Daft gerbils

RedSky · 04-17-2014, 09:52 AM

So they always do it, but now I have removed another shelf the height is much greater.
My gerbils have a bin cage with a topper with two shelves, they used to have a shelf in the bin but decided to destroy it (it was only cardboard).
Anyway they always always always build their tunnel directly under the whole in the shelf, probably to make an easy get away.
The problem is since they have so many boxes which they chew up and move the bedding around the level quickly falls, so when the hole in the shelf is directly over their vertical tunnel they obviously fall along way to get back down and then can't get up to the shelf for food and water...

So daft me goes and gets extra boxes and bedding, what do they do, drag the boxes away, chew them up and kick away all the extra bedding to the other end of the cage. Or they carry the 'excess' bedding up to the shelf and abandon it there!
Part of me wants to see if they will rectify the problem themselves but I always give in and keep adding more bedding and boxes. Oh and I used to use ladders and stuff but they just pull them off/destroy them.

As I sit typing this Marshmallow has used the extra bedding and the corner of one of the boxes to get up to get a drink, so I guess I'll carry on adding more everyday... Bloody gerbils!

racinghamster · 04-17-2014, 10:08 AM

You mean, mini-meerkats!!!!!!

They can be little devils gerbils but not too bright sometimes! I used to have shavings about five inches deep and a wooden shelf that ran the full length of the tank along the back. I nailed the shelf to two blocks of wood sawn from a new fence post! The shelf stood static on the tank floor and then I would fill in the shavings around it. My two boys (especially Grub) loved leaping up onto the shelf and running backwards and forwards for attention because he would see me and act accordingly for attention!

It can be tricky arranging a gerbil tank because although they need to dig, it`s also nice to have a shelf with a solid ramp or other wooden accessories they can play on. I never bothered with a wheel personally as my boys were out on the floor most of the time because they knew how to catch my attention!

RedSky · 04-18-2014, 08:54 AM

I don't have a wheel for mine, Fudge gets a little too attached to it and refuses to do anything else. Which included digging, chewing, playing with her sisters and when it got to her losing loads of weight I had to take it out.
The have a wheel and a flying saucer for play time although the wheel is a bit too small, the flying saucer if great and 2 of the like to use is together.
Daft gerbils have done it again, so I'm just going to top it up with more fitch as I don't have anymore boxes as the moment. Two of them have got up but the third is at the bottom taking her frustrations of not being as agile out on the box I put in to help her climb up...
I can't put anything wooden in with mine without them chewing it up. They love chewing everything and I love watching how quickly they destroy everything! haha

RedSky · 04-18-2014, 09:18 AM

So I've given up and filled the box right to the top so they don't have to jump at all the reach the topper. Means also that the entrances to their tunnels are covered over so they are all busy trying to open up the tunnels again, even Fudge is joining in.
I don't have a tape measure but on the website I got the box from it says it's 71.5cm tall so they have all that to dig in. They previously only had what I thought was about 30cm but actually if the box is about 70 it must have been more than 50cm to dig since they could jump from the platform to the topper and I don't think it was a 20cm drop.
Measurements in inches are 50cm is nearly 20" while 70cm is 27.5". Mine love lots of substrate. They dig right to the bottom no matter how deep it is.

Syrian Hammy · 04-18-2014, 12:54 PM

What about one of the long Trixie bridges to use an a ladder? I think they are cheap on Zooplus. Only have my girls a week and I'm in love.

RedSky · 04-18-2014, 05:31 PM

Anything wooden doesn't even last a day, and after one of mine hurt her mouth on a nail inside one of the trixie houses I tend to stay away from their products. All natural my ....
It would probably work well with hamsters but my 3 gerbils just chew and chew and chew. They get ALL the boxes in the house and I often get boxes from other people for them too.
The only wood they get now are the natural apple wood chew sticks as I know they haven't been messed with or have nails inside them.

**DrKMcK** · 04-18-2014, 10:27 PM

Hello RedSky. One of the things I do for my hamsters and also did for my gerbils is: I buy a couple of plain, untreated, 2X4 at the lumber yard. Then I cut it down with a saw into pieces about 3-4 inches long. They make great chew toys and keep everyones teeth in good shape. The photo below shows my hammy Patches' chew block. You can also ask if the lumber store (or Home Depot) has scrap pieces from other cut orders. We hammy lovers tend to buy all the cute stuff, but the furry four footed folk just need the chewing, no matter how it looks

racinghamster · 04-19-2014, 01:23 AM

DIY places would have off-cuts of untreated pine or other soft/hardwoods you could use? Superpet make meshed corner shelves and ramps that are a good width also. But using a nice long piece of wood and attaching a couple of hooks on he end to attach it to your topper might work well, even if they do chew at it, these off-cuts are easily replaced. x

RedSky · 04-19-2014, 06:54 AM

I would love to do that. What sort of wood is safe?
I thought they couldn't have pine?
Also I'm in the UK and only local place I know of where to get wood is B&Q, and that's over 30 mins away so don't go until I need a few bits, that said we went yesterday and need to go back today... so if someone can get back to me ASAP I might be able to pick something up.

racinghamster · 04-19-2014, 11:05 AM

Sorry I havn`t been on the forum again today until now. Untreated pine is a softwood and as far as I know, it`s a safe wood. Gerbils don`t eat the wood they only chew it. As far as `safe` woods go, I`m not too sure there is a list anywhere that states which woods are toxic and which are not. Cedar is a no go as it`s a hardwood and is known for being avoidable. Spruce and pine shavings seem to be safe enough as substrates, so I would imagine they are also safe in solid form.

Fruit woods should be good as well but I`m not sure where you would source these except woodland/orchard areas but not knowing if the fruit trees have been sprayed is a risk. I would go with good old pine personally as long as it`s untreated and not dipped or sprayed in harmful chemicals. x