Gerbil housing is one of the most hotly debated topics among gerbil owners. You have three basic choices: aquariums, cages, and those modular homes with all the tubes. I recently moved my gerbils from their Crittertrail into a ten-gallon tank. Because I’ve had gerbils for such a short time, most of the info here comes from other gerbil owners.
Aquariums:
These seem to be the most popular choice. The recommended size is five gallons per gerbil, so a pair should have no less than a ten-gallon tank. Tanks are relatively inexpensive and offer a great deal of space and safety. Gerbils will not be able to chew their way out. Tanks also prevent your gerbils from kicking bedding out of the tank (and all over the floor!) while digging, plus you can give them a thicker layer for burrowing. Some downsides to tanks are that ventilation is not that great, and some gerbil owners found their tank-kept gerbils to be less friendly than those housed in cages. My gerbils seem to enjoy their new tank so far! I eventually plan on getting a tank cover that has holes to put tubes through, so that I can connect their tank to their Crittertrail.
Cages:
Wire cages can have wire or plastic bases. Though wire bases with pull-out litter trays sound like a good idea, I’ve heard that feces tends to stick to the wire rather than fall into the pan, and gerbils can get their little feet caught in the wire. With a plastic base, you do run the risk of your gerbils chewing their way to freedom, although many cages are constructed in ways that make this difficult or impossible. Gerbils may also chew the wire bars of the cage, which can rub their little noses sore and raw. If you house your gerbils in a wire cage, expect to be vacuuming around their cage a lot, because they will kick out their bedding! Wire cages offer great ventilation, but you will need to be sure the cage is protected from drafts.
Modular habitats:
This is how my girls were housed when I first got them. I have the Crittertrail X from Super Pet and they seem to absolutely love it! As I mentioned on the info page, they did chew several inches off the end of the slide; I honestly believe they did it because they wanted more space in that corner, because once the corner was free, they stopped! They have never done any chewing on the plastic base or sides of the cage. When they were kept in aspen bedding, the girls kicked it all over the floor, but this doesn’t seem to be a problem now that I switched them to Carefresh (see section on bedding below). There are many varieties of these habitats, onto which you can add tubes to simulate the tunnels of a gerbil’s natural habitat. I would strongly advise against getting a habitat made entirely of plastic, as they provide very poor ventilation. There are plenty of part wire, part plastic habitats to choose from. The main reason I chose to move the girls to a tank was the water bottle. Crittertrails are designed to hold a specially designed water bottle from the top of the cage. Unfortunately, those water bottles leak, and wet bedding is not good for the gerbils.
Bedding
Gerbils need two to three inches of bedding to nest and tunnel in. DO NOT, under any circumstances, keep your gerbils in pine or cedar bedding! Both release aromatic oils that are very damaging to your gerbils’ delicate respiratory systems.
Aspen Shavings:
The only safe wood shavings for gerbils. However, you will occasionally see a gerbil that is allergic to aspen (look for a red, runny, or even bloody nose). In that case, you will need to switch them to one of the other gerbil-safe beddings.
Carefresh:
When I discovered that Dora was allergic to aspen, I switched to Carefresh, which is probably the most popular paper gerbil bedding. Some gerbil owners find that their gerbils look greasy when kept in Carefresh; others have noticed no change in appearance but say that the Carefresh makes for a smelly habitat. I haven’t noticed any problems with it. For a little bit more monay, you can also use Carefresh Ultra, a bright white alternative to the dull grey color of the original Carefresh. I have heard that the Ultra is less dusty than the original, but have yet to try it out.
Corncob:
Corncob bedding is very hard – in fact, it looks a little like granola – and is said to be very absorbent. Because of its roughness, I wouldn’t use corncob as your gerbils’ only bedding. When I moved the girls to a tank, I added a layer of corncob bedding under the Carefresh. The only negative aspect I've found to corncob is that it's harder to just pick it out of the food dish than Carefresh!
Nesting Material
In addition to bedding, gerbils will need material to build a nest out of. While fluffy commercial nesting material looks neat, in reality it can be very harmful to your gerbils’ respiratory system. Plus, gerbils can break their legs by getting them tangled up in the fluff. The best, most affordable nesting material is unscented white toilet paper. Tear it into strips, crumple it up, and put it in the gerbils’ home – they will do the rest! I recently bought a bag of Bed-E-Bye, which is crinkly colored paper nesting material. The girls seem to really like it - they took most of it into their Hideaway and slept under it.
Cage Accessories
Your gerbils will need a few things to make their house a home: a water bottle, a food dish, and a nesting box.
Water bottle:
Some habitats come with water bottles, but you may need to go out and buy one. The best water bottles are the ones with metal nozzles. If you have a plastic water bottle inside the habitat, you will need to get a metal guard to protect it from chewing. I have a four ounce Oasis Bell Bottle with a metal Hold Guard. As gerbils are desert animals, they don’t drink much, but they still need a fresh supply of water.
Food dish:
Most gerbil owners use ceramic or glass food dishes, because they are too heavy for the gerbils to tip over, and gerbils may chew a plastic one. The Crittertrail came with a plastic food dish, and the girls never chewed on it or flipped it over. Now that they’re in the tank, they have a small ceramic dish. Your gerbils may bury their food dish; if you want to avoid this, you can try placing the food dish on top of the nesting box. I let my girls bury their food.
Nesting box:
There are all types of nesting boxes on the market, in a variety of materials. My girls have a plain Timber Hideaway and they love it! Wood nesting boxes are usually your best bet. Remember, any plastic you give to your gerbils is susceptible to chewing. I also gave the girls a Super Pet Roll-a-Nest when they moved to the tank – it’s round and looks a lot like a basket. They chewed it apart in less than a week, but the package said they would. They are cheap, and my girls seem to really love them.
Food
The ideal diet for gerbils is 12% protein and 6% to 8% fat. I feed my gerbils pre-mixed food – a mix of pellets, dried corn, seeds, and some stuff that kind of looks like cat food. I toss in a little bit of cat food, and take out all the sunflower seeds so I can give them as treats. You can supplement your gerbil’s diet with small amounts of fresh fruits and veggies, like lettuce and apple slices. So far I've given them carrot and apple. They ate a little carrot, but didn't touch the apple at all.
Toys
Your gerbils need toys to keep them busy. One of a gerbil’s favorite toys is something you already have – cardboard toilet paper rolls! Put one (or more) in your gerbils’ habitat and watch them climb in and over the tubes. They will chew them, so make sure you always keep a few tubes on hand to replace ones that get eaten. You can also give your gerbils old flowerpots, glass jars, or metal cans (be sure there are no sharp edges!) to play in. Any and all of the above materials can be made into gerbil playgrounds of your own design using non-toxic children’s glue.
Chews:
Gerbils need to chew to keep their incisors from growing too long, so make sure they have plenty to chew on. You can buy wood chews in a variety of shapes and colors, but they best chews for gerbils are fruitwood twigs. If you get these off a tree, make sure the tree hasn’t been treated with any chemicals, and freeze the twigs for a few days to make sure they are free of insects before giving them to your gerbils.
Exercise wheel:
Choosing the right wheel is crucial for the safety of your pet! If your habitat came with a wheel, it’s probably plastic with openings between the bars. DO NOT let your gerbil use this wheel! A gerbil can catch its tail in the opening between the bars and break it. You can buy a metal wheel with openings, but you must modify it for safety by taping a strip of paper around the outside of the wheel (use masking tape – duct tape can harm or kill your gerbils if they ingest any of the strings). Super Pet makes Comfort Wheels, which are plastic but solid all the way around. I put an eight-inch wire mesh wheel in the girls’ tank, and everything’s good so far!
Sand Baths:
Sand-bathing your gerbils is a lot of fun. You can buy chinchilla sand in most pet stores; pour some in a small dish or bowl and put it in your gerbils’ habitat. They will roll and wrestle in the sand – it’s too cute! Don’t worry if they taste a little bit of sand, it won’t hurt them. Take the dish out after about ten minutes, before they can decide it would make a great litter box! If they do soil the sand, you can clean it the same way you would clean a cat box (but with a smaller scoop, of course).
