My son has lost interest in his gerbils.  He would like to find a good
home for them, or some other humane way to give them up.  What options
exist for the owner of two male gerbils (about one year old) in the
Kansas City area?  Can they be released into the wild?  Are there
rescue or gerbil adoption organizations in the KC area?

Please do not release the gerbils into the wild. Tame, cage-raised
creatures cannot survive outdoors.

I think your best option is to find someone locally who is interested
in adopting the gerbils. A small classified ad would probably bring
good results, particularly if you offer the gerbils and their cage for
free to a good home.

There is an online site for classified ads related to gerbils:

http://www.agsgerbils.org/classifieds/

Can you give them back to a local pet store?  If you do place an ad in
the paper - make sure the people want it for the right reasons.  Many
snake owners look for free lunches all the time.  Same thing for
anyone with a bunny!

You can release them in the wild, but it is doubtful they will survive
longer than a few days before a predator or their diet (poisonous
plants) does them in.

Many pet stores would take them back esp. for free.  

Assuming this is not a trolling expedition....there will be no rodent
type adoption/rescue organizations a la dogs and cats.

Another option is consignment at some pet stores, esp the one you
bought them from.  You can list any price you'd like and you simply
give a cut to the shop to display the items for you.

Hi,

Another couple ideas:

Possibly your childs schoolteacher could add them to her class, the
care could become a "class project"...

Put them in the "free" column of your local newspaper...

~~Cynthia