Gerbils are highly social, burrowing animals with specific environmental and social needs that standard pet shop cages typically fail to meet, resulting in widespread welfare deficits in companion gerbil keeping.
Gerbils are frequently marketed as low-maintenance starter pets but their actual welfare needs are more demanding than commonly understood. The combination of strong social bonding and burrowing motivation means that solitary housing in shallow-bedded cages represents a double welfare failure. Lone-housed gerbils perform extensive stereotypic digging at cage corners, a clear indicator of frustrated burrowing motivation. Deep substrate tanks allowing genuine burrow construction result in dramatically better welfare outcomes. Owner education about gerbil social and environmental needs is the most important lever for improving welfare across the millions of gerbils kept as pets globally.