Saturday, May 9, 2009

Is it a Gerbil or Hamster?

We just aquired a rodent pet from a co-worker who says it's a gerbil. But he's pretty chubby, black %26 white, with a stubby tail. His ears stick upand he keeps food in his cheeks. I say he's a hamster, my fiance says gerbil.
They're so similiar it's hard to tell the difference...anything else I should look for to determine what it is?
Answers:
There's a really big difference between a gerbil and a hamster... and the easiest way to distinguish from the two is that a gerbil has a long tail and a hamster barely has one.
What you have is a hamster.
definitely a hamster! gerbils dont hold food in there cheeks and have long tails
Is there any way to post a picture?
The main difference I can think of is the tail
Hamster- short, stubby, hairless-ish
Gerbil- long %26 fluffy. Usualy with a tuft at the end
If it is Black and White my guess is that it is a hamster.
I have never seen a two toned gerbil...
I beleive gerbils have long tails and resimble a mouse. Hamsters are hamsters. Find photos on the internet and compare your animal to the gerbil and hamster photos. Or go to Petsmart and ask them.
gerbils have tails like rats!!well they are cuter but still have long tails
They look nothing alike. It sounds like you have a hamster. Gerbils have a long hairy tail, big black eyes and big ears. Hamsters have shorter legs, fat soft bodies, stuff food in their cheeks and short tails. see:
http://www.hamsters.co.uk/ for hamster pix. Gerbils do come in black and white also.
Gerbils have long tails covered with fur. They don't have cheek pouches.
Hamsters have short stubby tails and hold food in their cheeks.
Congrats on the new hamster!
Gerbils tend to have a fairly long tail, so from the info you provided I'd say hamster.
here's the simplest way to solve it:
try and pick it up... if it lets you, it's a hamster; if not, a gerbil
i've had multiple of both, so just trust me on this one
gerbils have long tails it is a hamster
Hamster
i dont think gerbils store food in their cheeks not sure hamsters do that either...chip munks do. hamsters have short stubby tails, and gerbils have long tails thats fuzzy on the end. its possible its a gerbil and the tail somehow got cut off.
hope i helped
It's a Hamster! I have 2 Gerbils myself, and they have long tails, and do not hold food in it's cheeks. They have sharper claws, and smaller hands, unlike hamsters.
ok.. i think it's a gerbil because i used to have gerbils %26 my dad had hamsters [when he was younger] i thought hamsters have long tails %26 gerbils have the little stubs. but my gerbils didn't stuff their cheeks. personally i think its a gerbil
if you have ever seen a kangaroo mouse i think a gerbil kind of resembles one.lol. any way girbils have a long tail and hamsters have short stubby ones
if its chubby it could be a gerbil , lol but hamsters keeps food in there cheek , so i say its a hamster. thats so funny, hope you win the argument . lol
sounds like a hamster. Does it sleep all day? If so, it is a hamster. Does it like to chew cardboard like a maniac? It is a gerbil. Does it have a furry tail? If so, it is a gerbil.
You have a hamster.
Post a picture of him in your question. It will help.
It's most definitely a hamster. Short tail and storing food in cheek pouches is a hamster thing, not gerbil
it has to be a hamster, they are the only rodents that hold food in their cheeks and gerbils have long tails, not short and stubby ones
gerbils ahve long tails and nails, hamsters are cute and fluffy and hoard their food in their pouches in their cheeks.

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