Gerbil Questions (10 points reward for the best)?

Question

I have 3 questions on my gerbils i have:

1. My gerbils keep kicking up the gravel chips from there cage, i know they like to make burrows and such, but is there anyway to stop it? (or keeping me from cleaning it up everyday?!)

2. When ever i am running the vacuum near there cage. there ears go down and they go to there little hut-house. I think there scared, right? or is the whole "ears down thing" different?

3. Wet tail. I heard stuff about it like diarrhea and it can kill. Put what else is it? if one of my gerbils gets wet tail is it contagious? How do i prevent?

Thank you! i'll give 10 points to the person who i like the best. Please be very detailed. THANKS

Answer 1

1. you might look in the bird centers, they have the same problem about kicking stuff out of the cage. Try some bendable metal or plastic that you can place around the cage and tuck into the bottom part of the cage.

2. They probably are scared and don't like the noise. They hear different frequency then use so it might have hurt their ears. Might trying to move them from the room (if possible).

3. Wet tail is just diarrhea like you said. It can be caused my numerous things, stress, bacteria, too much of some foods (grain), not enough roughage (hay), viruses, and more. To prevent always quarantine any new gerbils for a few weeks before introducing them, keep the gerbils warm, feed proper amounts of the grain and always give them some hay to chew on, don't use dusty bedding, no moldy food, and give yogurt chips regularly.

good luck they are fun critters to have.

Answer 2

1. My gerbils keep kicking up the gravel chips from there cage, i know they like to make burrows and such, but is there anyway to stop it? (or keeping me from cleaning it up everyday?!)

A: A great alternative is to get a 15 gallon fish tank- or larger if you can afford it. They will really never stop the kicking. When I brought in my rescue boy, he had two plastic cages and I placed a cloth placemat under each one and kept the cage on a table. That way the placemats caught a lot of the shavings, and what they didn't I could brush off the edge of the table into a trashcan.

When I was living with my mom, she bought one of those Cone vacuums and it made cleaning up a breeze.

2. When ever i am running the vacuum near there cage. there ears go down and they go to there little hut-house. I think there scared, right? or is the whole "ears down thing" different?

A: Well, yeah, they are scared since it's a loud, mechanical sound. Their ears are really sensitive, so it's better for them to run and hide.

3. Wet tail. I heard stuff about it like diarrhea and it can kill. Put what else is it? if one of my gerbils gets wet tail is it contagious? How do i prevent?

A: I don't believe gerbils get wet tail. It is strictly a hamster condition caused by bacteria. Gerbil diarrhea is caused solely by too much water in the diet- like from too much fruit. Since it isn't a sickness, it won't be contagious, but since they will likely be eating the same things both gerbils may have some watery poo. It isn't a cause for concern, just remove the juicy things from their diet. Water bottle is fine.

If it persists after that, though, you will need to take them to a vet. The above poster provided some great information on Tyzzer's disease.

Answer 3

I own six gerbils and am going to try and give you the best answer that I can.

1.  Gerbils are natural burrowers and in the wild, they live in a tunnel system.  You can't really stop them from making burrows unless you put less bedding in there, but then they will become bored and start to chew on everything and scratch at the sides of the cage.  If you have a wire cage, then this isn't the proper cage for gerbils anyway.  I have made bin cages for my gerbils.  Very simple.  You go and buy a 55 quart or larger Rubbermaid bin at the store with a lid, buy some mesh, and create a hole in the lid and you use nuts and bolts and sometimes wood to fasten the mesh onto the lid.  This prevents shavings from coming out and also gives them plenty of room to run around and dig.  I fill my gerbils' bins up about halfway with shavings and cardboard and they make their own little houses.

2.)  This is a defense mechanism.  Gerbils will bow their heads and their ears will lay flat when they are nervous, anxious or frightened.  A vacuum cleaner is a foreign object to them and they know nothing better than to hide from it.  Also, a gerbil has a very acute sense of hearing so you can imagine how loud that is to them.  When they run and hide into their little houses, they are hiding from the unknown potential "predator".  Sometimes when gerbils are really scared, they stamp their hind legs to warn their cagemates of possible danger.  If you see this, do not be alarmed.

3.)  Actually, gerbils do not get wet tail.  They can get diarrhea, however.  They get diarrhea from eating too much fresh fruit and vegetables.  Wet tail is more common in hamsters and gerbils are not affected by this.  You can prevent gerbil diarrhea by keeping them on the same food consistently and if you decide to change their food, do it at a comfortable pace so their stomachs can adapt to the change.  If you ever see your gerbils have diarrhea, immediately phone the vet office because this could be a possible disease they have acquired and they also may have an intestinal infection.

I hope this helped you out a lot.  I own six gerbils, all of different ages, anywhere from 9 weeks to 4 years old.  If you have any more questions, you can always feel free to ask me.  I did tons of research before I got my first gerbil awhile ago and also belong to a gerbil forum at www.egerbil.com and they are amazing people and have helped me a lot.

Answer 4

First of all they keep kicking up the gravel chips because you keep "messing" up their idea of house cleaning. No you can't stop them from digging.

Two - their ears are very sensitive to loud sounds so they hide to try to reduce the sound that irritates them.  It won't hurt them, they just don't like it.

Third - I stand corrected, Gerbils cannot get Wet tail, however they can get diarrhea which is still dangerous &  yes it can kill them if left untreated. They can also become a carrier and infect other gerbils.  Take a look at this web site.  It gives you the answers you seek.

Answer 5

OK, first off I am  guessing you have a cage not a tank correct. And gravel? I know all the critter trails and whatever look cool ( I had one ) but what you really need is a tank no smaller then 20 gal. As for bedding I use aspen, but carefresh is good to, stay away from pine or cedar, they can cause health problems in gerbils!! This will take care of your problem of bedding on the floor.

Sound.. Well when I run my vacuum they come out to whats going on, as far as the ears being pinned back, that is a sign of fear or being scared, and they will run and hide in their house/nest. I wouldn't be to worried about that.

Wet tail... Thats a bit of a long one, so sorry in advance!

Gerbils don't get wet tail, hamsters do! But when a gerbil has diarrhea people call it wet tail! Diarrhea is fatal in rodents!

Tyzzer's disease (wet tail) is what gerbils get and it is highly contagious disease and is usually fatal! Symptoms include a scruffy coat, lack of activity, diarrhea and dehydration! Some gerbils show no symptoms before death! If you have a sick gerbil take it to a vet, if it is tyzzer's and catch it fast enough antibiotics can be used to treat it! And if you have more then one gerbil have them all checked out, this disease can spread very fast and kill very fast, but I should also note that it is somewhat rare.

Hope this answers you questions.

Answer 6

1. No, there is no way to stop them from displaying normal instinctive behavior. If you don't like them kicking the shavings out, you can move them into a large aquarium instead. A 10 gallon tank is the minimum size for two gerbils.

2. They are probably just scared. They have much more sensitive hearing than you do, so the sound of the vacuum cleaner is a lot worse for them than it is for you. They can hear very high frequencies. To them, the sound of a vacuum is more like a jumbo-jet engine. It also causes the floor to vibrate. In the wild, gerbils instinctively run away when they feel the ground vibrating because it means there might be a predator nearby.

3. Gerbils can NOT get "Wet Tail". They CAN get diarrhea, but it's not the same thing. Wet tail is a disease caused by a bacteria that ONLY hamsters can get. You can prevent diarrhea in gerbils by not feeding them any fresh fruits or veggies. They contain too much moisture. Diarrhea can also be a sign of more serious diseases like E. Coli or Tyzzer's.

Check out these links for more information on these diseases. I could copy/paste the information about preventing them, but it's probably easier for you to just go read it yourself. :) And yes, both of those diseases are very contagious.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...

http://www.animalhospitals-usa.com/small...

Edit:

Here is some great information about Wet Tail and how gerbils can't get it. It also goes into detail about other diseases you need to worry about. Don't listen to anyone telling you how to prevent wet-tail in gerbils because they just don't get that disease:

http://gerbilsuk.proboards15.com/index.c...