Where to get a gerbil: rescue, breeder or pet shop

Where is the best place to get a gerbil?

A rescue. Gerbil Care UK, a UK volunteer site whose own gerbils are all rescues, gives four reasons: you save a life and free up a space, your money goes to a charity rather than mass breeders, you don't add to unwanted litters, and the rescue knows each gerbil's history and temperament. Rescue gerbils are also professionally sexed, which Gerbil Care UK says is not always true of shop gerbils.

Rescues are also the best place for a pair that already gets on. Because adult strangers rarely accept each other, as the RSPCA explains, a bonded pair from a rescue saves you the hardest part of gerbil keeping.

Gerbil rescues in the UK

Gerbils turn up at the big national charities and at small specialist rescues. Gerbil Care UK keeps a long regional list, and these are good places to start.

• RSPCA. In England and Wales, use Find a Pet, choose "Small furries" and enter your postcode. Many RSPCA branches and centres rehome gerbils.
• Woodgreen. Takes adoption applications for gerbils through its small pets page, and offers lifelong behaviour support after adoption.
• Blue Cross, the Scottish SPCA and the USPCA. Gerbil Care UK lists all three for rodents across Great Britain, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Specialist rescues. Gerbil Care UK names Justice for Gerbils in Stafford, which sometimes has over 100 gerbils including singles, and Gerbil and Rodent Rescue in Selhurst, south London, as the rescues with the most gerbils.
• Local small-animal rescues. Gerbil Care UK's regional list covers rescues from Cornwall to the Highlands, and Small Pet Rodent Awareness Week also lists local rescues.

Gerbil rescues and adoption in the US

Start with your local humane society or SPCA and any small-animal or rodent rescue near you, and ask whether they have gerbils or expect any. The American Gerbil Society lists breeders, rescuers, pet stores and private adoptions as the places people get gerbils, and its "Adopt" page leads to a directory of around 40 breeders and exhibitors across the US and Canada. A breeder who follows its code must take back or help rehome gerbils they bred, so it is worth asking them about adults that need a new home.

How to find a good gerbil breeder

A good breeder breeds for health and temperament, keeps records and stands behind every gerbil for life. In the UK, contact the National Gerbil Society, founded in 1970, which runs shows where breeders meet. In the US, the American Gerbil Society keeps a breeder directory and a code of ethics its members sign. The code says breeders should:

• Not sell pups before six weeks old
• Place gerbils in pairs
• Not sell gerbils with mites or illness until they are treated
• Keep records of each gerbil, litter and pedigree, and give buyers a pedigree
• Take back, or help rehome, any gerbil they bred, at any age

Breeders are also the place to go for a particular colour. Our guide to gerbil breeds and colours explains what each one looks like.

Questions to ask a rescue or breeder

1. How old are they? Six to eight weeks for youngsters. For adults, ask their age, because gerbils usually live 3 to 4 years.
2. Are they sexed, and by whom? You want an experienced person to have checked. Mistakes lead to surprise litters.
3. Have they always lived together? Littermates or a long-settled pair are safest. The RSPCA says groups should form early in life.
4. Any health problems in the line? Ask about fits, teeth and tumours. The National Gerbil Society advises not breeding from gerbils that have fits or cataracts.
5. What are they used to? Ask how much they have been handled, what food they eat and what bedding they live on, so you can keep things the same at first.
6. Will you take them back? A good breeder or rescue always says yes if things go wrong.

Buying gerbils from a pet shop

You can, but go carefully. Gerbil Care UK says many pet shop gerbils come from mass breeders and that chain shops often give poor advice and sell unsuitable cages. If you do buy from a shop, ask for two of the same sex together, check the sex yourself before you leave, and ignore any advice to buy a small cage.

PetSmart's own listing sells one gerbil per selection, male or female, and its care notes recommend same-sex pairs and a vet visit within 14 days of buying. It offers a 14-day guarantee to replace or refund a gerbil that becomes ill.

How much is a gerbil at Pets at Home, Petco or PetSmart?

PetSmart lists gerbils at $21.99 each, in store only, as of November 2026. We could not find a gerbil price on the Pets at Home website, and Petco's website would not load for us, so ring your local Pets at Home or Petco to check stock and price. Whichever you pick, the gerbils are the cheap part: our gerbil cost guide has real prices for the tank, wheel, bedding and food.

What does a healthy gerbil look like?

Look closely before you choose. A healthy gerbil is bright and curious, with a clean coat and a busy, steady way of moving.

• A smooth, glossy coat with no bald patches, scabs or heavy dandruff
• Bright, clear eyes with no redness or discharge
• A clean nose, with no red, crusty or bald patch
• Front teeth that are short, even and light yellow, as Woodgreen describes
• A clean, dry bottom and firm droppings
• No lumps, wounds or bites, especially on the face, legs, tail and rump
• A full tail with its tuft, and no head tilt or circling
• A clean, roomy tank with deep bedding and other healthy gerbils

Woodgreen notes that fur mites are common in gerbils kept on wood shavings or sawdust, and the National Gerbil Society links sore noses to cedar and pine bedding, so the tank tells you a lot. Our gerbil health guide explains each warning sign.

How to check a gerbil's sex

Do this yourself, even if you are told the sex. The National Gerbil Society says it is easy from about five weeks old. Hold the gerbil on your hand with its front feet supported, gently lift the base of the tail, and look underneath. Females have the two openings much closer together. Males have a clear bulge at the base of the tail, obvious by six weeks. Size alone is not reliable.

What to avoid when getting a gerbil

• Free ads. Gerbil Care UK says never give animals away for free, because free-ad pets can end up with hoarders or as live reptile food. Gerbils from free or casual ads are also more often wrongly sexed.
• A single gerbil. The RSPCA says gerbils should never be kept on their own. Only take a single if a rescue is helping you bond it with a partner.
• Gerbils that look ill. Don't buy a sick gerbil to rescue it from a shop. It may infect the one you bring home with it, and the shop will simply restock.
• Kit sold with them. Starter cages are almost always too small. Our guide to gerbil cage size shows what to look for.

Getting ready to bring gerbils home

Set up the tank fully a day or two before they arrive, then leave them alone for a few days to dig in. Our gerbil care guide has the complete shopping list, gerbil pairs and clans covers who lives well together, and how to tame a gerbil shows how to win their trust. If you are still deciding, read gerbils as pets first.