Are gerbils like rats?

I know a lot about rats, but nothing about gerbils. They look a bit like rats, what are the differences?
Answers:
Well, I've had both....let me tell you the differences.
Aside from the fact that they have totally different histories as to how they came into being pets. Aside from the fact that they are both social rodents and live in groups both in the wild and preferably as pets.
Gerbils are desert animals, and they are herbivores. They actually have a very restrictive diet compared to our omnivore rats. Rats like a cool, more humid environment.
Gerbils as pets
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=ge...
Rats as pets
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=ra...
Gerbils and rats don't look alike when you get to know them.
Gerbils are only half the size of a rat, with a shorter face compared to a rat.
Gerbil images
http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en%26amp;q=g...
Rat images
http://images.google.ca/images?svnum=10%26amp;...
And ratsies is soooo much cuter
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/featured...
Ok, gerbs can be cute too
http://static.flickr.com/50/115058926_3a...
I had to write in *pet* rats in order to find pleasant images for you, otherwise there were some grizzly images of dead wild rats. Gerbils came up with very pleasant images without having to write in the word *pet*. Now that's a big difference I would have never thought of.
Rats are crepuscular, most active in the coolness of dusk and dawn, and they sleep off and on during the day and the night. Rats easily adapt to your lifestyles. Gerbils are diurnal, awake and foraging during the day and sleeping in their cool tunnels at night. They suit your lifestyle perfectly.
Being desert animals gerbils drink very little. They produce little urine and their feces are smaller and harder and practically odorless.
Rats drink a lot of water. Each rat would drink an ounce of water a day if they were just fed dry food. They pee a lot, urine mark, and produce an abundance of large feces.
Gerbils have hairy tails, rats have hair on their tail but it looks bare without close inspection. A survival instinct of both rodents is to deglove it's tail in order to get away from a predator that has caught it by the tail. The gerbil's tail degloves a lot easier then the rat's tail. For both rodents it's very painful
Degloving
http://www.hannas.com/srg_files/gerbilpe...
http://ratguide.com/health/wounds/deglov...
This is why you never pick up either rodent by it's tail.
Rats are more intelligent then gerbils, wild rats have had to be more resourceful in the wild conditions in which they live. Rats are very adaptable, they've learned to live around humans and take advantage of our "generosity". This means they are a commensal rodent.
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/ag369/notes/commensa...
This is also why they were so easy to domesticate into pets. This is why domestic rats have retained this resourcefulness, and intelligence.
Gerbils live in the desert and fend for themselves. There are not large groups of humans living in the desert so the gerbils never had to adapt to humans and their ways. I feel that gerbils are still "wild" in their day to day activities. That's why I feel that gerbils (and hamsters) don't really need us, save for their comforts, because we have chosen to keep them in captivity.
Since pet rats are not afraid of humans, it makes them gentler, more trusting, of us and therefore, less likely to bite. I have petted many a sleeping rat and they wake up with a, "hi, how are you?", and a stretch and a yawn.
Gerbils are easy to scare and frankly, you let sleeping gerbils lie. Their wild instinct makes them less trusting of humans and therefore quick to react in defence with a bite.
My gerbils did not need me to hang around them, only to feed and water them, and keep their cage clean. Gerbils don't add humans to their colony. My rats need me for more then their immediate comforts. They need me for attention and companionship as well. I am a part of their colony. That is the biggest difference.
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"

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Both creatures are rodents, and both creatures can make enjoyable pets - but gerbils are way cuter!

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No, they taste more like chicken.

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no gerbils are a bit bigger and don't have a tail also rats are more capable of destruction

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Gerbils ARE rats.
They are just a less-ugly breed of rats.
And that gal above me ^ is wrong--rats are MUCH bigger.
They can grow as big as cats.

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gerbils are very different than rats. gerbils don't need a big cage. usually a 10 or 20 gal. tank will be good for them. but like rats they are very social, so do best in pairs. gerbils are harder to hold than rats, but just as friendly and sweet. obviously gerbils need different food than rats. gerbils also need sandbaths every so often to keep their fur clean and healthy.
here is a helpful site about gerbils:
http://www.abcgerbils.com/whygerbils.htm...
p.s. - i hope you realize the 3 idiots right above me are stupid and know nothing about gerbils. rats are bigger than gerbils, gerbils DO have a tail, and gerbils are NOT a different breed of rat.

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Gerbils were first introduced to the pet industry in 1964. These were the Mongolian gerbils. Their value as pets was soon appreciated and they are now found in pet shops all over the UK and USA
Pet gerbils have an average lifespan of 2 to 4 years. Some have been known to live five or six years. It is illegal to purchase, import or keep a gerbil as a pet in the U.S. State of California.

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The biggest differences in a rat and a gerbil are:
Rats are (awake at night) nocturnal, are larger, have an elongated snoot and have a hairless tail and they are very social.
Gerbils are (awake during the day) diurnal, are smaller, have a shorter snoot, large eyes, have a furry tail and are social also. They have a cuter appearance too.
In my opinion, rats may not be as cute but I think they are much friendlier, smarter and easier to hold.

I don't understand why people have to be so obnoxious on here. Like the comment about them tasting like chicken...(get a life) That is just nasty.

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Gerbils are more prone to biting. They are very curious and very industrious - always building, burrowing, nesting, and shredding.
They are smarter than hamsters but not as smart as rats.They are often referred to as being "very social" although it's just their natural curiosity.
When they get scared or startled, gerbils behave like prairie dogs and stand up on their hind legs. They do what we call "tapping" and rapidly tap the ground with their feet to warn other gerbils of danger. Even gerbils raised alone do this.
*Diurnal means an animal sleeps at night and is awake during the day. Since only 1 scientist has actually researched gerbs in the wild I'm not buying it. Mine have always been up and down all hours of the day and night.
**Gerbils need a lot of mental stimulation and if you only have 1 it will die very fast without a lot of interaction. Mine still likes to sleep over my heartbeat. :)

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What Spazrats and PeahiWahine said sum it up pretty well.

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I have rats and gerbils. Gerbils are a bit like rats. I'd call them "rats-light". They are bold and curious and love to come out and play. However they are much easier to care for (being desert animals and not omniverous). The rats are my stinkiest rodents and the gerbils least. However the rats are much more affectionate and trainable than the gerbils.
The gerbils are much more content to play and stay in their tank. They are fun to watch in their tank (if you try to watch the rats they all hang on the bars begging to be let out). Gerbils are much easier to breed and keep many of -- it is hard to have time for more than one pair (or grouping of rats). Gerbils live in a 10 gallon tank that only needs to be cleaned out every two weeks. They are thrilled with the littlest gift like a paper towel roll. My gerbils make me very happy and demand very little in return.
Rats like to come over and visit with me more, play games, like chase/wrestle/tickle, and like to groom me and be groomed. Rats don't like to be caged much. The rats want to be out all the time. They really depend on their person for amusement and are very-dog like. Rats are rewarding pets but at the same time much more responsibility. Mine live in a 3 foot cage that needs to be cleaned out once or twice a week.
If you get either rats or gerbils from breeder who breeds confident friendly animals they won't bite -- I never have to worry about my gerbils or rats biting me or anyone else.

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No. Gerbils are smaller and not at all people-friendly. They run away at pretty much every oppurtunity, tend to bite/scratch, are too stupid to learn tricks, etc. However, I've never heard anyone get scared of their tails. You can buy exercise wheels for them.
Rats are almost as smart as dogs, can be trained, are bigger and generally more friendly, and refuse to use the wheels or balls.

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Well I own both and would say no not really.Gerbils do get tame but are never as affectionate as rats and are far more hyper.Rats are far smarter and about twice the size.Gerbils are probably easier pets in the sense that they need less cleaning out and don't need as big an enclousure.They are also happy with each others company wheras rats love to spend time with their owner.I personally feel rats are more rewarding if you have the time to get the most out of them as pets.
Having read what others say Spazrats answer is perfect really.

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HECK NO!! Gerbils are gross and mean...rats are sweet and smart.