A View in my 40 gallon long tank, they have lots of room to run and play! (more pictures below)
Before you bring home your gerbil, you should have there home waiting.
I recommend glass aquarium with a mesh lid. A Lid is must! Don't under-estimate you gerbils jumping ability! There nickname is the desert kangaroo. Mine has jumped out of its 40 gallon tank.
I know there other options
out there like wire cages and habitrail homes. I wouldn't even mess with buying
these. Wire cages can easily annoy your gerbil and can cause harm. Gerbils will
rub there noses on the bars which makes them sore. They also kick the bedding
out threw the bars which makes a big mess! The habitrail are made out of plastic
and are often very expensive. Gerbils can chew through those with in a day or
so. Which makes for an expensive cage to go to waste.
I use Aspen bedding which is alittle more expensive but worth the cost. Never Use Pine or cedar, it causes respitory diseases in adults and pups. If you need convincing please click on the banner at the bottom of this page.
Gerbil's need toys to play with and keep them amused. They love to crawl on and jump through things. Some things I would recommend are : a wooden house, toilet paper tubes, a small cardboard box ( I usually cut different holes in the box so they can crawl through them) and wheels.
Wheels seem to be controversial with many gerbil owners. They say they get caught
in the metal wheels, and there paws go though the bars resulting in a hurt paw.
I find if you put the wheel hanging from the top of the cage and wrap paper
around the wheel it seems to fix the problems, plus it results in saving a broken
paw.
A SSG gerbil set-up. Includes: kleenex(for nesting material), Toys, Food dish and water bottle(holder), and substrate.
I just taped a piece of white
paper on the outside of the wheel which makes it easier for them to run in,
plus saves possible broken bones. Don't
worry about them chewing on the paper, they will eventually chew it off, I just
replace it.
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My homemade "dust house"
I just took a glass pitcher that I no longer used, and turned it into a dust
house. It keeps all the chinchilla dust inside and not all over there bedding.
Plus they seem to be intrigued by the whole idea, There is always a line at
the dust house :o)
Pictures of my gerbil's cages
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This tank is my 40 gallon long, its about 4 feet long, a pack of males that are avaliable live here, as you can see they have plenty to keep them amused
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