Adopt don’t shop – where can I find Gerbils & Rescue Centres?

We volunteer for a Rescue Charity, and our colleagues and fellow Rescue Centres work tirelessly to re-home abandoned, unwanted or reluctantly relinquished pets that arrive every week. SPRAW (Small Pet Rodent Awareness Week) have some links and resources to help you find your local rescues. We have listed below some UK based Rescue Centres, or please search online for others locally to you.

All the Gerbils featured in our website are rescues, either rehomed by us or adopted by us or from other Rescue Centres.

Every year, thousands of unwanted pets enter shelters across the UK. Here are four reasons why you should adopt…

You save a life: When you adopt, not only do you give your Gerbils a loving forever home. You also make space for other Rescue pets desperately in need of care.

You fund charities, not rodent mills: Many Gerbils bought from Pet Shops will have come from Breeders or Rodent Mills (an awful practice, where rodents are mass bred and kept in trays). Adopt, and your money will go to a Charity instead of funding Rodent Mills.

You’re stopping overpopulation: By going to a Rescue instead of a Pet Shop or Breeder, you’re no longer encouraging unnecessary breeding for profit. Breeders compound the issue of unwanted pets. Your Gerbils will also be professionally sexed, which is not always the case from pet shops, resulting in more unwanted litters.

You get support from the Charity: A Rescue will know the history and temperament of your pet and whether it will suit your lifestyle. They will help you find the right accommodation, give you professional advice on Gerbil care and give you all the advice you need for your pet to lead a happy healthy life. Rescue will not promote unsuitable housing or bad practice like many chain Pet Shops.

Jonathan and Richard who are currently adopted by us and with us permanently. At 2 years+ these boys had clearly had a traumatic time with young children and lack of care; but within 4 months they are different boys, friendly, confident and happy.

Brothers Lemmy, Larry & Lucas who were handed into rescue after being seen advertised for free on Gumtree. Animals advertised for free can end up in the hands of hoarders, animal abusers or as snake and reptile food. NEVER give animals away for free. If you spot an advert, message the person advertising, as they often don’t realise and may thank you. These lucky boys ended up being adopted by a wonderful family and brought each other so much joy!

Where can I find Gerbils? (If you know of any reputable Rescues we’ve missed off, drop us a message on Instagram – gerbilcare.co.uk and we’ll update this list).

Gerbil Owners UK is an extremely helpful forum and may know of Gerbils that need rehoming as well as giving good advice.

UK Wide

RSPCA (England & Wales): Use their search function for “Small Furries” enter your postcode, then “Refine Search” to narrow it down to Gerbils Search rescue pets in need of adoption today | RSPCA

Blue Cross: Rehome a Gerbil | Blue Cross

SPCA (Scotland): Scottish SPCA

USPCA (Northern Ireland): USPCA

South East

Gerbil & Rodent Rescue: *UKs only specialist Gerbil Rescue* London, Selhurst: Home (gerbilandrodentrescue.co.uk)

Other Rescues: here are some recommended on the Gerbil and Rodent Rescue website Other rescues (gerbilandrodentrescue.co.uk)

ARC (Animal Rescue & Care): Twickenham: Animals fostered in homes around Twickenham area Animal Rescue and Care

Higgles Piggles: Clacton-on-Sea Higgles Piggles Facebook Page

Wood Green: North London: Wood Green Animal Rescue

Raystede: near Brighton: Raystede

Mimis Rodent Rescue: London, Stratford: Facebook – Mimi’s Rodent Rescue

Foal Farm: Biggin Hill: Foal Farm

Crittery: Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Crittery

Second Chance: Southampton: Second Chance

South West

Cheltenham Animal Shelter: – GAWA

Mickelmarsh Mouse House: Bristol: Mickelmarsh

St Giles Animal Rescue: Taunton: St Giles Animal Rescue

Somershire Hamster Rescue: Somerset: somershirehamsterrescue.org

Woodside Sanctuary: Plympton, Devon: Woodside Sanctuary

Marias Animal Shelter: Truro, Cornwall: MariasAnimalShelter

East

PACT Animal Sanctuary: Hingham, Norfolk: PACT

Higgles Piggles: Clacton-on-Sea Higgles Piggles Facebook Page

Suffolk & Essex Small Animal Welfare: Leavenheath, Suffolk: SESAW

Woodgreen: Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire: Woodgreen

Aunty Animal: Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire: AuntyAnimal

Suffolk Rodent Rescue: Suffolk Rodent Rescue

Midlands

Greatfield Small Animal Rescue: Kidderminster Greatfield Animal Rescue

The Animal House Rescue: Birmingham: TheAnimalHouseRescue

Burrowed Hearts: Nottingham: BurrowedHearts

Animals in Need: Little Irchester, Northamptonshire: AnimalsInNeed

Yorkshire & North East

Hull Animal Welfare: Hull, East Riding: HullAnimalWelfare

Wetheriggs Animal Rescue: Barnard Castle, Country Durham: Wetheriggs

Pawz for Thought: Sunderland, Tyne & Wear: PawzForThought

Brysons Animal Shelter: Gateshead, Tyne & Wear: Brysons

Eden Animal Rescue: Penrith, Cumbria: EdenAnimalRescue

North West

Bacchus Residents: Cheshire: Bacchus Residents

Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary: Edenfield, Lancashire: Bleakholt

Tiny Paws MCR: Sale, Manchester: TinyPaws

Tails Animal Rescue: Northwich, Cheshire: TailsAnimalRescue

Wales

All Creatures Great & Small: Llanfrechfa, Cwmbran: AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall

Greenacres Rescue: Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire: GreenAcreRescue

Notions Rescue: Lllanrumney, Cardiff: Notions Rescue

Scotland

Collective Animal Rescue: Edinburgh: Collective Animal Rescue

Wee Critters Rescue: Ullapool: Wee Critters Rescue / http://www.weecrittersrescue.com/

SPCA (Scotland): Scottish SPCA

Rescue Scottish Pets: https://www.rescuescottishpets.co.uk/

Willows Animal Sanctuary: https://www.willowsanimals.com/

Borders Pet Rescue: Earlston: https://www.borderspetrescue.org/

Fionas Arc: Oban: https://fionasark.org.uk/