Gerbil Housing

[Dillie]

We are getting gerbils!! Was going to be degu's, but after speaking to the PaH people & the vet, gerbils it is.

What swung it was the scratches from claws on degu's can react badly to kiddies skin, and I always have a bad reaction to the slightest cat scratch, so they are off the burner for a while at least!

Now my question is, can I use an old (but clean) fish tank for homing?

The size is 62cm x 39cm x 52cm, so the size is fairly decent (I think)

I would like to get some shelving in there too to put some levels in, but not sure where I can get the shelving from or how to stick it to the glass! (not very diy savvy me!)

Also is there a tank/cage space per gerbil? Obviously I need more than one, could I get 2 or more in this size?

Also what do I use for the digging area?

Many thanks!

bump!

Fish tank is a good idea - I used one for my gerbils, half-filled with a mixture of peat and straw. They dug loads of tunnels, so didn't worry about extra levels, just chucked in a couple of loo roll tubes or similar and they seemed perfectly happy.

Stick something on the top to cover it though (I the top of an old cage attached to the tank) or they may well escape, and they're a bugger to catch! Also handy to hang the bottle on.

We have two gerbils in a gerbilarium, which is like a fish tank bottom and a cage that sits on top. It has a ladder from the bottom to the top floor and another level within the top floor.

They have sawdust at the bottom which they tunnel in and then they chew up any loo rolls/egg bozes etc and this also goes in the bottom for bedding.

They sleep in a coconut shell.

I like the peat and straw mix. I have asthma which is triggered by dust ... At least I get out of doing the dusting and emptying the Hoover !!!!!

what mix should I do (peat to straw) and what sort of straw should I get? Also how often should I change it? Weekly I assume?

Sorry for the numpty questions, but I would like to get it right first time and make my gerbils happy chappies plus I know diddly about small furry things other than the type that meow

Gerbils do well in a tank. Be careful on sex issues if you want to keep several. Mixed communities may lead to inevitable squabbles.
Not to mention small pink things. If you are all out to breed them note if they are stressed it may not end very well for their progeny.

2/3 peat, 1/3 straw. We just used normal bedding straw from a pet shop.

We only changed the tank about once a month! Obviously we took out any paper bedding or chewing toilet rolls that might smell, but it shouldn't start to smell (of anything other than peat) for quite a while.

Besides, they get pissed off if they've spent all week building the perfect tunnel structure and then you go and destroy it

Get them tame as early as possible - gerbils are vicious bastards if they're not used to you (mine bit right through my finger once, and wouldn't let go. argh!!)

lol! ouch Pure!

Thanks for that, will look into that at the weekend.

There is so much stuff that you can get, I must admit I am like But maybe i have been overthinking again!!!