Help required for gerbil

[2001louise]

i managed to get some connector rings for blade from jolleys and there was only £1.29 for 4, so im sorted, thanks for the help though, im after a rat now or maybe 3,

[zebanddillon]

As already mentioned the gerbil will just continue to destroy the cage he is in because he cannot exhibit natural behaviour which is cruel he should be in a 2ft tank full of a mixture of woodshavings and peat which makes an excellent burrowing substrate and knawing materials and he will create a tunnel system of his own. Oh and i dont know whether you bought him singly or not but if you did then you shouldnt of as gerbils are highly social colony animals, it is too late now though as introducing adults to one another is very difficult to do. If you do decide to get rats then do some serious research and you should never keep one rat on its own unless there is a very good reason they are also highly sociable.

[katkin]

Hi again 2001louise - I would second what zebanddillon says about sociability and preferred housing- have owned gerbs off n on (minaly on) since I was nipper and those housed in tanks have thrived much better than those in conventional hamster cages. Rotostak and the like are not really ideal for gerbils - they will chew and destroy anything plastic or wood- I put a plastic corner litter tray in my tank when I got the new gerbs and it lasted less than 24 hours!

 

I did at one point own a 3 storey part cage/part tank 'gerbilarium' and that was a happy compromise- allowed them to burrow in the base tank and get lots of exercise climbing/jumping to the other 2 storeys. Zeb is also right about having just one gerbil in solitary confinement - ideally, gerbils should be bought in pairs but if one dies, it is extremly difficult and not advisable to introduce a new gerbil as they can become very territorial with strangers. The other nice thing about tanks is that you get to see the inovative tunnels and passaes these industrious critters construct.

 

To keep Blade occupied, I would get lots of wooden and natural chews to keep his teeth busy - oh and lotsof cardborad kitchen roll and loo roll tubes- might take his eye off the plastic for a while.

 

My 2 new girls are settling in well now and already providing hours of entertainment for the cats- cleaning out is great fun and requires 2 of us- one to catch and place gerbs in their cary case and supervise all the time whilst other cleans out tank and removes curious cats from empty tank every five seconds... The other half has constructed a sturdy wooden and mesh lid plus an interior mdf drilled lid so that the cats cannot get anywhere close to their rodent sisters. The gerbils (Itsy and Bitsy) seem unperturbed by the cats...

 

By the way- I'm experimenting with different bedding/floor covering and would be interested to hear what other gerbil owners recommend -have previously used sawdust (but stopped many years ago when I realised it was not safe for small critters), as well as bird sand (which they loved) and have been told chincilla sand is good- but not chincilla dust. Currently looking at Megazorb- bought a similar paper based product from Pets at Home when the new girls arrived but dont like it- it's a dingy grey colour and doesnt seem right.

[2001louise]

to let everybody know after i posted the thread and got more rings, i could see blade wasnt happy, so i managed to get him a 3 foot fish tank and me and my bloke constructed a lid out of meshing and wood, put him load of sawdust in and loads of toys and yipee, he has lost weight (he was getting fat) and looks a hell of alot happier and more friendly , and for getting him singular and not as a pair, i actually adopted him as he was rehomed as a pair but his partner was attacking him, so he was took back to pets at home and he couldnt be placed back in to sell, so he was alone in a cage and it stated on the adoption sheet, he wasnt allowed to be placed with other gerbils. so dont please say that i am been cruel, as i have only the real interest in animals and was only looking for advice not to be deemed cruel

[katkin]

Dear 2001Louse - I am really pleased that you have managed to get Blade into a tank- he will have a whale of a time now, digging and burrowing - but please dont think I was implying you were cruel - I would never have said that- I was merely offering advice based on my own experiences - I fully understand that gerbils sometimes have to be rehomed singularly through no fault of their own, but for the benefit of other forummers who might be tapping into this thread for advice about getting gerbils, I was agreeing with Zebs' advice that, ideally, gerbils should be kept in pairs. But obviously, in Blade's case, this has not worked. From the sounds of it, Blade is a thoroughly well looked after and much loved gerbil and he is very fortunate to have been given a second chance with you and your partner. xK

[2001louise]

well thank you katkin, that brought a lump to my throat as i hadnt look at it like that, i just didnt want other forum readers to think i was been cruel, he is so much happier like i said, but my other female gerbil who was also adopted thinks she pregnant and getting her nest ready for the birth, even though she is in a cage on her own, which i feel ever so sorry for as i feel guilty thats she alone and i cant introduce her to a friend to keep her company, so she gets loads of cuddles to keep her occupied

[Lotti]

Awww.... I can't wait til I can afford a place of my own - my mum won't have gerbils in the house Blade sounds so happy

 

Is sawdust safe for gerbils? I'd heard it wasn't but as I've never owned them (my friend did and I read a lot about them when I was younger in the hope that my mum would let me!! ) I could be wrong

[2001louise]

i have always used sawdust, even when i was younger, i had a gerbil and used saw dust, i have tried the wood pellets on blade, and he absolutely hated them, blade loves burrowing himself in the sawdust and makes loads of tunnels to hide in

[Wysseri]

Usually male gerbils take on juveniles readily, so you could try intorudcing Blade to two youngsters, between 5-8 weeks is the best but you can go up to 10 weeks before you may have dominancy issues.

 

For these types of introductions I usually provide a temporary split, which is literally for a few hours just so the male can get used to the youngsters being around.

If there's any sign of aggression ie the male flies at the divider, attacking, chewing etc then do NOT try an introduction, this sort of behaviour requires a full split, which can take weeks or months.

 

Adult to Adult introductions usually take longer and I have two adults in a split now. One is 4, the other is 3 so I am taking things very slowly as I don't want to cause the 4 year old any undue stress. They have been fine so far, and I probably could have introduced them after only a few days, but I want to be 100% sure before I allow them to live together. If you want any extra help on split introductions visit my website: http://www.gerbilsite.com or pm me.

 

But if Blade is otherwise happy, active and healthy then it's completely at your discression. By the sounds of things he is completely happy

 

I've had a number of Gerbils pass within a week of their tankmate, it really does hit them hard sometimes

 

As for Sawdust - I wouldn't use Sawdust myself, but are you actually using Woodshavings and not the dust? The dust is too dusty, but shavings are usually fine. I've never had any problems... Well I have, they make me sneeze but some people find their gerbils are allergic to pine. So good alternatives are megazorb, easibed or Aubiose, all three are horse beddings but they're brill for small animals and allow for good tunnels. They're also much cheaper, you can get massive bales for £5 and they last me months and I have a just a few Gerbils

[2001louise]

it is wood shaving i use, having a bad day, no car, where can i get the horse bedding from as i am interested in trying that, would like to introduce blade to a friend, but he is happy i think on his own, and i think he would like to be the big bad wolf lol if i did, he been on his own since i got him in december or it could be the other way round, and blade could end up getting bullied and thats happened before, so i think il leave him solo