gerbils as class pets?

Question
Last year I had a teddy bear hamster as a class pet; at about two years of age or so , he died.  I am interested in getting two gerbils as class pets this year.  I still have the plastic SuperPet cage from the hamster; would this cage work for two gerbils?  Would it take a lot of time to acquaint the gerbils with 14 students?  Do you have advice or tips to aid me in making this decision?

Answer
Hi Laura, thanks for the question!

We had a gerbil as class pet in my biology class (admittedly this was in high school) and he was great fun, my first gerbil was one of his daughters.

There are a few different types of SuperPet cages, there are two very small sizes geared more towards dwarf hamsters and mice (and in my opinion are too small even for them), and then there are the regular sizes.  If you have one of the regular sizes (SuperPet Criter Trail 1, 2 or 3) you should be fine with two gerbils.  Be aware, however, that gerbils are much more clever and determined escape artists than most hamsters, so you will need to check the cage at the end of every play session to make sure that everything is latched properly, and it would probably be a good idea to check it daily for wear to make sure they are not working on chewing an escape hole through the plastic.

Your best bet on purchasing the gerbils is to try and find a private breeder in your area.  To that end, browsing through the American Gerbil Society homepage might help (and would be informative in any event), or links they may have.  Their homepage may be found at:  http://www.agsgerbils.org/

Private breeders generally have better stock than pet stores, they breed for temperament and health first and other traits second.  Nowadays, pet stores tend to buy their small animals from wholesale breeders that amount to little more than rodent "puppy mills" that just seek to produce as many animals as cheaply as possible in the shortest possible time-frame; the animals are often severely inbred, not bred for any temperament or positive characteristics, and carrying genetically inherenited problems and diseases.  This is especially true of the larger chain stores.  Also, these animals have had very little handling and socialization to people, and the experiences they have had have usually been stressful and negative (weaning, shipping, etc) and so they tend to be very fearful and distrustful of people, sometimes to the point of aggression.  It takes a lot of time and patience to tame any animal, and I'm guessing that time at least is something you have little of to spend getting two gerbils accustomed to handling.

Also, you did not say what grade(s) you teach, but if you are teaching younger children, you might want to consider (if you can find a good breeder in your area) adopting older gerbils for your class.  Younger gerbils, even those that are socialized and used to handling, are just naturally jumpy and.. for lack of a better term, "high strung".  They tend to move quickly and jump with no warning.  In short, they would be harder for younger students to handle without dropping or losing them.  By about a year old, however, they generally calm down and become more willing to sit in hands or laps or pockets without jumping out or tryng to dash off (and they can dash very quickly).  

Reputable breeders will usually have animals about this age for adoption; they will make new owners sign contracts that state if for any reason the new owner can no longer care for the animal, to return it to the breeder first.  These animals were usually sold because they did not have a good coat color, or they were going to be too big or too small, or in some way were not going to fulfill cosmetic standards that the breeder is breeding for and thus would not be kept for breeding stock, so they were sold as pets.  There is usually not a thing wrong with them other than they have too much white (or not enough) or a spot is in the wrong place, etc and that someone could no longer care for them.  

I hope this helps, feel free to ask me any other questions you may have, and good luck!