has a russian dwarf hamster!

[katesmith]

well i think that the only people that will be in trouble are the petshops selling them. They get "raided" every now and again. But i also think its better because the average kid wouldn't have a clue how to keep gerbils properly and the petshops have no idea either.

WRT gerbils, they love making tunnels in that fine sand so if you can fill a tank with that for them they'll be really happy. also they dont do well alone. Its the worst cruelty for them to be kept alone.
Protein is very important, they love live prey.

[Nasicornis]

In this regard. Doesn't that rule apply to all exotic mammals in Gauteng?

[Bushviper]

Nasicornis that law has been put on hold and we are waiting for them to decide about its implimentation. Currently the only one they enforce is the exotic rodent one.

[marina.makhanya]

Still, why gerbils became illegal? They are most interesting rodents after rats!