brought home 2 gerbils

[BellaBella]

you could get this:

 

[BellaBella]

here is a pic of my old set up - notice the cardboard along the floor levels (the top level of the wire cage was difficult to keep stuff in, no matter what) the bottom floor I made the wall high enough that it kept it in, except where the door was.

swiss cheese sweater :

 

[Jenn]

Wow!!! That's an incredible set up!!! I've got a ways to go to spoil my gerbils! It does give me some ideas, though. Thanks for the pics!

I thought about adding cardboard like you did, but I thought it would probably interfere with my being able to see them. I can deal with the mess, but I really need to get a more creative environment for them.

 

[Jenn]

Ok, Jen has inspired me to do more for my li'l gerbil buddies. We have an old 55 gallon fishtank not in use anymore and I'm going to work with that for their new environment. I also have a lot of old hamster tubes and such that I'll see if I can include for them. I'll get pictures later on when I get something up for them.

 

[SunshineChins]

Our gerbil Silky has a 20 gallon aquarium all to herself,, 55 gallons would be awesome for the little guys. Jenn, when we put our gerbils in the tub we would also put their wheel , TP tubes etc. and it look like a little gerbil playground.

Jen cool cage setup! Poor Silky.. I look at her cage and its so boring...LOL You guys have inspired me to look for more stuff for her. I always seem to see gerbil/hamster stuff at garage sales.

 

[Jenn]

I got the gerbils transferred into a 45 gallon tank today. I filled up the tank halfway full with bedding and hay, carefully placed their hidey house, tubes, wheel, and food and water dish. In no time at all, the little rascals had terrorized their entire environment and now everything is buried under the bedding. I guess whatever makes them happy! They do seem to really enjoy all the bedding to dig through. It has kept them busy most of the day. I'll post pics tomorrow when the kids give me back my computer - they're playing games on my computer that all my photos are on. I have the water bottle hanging from the side of the tank, but I have yet to find a food dish that I can hang from the tank as well. Right now it keeps getting buried. Any suggestions?

 

[Mystic]

I would suggest to keep the bowl from getting buried to put less bedding in the cage? If that makes any sense they won't be able to dig under the bowl and have it sink. Probably like a few inches of bedding would be sufficient.
They seems like they are very spoiled by the way! And such cuties! I had hamsters all my life up until I got my chinchilla, now I'm a chin addict like the rest of us! lol

 

[SunshineChins]

I wouldn't worry about it getting buried. Even if you put less bedding in the cage they are going to dig around and get bedding into it. Gerbils are smart and will have no problem finding their food dish. Silky has tons.. I mean tons of bedding to dig around and play in. Gerbils love bedding the more they have the happier they are. I belong to a yahoo group that is just gerbils: American Gerbil Society

 

[Jenn]

Thanks, Jenie, for the link. I actually got transferred the gerbils to a tank so they could have a ton of bedding to dig in without making a mess of my floor. I solved the problem by cutting a board to fit inside on one end. They can dig around it and under it, but it still lays flat. I have their hidey house on it, their food dish, wheel and access to their water bottle. So far it works great. At the moment, Chip and Dale have tunneled under the board and are sleeping underneath. I promise, pics tomorrow to show what I have done.

 

[Jenn]

Ok, I finally got the camera out. The kids informed me this morning, when I woke up, that Chip had been running on his wheel for hours and had woke them up! This is the first time one of the gerbils had acknowledged his wheel so I was excited to see him in action.

The first couple of pics give you an idea of what their new home looks like. The last pic was taken before I had placed a board inside to act as a shelf. It shows how they had buried their hidey house and would tunnel down to it. It is now on the shelf with the food, water and wheel and the shelf works great at keeping the area free from bedding. But they enjoy tunneling everywhere, including under the board, and that is where they slept last night. I just find gerbils so delightful to watch. They are such busy little guys!

 

[acbieri]

Looks great! They are great to watch!! I love watching them stand on their back legs its sooo cute!!

 

[SunshineChins]

Very nice cage and setup.. those are spoiled little guys.

 

[alli713]

Is that board in there particleboard? I would look for a pine board if I were you, as the glue can be toxic.

But I'm sure they love all the bedding, they love to dig!

 

[Jenn]

Yes, Alli, it is particleboard but I'm keeping a close eye on it until I can get it replaced. They haven't done anything till now except dig in the bedding and sleep under the board. If I notice any chewing on the board, it will come right out. But in the meantime, it does serve as a convenient shelf for the food, etc. as well as keeping the food uncovered from the bedding!

 

[BellaBella]

Looks like lots of fun to be had in there! I bet they'd love a nice pile of tp tubes (I used to steal them from public restrooms too when I came across empty or nearly empty ones) The heavier ones they won't chew up right away and you can re-use them until someone pees on them.

 

[Jenn]

Jen, I put in tp tubes, as well as paper towel tubes, and they are instantly gone! Chip is the runner on the wheel, and Dale is the digger and tube shredder. Dale is much more friendly, while Chip startles easily. It's neat watching them and learning their personalities, likes, and dislikes. I'm going to try them on some veggies and fruits. My hammy loved the greens, these guys seem a little more hesitant. I'll try a very small amount at first and see what happens. Looks like they are going pee on the wood shelf, I'm wondering if I should make a fleece liner for that...so it can be changed...? Don't know if they would chew on the fabric, though....

 

[BellaBella]

I can almost guantee you they will chew on fleeceor any fabric,for that matter. You could try using a ceramic tile intstead of wood, that way you can clean off any pee easier than sanding

Also, if you can find really thick cardboard, you can use that. They have a difficult time getting through the thick stuff, so they lose interest and just nibble the edges, or you could just use regular cardboard and replace it frequently when they chew through it.

 

[Jenn]

Thanks, Jen, I think I'll cover the wood with some thick cardboard, as you suggested. That should last a bit at a time - cardboard is certainly easy to come by.

 

[acbieri]

I just stuck some bamboo shredders in my gerbils cage last night and they loved them and tore them to pieces!! So there is another idea for ya LOL

 

[Jenn]

I just stuck some bamboo shredders in my gerbils cage last night and they loved them and tore them to pieces!! So there is another idea for ya LOL

Great idea, thanks! I was just thinking last night that I wanted to get some goodies for these guys to spoil them a bit more. They have been digging like mad, making tunnels through the bedding. All the tunnel toys I had resting on the bedding is not buried! I want to get some toys that hang from the screen top. Do your gerbils eat any veggies? I want to supplement their pellets with some fresh goodies. I gave them a small amount of millet the other day and they sure thought that was a treat! They have made home under the wood shelf. All the tp I've put in the tank has been made into their nest under the shelf. Yesterday, Dale was sleeping on his back with his legs straight up in the air! It was hilarious! I wish I could have gotten a picture of that but he was halfway hidden behind Dale and the picture really wouldn't have been clear. Maybe next time!