Owner Abandons Gerbil Inside of Filthy Cage! | Amaryllis Rescue Story | Munchie's Place

Today's rescue is of a lone gerbil found on Craigslist, who was being rehomed by the roommate who was left the animal. The story of abandonment is heart breaking. It's neglectful, it's infuriating! But the worst thing about this situation is how the gerbil was kept! Filthy, no bedding, terrible conditions! I'm so glad we can talk about this, educate people about why this is wrong and hope that companies would stop trying to target their inappropriate cages, towards animals that cannot use them!
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[@Graces_life]

Oh nooooo! This cage isn’t suitable for any animal, and it’s really heartbreaking that she was on her own too. It’s strange that people love to keep solitary animals together, but are very cautious when it comes to having a second one for social pets! And the filth, it doesn’t look like it has been cleaned, I don’t even want to imagine the smell. Thank you so much Munchie for the amazing work you do for these animals and the small pet community 💖

[@j3tus15]

agreed! This cage would be suitable as a temporary cage for 1-2 rats or 1-2 small birds but it's not big enough for any animal as a permanent home

[@Graces_life]

@Siverist personally I wouldn’t use/recommend using this for small birds either (coming from a budgie owner) but as a temporary rat enclosure I guess it would be ok but still a complete waste of money in my opinion!!

[@rowdyrats7035]

@@Graces_life Honestly! I hate how people will get hamsters in pairs (even seen people get 2 syrians together, say that they are friends and then act surprised when they start fighting, even if people told them before, smh). And then people will get like a single rat and say that it's fine, when rats need other rats to actually stay mentally healthy. Just makes me so mad. 😔

[@Graces_life]

@Rowdy Rats, yes I completely agree with you. Over the past year or so I’ve seen an increase of people rehoming 2 Syrians together or even just housing them together 🤦‍♀️! And it pains me that people keep single rats 😭 I would love to own rats in the future and have done a lot of research on housing and proper care for them, so it is frustrating when people can’t be bothered to do the same.

[@rowdyrats7035]

@@Graces_life It pains me as well to see rats being kept alone. I have 5 beautiful rat boys and one heart rat who will forever sleep inside my heart. ❤ Couple of months ago one of my country's rodent group's admin's got a single female rat. The admin is a kid, but like 11+, and they were aware of the fact that rats need friends. But they decided to go and get a rat from some famous bird farm (it has all kinds of exotic animals as well). The man who owns it is, in my opinion, not that great of a person. I consider the way he breeds mice and rats as a mill breeding, since they don't get appropriate food and live in like 10cm filth. He has snakes, so I'm assuming those are for feed as well, but even they deserve good food and clean living. He also doesn't give great advice and sells small cages for rodents. Anyways, apparently the rat they got had tried to attack its sibling, so the man said it would be better alone. They aren't even thinking about trying to bond her with other rats, saying that she's happy with humans, even though humans can't replace other rats. And I can't even say anything about it anymore because I don't want to risk getting kicked out of the group, because I actually educate a lot of people there on hamster and other small rodents care. Sorry for the long comment, I just haven't been able to vent about this anywhere.

[@XanafiedcatGaming]

I was fortunate enough to have a animal classroom at one of my schools. They had hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, ferrets, snakes, lizards, and even two cats. Looking back now it is a miracle a disaster didn't happen there since it was a class for kids of all ages. That is where I fell in love with gerbils, we had about 4 of them there in two 10 gallon tanks. But they certainly didn't have enough bedding to burrow and I don't think they had wheels. I wish I knew what I know about gerbils now so I could have improved the class gerbils environment back then. One time I remember a small rodent managed to escape their cage, it wasn't a gerbil but I don't remember exactly what kind of rodent it was. The teacher had a dog who was her personal animal that came with her to school everyday. When the rodent escaped the teacher found the rodent completely unharmed in the dogs mouth. He was protecting it from the cats in the classroom until someone returned. Amazing how animals of different species can understand certain situations and protect each other. Eventually a kid got hurt for bothering a animal they were told to leave alone and the class got shutdown after a professional found to many unsafe health violations. But it was still a great learning experience for me. I took that class for around 5 years and to this day I still love gerbils. Now I have two gerbils in a nice 40 gallon tank with a topper that covers the whole thing. All wooden equipment and they seem quite happy. I continue to read more about gerbils online and from books and Munchie's videos are also a big help.

[@Silver_wind_1987_]

Doggo: must protec tiny baby from evil meows

[@snakewithapen5489]

OMG, that tiny pile of cardboard bedding is so sad! That poor, poor creature- I can only imagine how desperate they were to get any feeling of cover and burrowing. Forced to chew up their dirty floor to make any. My experience with keeping ghost shrimp and fish makes me think I would love gerbils, bc I'm used to having pets that love to hide. It's like a fun game of hide and seek, trying to see if I can spot a peek of them lol. Ik not everyone likes shy pets, but if that's the case they should get an animal that actually likes to be handled and not small animals!

[@teijaflink2226]

Broke my heart, poor little girl tried everything to build herself a nest in her prison, that people can't even bother to provide bedding, unbelievable.

[@BrendaDrummond]

It’s amazing in today’s world of infinite information, that someone would not have known that gerbils are burrow animals. It doesn’t surprise me with this person though, because if they’re the type to abandon their pet, then yeah, they wouldn’t do research for the best care. I just adopted a hamster who was left behind after the owners moved out of their apartment, and it blows my mind that people can be so cruel. He is the sweetest little creature and took like 2 weeks to fully tame. I just can’t fathom people who are this evil. And, yes I feel it’s pure evil. These animals have no say in their care. It literally makes me cry. Thank you so much for all you do for these babies and for educating us all along the way!

[@gurlypleasestoptehe3165]

I’m so happy I subscribed to you munchie because i will admit I had a hammy but I didn’t have a proper cage for it but now I’ve done my research and I’ve ordered everything my hammy needs and just over all got better care for him

[@k-jackson8538]

I'm so happy for you and your ham now he or she can enjoy life

[@lullabycyanure9029]

Time to shame myself. Years ago my partner and I wanted a hamster but because we searched a little before we knew it was a loner kind of creatures. Fine, we’ll just get one. Once in the store we fell in love with gerbils. We got two males and bought the most inadequate small wired cage because the seller told us it was fine. I felt horrible because it looked like they had no room so I got my old rat cage and yeee way more space ! The bottom was plastic. They chewed right through it. I just came into the room to see one of the gerbil chilling near the hole and the other disappeared. We searched and found him under the bed, scared lil baby, and concluded that the safest thing was a tank. So in the end our gerbils lived in a tank with plenty of bedding to burrow and toys to chew on etc. But still, shame on us for the impulse buy and the very rocky beginning of their care. Thank you for your educational videos and for your hard work.

[@vixxenreigns]

I run one of the rattery clubs on Facebook and believe me....some of the things that people come up with is ridiculous and disturbing. Rats have to be in pairs at the very least. It insane how people will still push wanting a single rat and it's like no one that's ethical will sell you a single rat unless you prove you already have pre-existing animals. People piss me off. Gerbils are NOT solitary either and like rats, no matter how much time you claim you are going to spend with and bond with the animal, it still NEEDS a buddy of its own species.

[@jessicakullander8517]

Poor ger-baby! Your channel was a great starting point to begin learning about pocket pets when we decided to get 2 gerbils for our kids last year. Keep teaching! Thank you for sharing!

[@WeeLin]

Noooooo! How can people be so heartless? You'd have to be a real POS to abandon an animal like this! This weekend, I'm adopting a dwarf hamster that was abandoned and left in a cage that was deemed unsuitable and unsanitary by the animal rescue (in their words, the hamsters were found "walking around in their own filth"). He's also very scared of humans, so I hate to think of how he's been treated in the past. His name is Onion, he's adorable and he'll be getting a big cage with plenty of toys when I pick him up on Saturday.

[@k-jackson8538]

That nest is so heartbreaking the poor baby tried her best the owner is despicable and thank God the roommate who probably never heard anything about gerbils re-homed but I wish they did some research

[@star_luvrss]

Aw poor baby :( I’m glad you guys rescued her

[@reyrats]

I think the cage (without the platforms) will work perfectly for a few young rats before they’re ready for their forever home

[@memorimurasaki1913]

I've never had gerbils, but even I would have noticed that this is very wrong. The bacteria in there...I pray she did not get too sick.

[@MunchiesPlace]

Thankfully she was healthy.

[@memorimurasaki1913]

@@MunchiesPlace Lord, she's a tank. 😄

[@memorimurasaki1913]

Edit: did not get too sick! Man! Autocorrection is strong with me today.

[@djdoolittle1315]

You have an heart of gold 🐱

[@deadaccount6385]

This is heartbreaking. Pets deserve better… Edit: I wish people did research and thought ahead about the commitment

[@Angel.1.3.1]

Is their any suggestions on what cage I should get for 2 gerbils I haven't bought them yet but I will .soon

[@tiffanykey4589]

Hoping bonding goes on ok . Poor sweetheart I bet she is living her best life now I know for split cage they can’t have much bedding but as soon as it’s all done she’s going love it! My dad had gerbils in the 70’s in rota stacks. Now he has tanks of gerbil I think 21 now in different tanks he rescues them but keeps them all very well looked after . My parents house is basically gerbil and hamster heaven now. When my dad first rescued his first gerbil he did have a little tank in a Alaska cage for abit then put him ( her now pets at home miss sex 🙄 thank god no baby’s) in a big tank and got a friend for her and started his learning about intros . He’s done it a lot now and helps so many others with gerbil care. I’ve started something off . My dads gerbils and me hamsters 😂 it’s nice that my passion has rubbed off onto my mum and dad.

[@McChicken03]

That is the saddest looking cage I’ve ever seen.

[@fitzguineavision]

I definately agree that people who abandon animals are SCUM!! It's wrong, it's also against the law. And I agree that cage is NOT suitable!

[@larrat6408]

For anyone looking for some restoration in faith, today i just upgraded my gerbils from their 40 gallon tank to a 75 gallon tank.

[@maciebrindley3696]

My first experience owning gerbils was horrid. When I was in 7th or 8th grade I wanted a hamster. My parents took me to a pet store (i forgot the name of it) and they only had baby hamsters that weren’t old enough to be sold. Yes, they bred their own animals right there in the store. The employee told me I could either wait until they’re old enough or look at the gerbils because she said they’re similar. I looked at the gerbils and I fell in love. I chose two because they told me they do best in pairs, so at least they told me one thing correct. I then went to Walmart and bought a very cheap plastic cage for them. The one gerbil died within the first week and he had teeth marks on him so younger me assumed the other gerbil killed him. I never tried to pair him with another gerbil because I assumed he was a loner. Within weeks of keeping him in a plastic cage it was completely all chewed up, but I never got him another cage🤦‍♀️ after a few months of having the gerbil, I went back to the store and bought two more. I kept these ones in a three-tier wire cage. One of them was very aggressive so I never interacted them either of them because I was scared of the one gerbil. I even had balls for them to run around in🤦‍♀️ one of the gerbils even fell downstairs inside the ball, to this day I have no clue how he didn’t hurt himself. Then about a year and a half later my family and I decided to move three states away and I couldn’t bring the gerbils with us. I rehomed the loner gerbil to this lady who had a bunch of cages connected together with tubes, I thought her care was amazing at the time lol. I was having a hard time rehoming the pair because one was aggressive, so what my parents told me to do was to release the aggressive gerbil out into the wild. I still feel guilty to this day… Needless to say I owe those gerbils an apology. I wish they would’ve had a chance at proper care like my current hamsters and gerbils. Anyway, that was my first experience owning gerbils. Absolutely terrible

[@yms4355]

Yo wtf my story is SO similar!! This is why a child's first pet should be a virtual one. Geez. ;_;

[@somebvnny]

A few years ago my parents got me a rabbit for Christmas. I called her Reese, I loved her and she lived a very happy life. (unfortunately she passed last year) I really wasn't ready to have a pet bunny though! I talked about adopting a bunny some day and they really surprised me with Reese. I'm still a bunny mama now and I love my bunny baby Oliver who I rescued earlier this year. Anyway I know my parents meant well but getting me a bunny for Christmas was extremely overwhelming and stressful and I had to do a lot of research immediately. There was a lot of trial and error with Reese because of that.

[@karieanneconnor2494]

I totally agree with u 101 percentage munch x

[@claratalbot7613]

That poor gerbil. The absolute distress she must have been before getting rescued. I hope the pairing goes well & she get to go to a loving home. The idea of just abandoning &/or dumping an animal onto someone else is heartbreaking to me. I've had to give animals up for adoption before & while it hurt I knew they would be going to a good home rather than this person just not caring & dumping this poor baby. I don't care what situation u are in. If ur going to give up an animal than u take it to a rescue, call a rescue to pick it up, or give it to someone after u've found someone who can take care of it & they know they're going to receive it. Not just dumped on them

[@eriathwen1320]

Videos that you can smell 😭 poor little gerbil having to live in that stench.

[@myoldvhstapes]

It's especially terrible on the owner's part because gerbils have MUCH less smell to their waste than the other small animals. It takes a LOT of neglect for a gerbil enclosure to reek.

[@ImHyungSoo]

Poor little gerbil, I have never owned gerbils but I do know decent care for them as I try to have knowledge on small pet care. And this is just sad, not only is it a horrid mess but just sad to see how she had to make her own bedding.... As for the different pet types for cage listings, it's beyond ridiculous... I have a chinchilla, a chinese hamster, and a campbell's dwarf and no way in hell would my hamsters require the same things as a chinchilla.... My chinchilla is living her best life in a two story midwest critter nation, fleece covering everything plastic and all the toys, while my chinese hamster is in a 50 gal bin, the dwarf is currently in a prevue 528 until I get another bin but I make sure to pile it with bedding and everything she needs. Still i'm glad you saved her, it's sad enough seeing them put in bad enclosures but for an animal that needs companionship and to have not had that for some time....

[@k-jackson8538]

I love munchies hair and outfit so pretty

[@giovannisingergs4159]

I feel like we have to update our pet care for a small animal companions even if they're small they still need big enclosures and proper care

[@fitzguineavision]

Dyed colors like that house looking thing is also toxic for guinea pigs. I think it'd be toxic to all small animals to be honest,

[@fabiennevandommelen]

Hey Munchie, you talked a bit about driving with hamsters due to moving. How long would you recommend driving at max? My boyfriend will move next year (an hour from where we live now) so I was wondering how many driving hours are responsible and if you have any tips/tricks

[@MunchiesPlace]

An hour drive is fine, but it's based off of each individual hamster and how well they do for car rides. If they're calm, great, if they're stressed, it may be a small part of their overall life, and should not greatly impact them if it's within an hour. Drive across country is usually where i tell people, that's too long and could risk the hamster's health.

[@aardfay]

Make sure to provide your hamster with a bit of bedding (from the cage, so it smells familiar) in the travel cage so they can borrow and feel safe during the trip, food, water bottle. Giving cucumber instead helps if you're afraid the water could spill or you can't attach a water bottle.

[@fabiennevandommelen]

@@MunchiesPlace Thank you! I love your videos by the way. Luckily the Netherlands isn't as big as the US.

[@danasteimann502]

I love your videos! I hope people will understand one day that hamsters and other pets are not a throw away item They are living beings 😵‍💫😳😭 and I love your hair Color btw !😍

[@KaBArtStudioStLeonard]

The cage isn't too terrible, but definitely not for a gerbil! I use it for a VERY temporary travel cage for my sugar gliders.

[@Silver_wind_1987_]

I'd use it for a travel cage for a SMALL bird or an attachment of some sort but oof

[@kathrynphillips-jb5bo]

How absolutely disgusting is that? People who can't take care of animals or looking after them are a right scum and a coward. I'd never ever do anything like that with my animals. I'm always there for them 24.7, I all the time care for them, cleaning them, feeding them, looking after them and etc. I'm never ever like that whereby abandon these animals. That is not me.

[@skelletonheart9585]

I actually modified a cage i could comfortably sit in, so that i could use more substrate, cause i read that they like to dig and make tunnels, I've got the biggest wheel i could find. I'm still working on bonding with them more cause they freak out when i get them out so i can make their cage clean again, and every time i feel sorry because of this stress i put them through. And i have a question do they need a saltstone or not I've found articles with yes and no. I really love my Gerbils and i like to sit in front of the cage and feed them with their food. (they love 2 or 3 ingredients of the mix)

[@PricelessJesus]

SICKENING 😢😢😢😢

[@-_YouMayFind_-]

But is that roommate still alive? Leaving your stuff there seems very unusual Poor gerbil

[@MunchiesPlace]

From our understanding of what the person said, she just up and left. It honestly sounded like she was a problem roommate for sometime before she bailed as the roommate never wanted the gerbil in the house in the first place.

[@erikahalverson5205]

That cage might be ok for a chinchilla travel (or to put them in while you're cleaning out their main cage) cage, but that's it. Maybe also like the other comment where it's a temporary cage for young rats before they go to their furever big cage. I can't believe someone would be so cruel and do that to an animal.

[@RachelStormborn]

Poor thing. Sheesh.

[@rowdyrats7035]

The cage looks disgusting! 🤢 I can't believe that someone could look at the cage and think that, oh this is fine. I honestly wouldn't even keep rats in that cage, since it's pretty small, maybe as temporary cage for young rats if the shelves are taken out and replaced with ropes, hammocks etc, but definitely not for adult rats. I have 5 boys and they are big, they couldn't even properly run around in there. 😅 Was the bonding successful? 🥰

[@MunchiesPlace]

Yes it was. She's now living with her bonded friend. So a happy ending. ♥️

[@rowdyrats7035]

@@MunchiesPlace So happy to hear that! ❤❤❤

[@nicole-ej2wx]

as someone who has kept rats for almost three years, this cage isn't suitable for them either, there isn't enough floor space. not to mention that rats NEED a deep layer of substrate just like gerbils which this cage can't provide, fleece isn't an acceptable "substrate" for rats. I'm not sure this cage is fit for any small animal.

[@fitzguineavision]

Sorry that tray just made me want to vomit. that's nasty. If people are going to get animals it should be a long term comittement not just toss around like a pingpong ball.

[@awetistic5295]

The cage is too small for rats. Even the cage I only have for the time of quarantine and introduction of new rats is larger, and I think it's still a bit small when introduction takes a long time. Right now I have two baby boys in it and they might be tiny, but they grow fast and have boundless energy. I make sure they get lots and lots of free roaming time to make up for the smaller space. It's also important that a permanent pack of rats needs at least three, two isn't enough and can lead to behavioural issues.

[@cuddlecows]

I had to dip from an apartment I was sharing with an ex friend. There was too much drama (it was a horrible situation for my safety and my animals). The first thing I took out of the house were my animals. THEN came back for the stuff I could take. I took my animals out before anything else. 🤷‍♀️ Guess there are two kinds of people. 🤦‍♀️

[@kswick8581]

I have not owned small animals, however I do know a lot about them. I have baby sat guinea pigs twice and it made me feel so bad because I know these people they are good people and they are keeping guinea pigs alone and in cages that are not even suitable for hamsters! So I was getting rode rage walking into my room just seeing these poor babies! And I feel just horrible that people are not getting the proper information to have a successful happy experience! Come on pet shops do better!

[@katielouise6763]

I wouldn’t even put rats in there, weather they’re babies or not. My hospital cage I have for my rats is bigger than that. Plus rats still need a good layer of bedding so they can burrow as well. It’s an awful excuse for a cage

[@twinmomma2011]

Some sellers on Amazon will give gift cards if you give a 4 or 5 star review. However if Amazon finds out they will punish the customer by revoking the ability to leave ANY review, and the ability to ask or answer ANY questions. They don't punish the seller though... The gift card for review looks legit, they even use the Amazon logo, and Amazon gift cards..

[@deadaccount6385]

I have a question about to gerbils: Why is it bad to have a single gerbil? I don’t have gerbils and don’t plan on getting any gerbils in the near future. I just want to be educated about them because they’re a small pet I like. I doubt I’ll ever have gerbils but I’m happy to be educated and help advocate for correct care

[@marinavengohecheadelgado1773]

Hi! Gerbils are social animals and live in colonies in the wild, so when kept in captivity there should be at least a pair of the same sex (not of different sex or they would breed every 2 months).

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

10 gallon it’s too small,I would think bare minimum is 360 sq inches or 20 gallon,but gerbils are social so 2 would need 30-40 gallons

[@aoimherose6338]

I'm 13yrs old and most of my pocket money goes on my beautiful gerbils I saved up for quite a while to buy an IKEA detolf and then I got them. I find it crazy that some children know how to look after animals the adults

[@aardfay]

No, it's not a good size cage for a rat or any animal. Maybe a spider would be happy with this size, but I don't know much about spiders. Rats not only need a way bigger cage, and lots of free roaming time, but they also must live in a group -- never alone.

[@DamonAkuma92]

Tall cages make zero since for ground animal's.

[@nightlyoko626]

Omg even for a rat I would at least put hammocks or like shelves like that setup rn isn’t suitable for any animal whatsoever

[@riivattu2869]

As a quarantine cage for rats? Maybe, but any other use just no. I would not put rats in such a small cage, you can’t fit much in there and rats as well love to burrow. They should have a digging box if not a deep layer of bedding on the cage floor, but this cage really can’t fit that. Nor a lot of enrichment. Just bad and sad that rat owners would choose this cage 😬

[@lissyplusrats8287]

Definitely not for rats! Yeesh this is awful 😞

[@monicamares9198]

Not good for rats

[@susandimino8709]

Omg that's a horrible cage. I rescued a female gerbil from our local shelter a year ago she was 12 weeks old I bought a tank for her it's a 20 gallon wide thought it would work now a year later she bigger and now can see I need a bigger tank. She has the best tunnel system under her bedding and chews like crazy I spend alit of money on willow balls and other stuff for her chewing needs I call her the buzz saw she chews up the stuff I give her fast. She never liked any of the hamster gerbil food mixes I bought. I give her other stuff to eat but never liked regular hamster gerbil food.

[@shannibeth]

Please never put rats in this cage!!!! Even the bigger cage is going to be too small. rats also need substrate in the bottom for digging scatter feeding etc. My boys cage is 5 foot high and they need that space. Even young rats need space please don't recommend this cage for basically any animal it's just useless.