Housing for gerbils?

Question

I'm planning on getting a couple of gerbils in the next few weeks and have been looking at housing for them. I like the rotastak system as I don't have a lot of space and am planning on using the modular system over a couple of shelves to give them lots of space to run in, but some of the stuff I've read says they chew through plastic so is the rotastak suitable or will they chew out of it? Also do the need an aquarium as well for them to burrow in if they have lots of tubes and things in the rotastak?

Answer 1

when i had them i used a fish tank and filled it up 3/4 with wood shavings and they were happy all you have to do is push down there tunnels every few week so they don't get Bord

Answer 2

Rotastak cages are not particularly suitable for Gerbils. Their natural instinct is to burrow so the best cages for them are Ferplast Duna cages or a simple glass aquarium. Barred cages are also not suitable for the little critters, You'll end up with more bedding outside the cage then in!

I use both Duna cages and a glass aquarium. I find the aquarium are the best enclosures out of the two though. You can fill the cage right up with bedding and watch your new family rush around making their new home! Make sure you have a wire mesh top though, you need plenty of ventilation going through the cage.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

A big fish tank with a lit that LOCKES

10 gallons for one gerbil

and five more gallons for every gerbil after that

Answer 4

I wouldn't get anything plastic, because they WILL chew it and possibly escape.

Wire cages are ok and not as easy to escape from, plus wire cages come in many styles and often have many levels for them to climb. I currently have my 3 gerbils living in a 4-level wire cage. If you're worried about them kicking bedding out use carefresh. I used to use aspen and it always went all over my floor. I had to vacuum A LOT. Now i use carefreh, and i think it's because it's kinda bigger and fluffier and harder to kick through the wires but they don't kick any of it out.

Glass aquariums are best, and it's what i used to have but ours was a little small for 3 full-grown gerbils. However when we did use it, it was great! Easy to clean, escape-proof(with a lid), and no bedding kicked out!

I hope i helped!

Answer 5

Barred cages are fine for a gerbil, but glass ones are even better. They love to dig, so provide a clean dry sand (not builders sand), mixed with hay to keep it aerated.

Cover the area separate from the sand with aspen or similar. Never use pine shavings or newspaper, as recent research suggests they may be toxic to rodents.

Provide a hide such as a wooden or even cardboard box, and fill this with hay, and a safe willow or fruit tree branch for climbing along with some toys.

Gerbils are largely odourless, so if the cage starts to smell, clean it thoroughly.

They are also great jumpers so ensure the lid is secure.

They must be kept at least at room temperature. To keep the temperature up, try using a reptile heat mat, or a low wattage bulb.

Answer 6

Everyone is saying an aquariam is best, but it's not as easy as it sounds, you need to sort out a lid for it, and the worst thing when I tried is the gerbils compleatly destroyed any water bottles I tried to stick to the walls of the aquariam.

The best thing i've come across is from pets at home. The bottom bit is a plastic tank (strong but not too heavy so easy to move) and the top bit is a cage, great for putting their water bottle on the wall and keeping food away from bedding.

Another tip I found, if you buy a ceramic bowl, for feeding rabbits, and fill it with "chinchilla dusting powder" from pets at home (don't use "chinchilla dust" from anywhere else, it can cause breathing problems but this stuff is ok), and you put that on the top level, my gerbils use that as a toilet and I don't have to change the cage so often.

Hope this helps, the link for the cage is http://www.petsathome.com/find/keyword-i...

but there are also usually some on ebay.

Answer 7

At my college we kept our gerbils in two glass tanks, one each with peat and sawdust and a tunnel joining them. They really do need a place to burrow, and it can be fascinating watching the tunnel systems building up. They will bury their food bowl though and it can be fun finding it.

We used strong chicken wire as a lid and sat the water bottle on top so just the spout entered the cage so they didn't chew the bottle. The you are right they will chew through plastic, but you can give them the insides of loo rolls and kitchen rolls for something to chew.

Really good choice with Gerbils.

p.s. a good thing about the deep bedding is they dont need cleaned out as much, we did it around once every fortnight.

Hope this helps

Answer 8

Good choice on picking gerbils. A good home for them is a 10 gallon aquariem.  Please do not waste your money on a plastic home or plastic toys. They WILL be chewed through and will have to be replaced. An aquarium eliminates that problem.  If you want to give them more space just buy a larger tank.  Just buy an aquarium water bottle.

tip:

If you really want your gerbils to warm up to you when you get them then buy some sunflower seeds and you guys will be pals forever.