Everyone in the gerbil world seem to have different opinions when it comes to housing. An aquarium? A cage that is metal bars? 5 or 10 gallons per gerbil?
I use aquariums with atleast 5 gallons per gerbil! Gerbils LOVE to dig and burrow, so by using aquariums, you can add a lot of bedding for them to enjoy. The rule of thumb that I use is 5 gallons per gerbil, this means I usually house two gerbils in one ten gallon aquarium. Others may say you need 10 gallons per gerbil, but I have never had a problem. But, the bigger is definitely the better! I have a 20 gallon aquarium that I put 2 gerbils in when a don't have a breeding pair in it! Metal bar cages are not the best or safest to use. You cannot put a lot of bedding in it, and if you do it will be all over the place. Also, gerbils will chew the bars constantly which will cause hair loss on their nose and possibly broken teeth. Most cages with bars also have plasitc parts... this is also bad because gerbils can chew through a plastic piece in one night. This means you will have loose gerbils in your house!
Toys:
Gerbils love to chew and dig! So lots of bedding can be considered a great toy so they can dig. Gerbils love chewing and scratching items as well. The best toy that I have ever seen is a toilet paper roll! All of my gerbils love to chew them up and the scraps get used as part of their nests. I also supply wooden huts and other toys for them to chew. Wheels are okay for gerbils as well. As long as the wheel is solid(no gaps or holes) then they are safe for the gerbil. Wheels with gaps are bad because a gerbil's tail can easily get stuck and will be broken or will even fall off the gerbil.
Bad wheel:
Good wheel:
Accesories:
Gerbils always need to have access to water. For this reason I use small animal water bottles so you can fill them up and not worry about them running out. This does not mean you can just let the water sit for days though, I clean my bottles out daily and add fresh water to make sure it is always clean and fresh. I also use ceramic dishes in the gerbil cages for their food because they do not chew them up(unlike the plastic ones). Below is a picture of the kind of water bottles that I use and highly suggest.
Bedding:
Never use cedar or pine wood shavings! The oils in them will cause Upper respitory infections for your gerbils, which can be deadly! I use mainly Aspen bedding and I sometimes mix Carefresh into it. I find that Aspen and Carefresh are very good with odor control and do not have much dust when they are combined. There should be ATLEAST 3 inches of bedding. I know some people who put 8 inches of bedding in, and their gerbils absolutely LOVE it! A great nesting material is paper shreds.
Sand baths:
Gerbil's coats can get greasy and dirty just like humans. But unlike us, they do not bathe in water. In contrast, they bath in sand! You can buy sand or dust in pet stores that are sold specifically for gerbil baths. I let my gerbils have sand baths very often and they just love it! I put the sand in a dish and they just roll and dig in it.
Love:
My gerbils love coming out of their homes to play. I let them run around in their balls(some do not like balls), or crawl all over me while I get some things done. Just like any other pet, gerbils do need love and time. The more you put into them, the more you will get back from them! Gerbils should be held and played with DAILY! A well socialized gerbil=nice gerbil!
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