How much exercise do my Gerbils need?

[shanny]

Hi there,
I have two sister Gerbils and they live in a large Gerbilarium and i normally get them out up to 6 times a week. I have an exercise pen/run that is approximately 3ft x 2ft x 2ft and i put in toys, tunnels, balls etc for them to play with.
My question is does anyone know how often Gerbils should be exercised or for how long? I normally have them in there (supervised) for up to an hour, but i'm not sure if it's too long for them to be exercising. I don't want to over-do it but they seem happy when they are out, so any advice would be great. Thankyou Lisa

[belldandy]

i think it's close to imposible to over extersize a gerbil such balls of energy. so i think thats good the minimun time out to run about should be 3 times a week for an hour each time.. so you are giveing them plenty of fun time keep it up they will stay fit and happy!! it's not the biggest area but it's still fun for them. i like to let my gerbisl have a good run of the whole liveing room , i just block doors and any hole's so they dont escape and i make sure that i unplug any wires they may want to chew on .. and tub romping is fun too just block the drain and let them paly in that too.
mine some times roll as if there is sand in the tub it's so cute lol

[shanny]

Hi Belldandy,
Thankyou for your reply. It's nice to know the proper amount of exercise needed for the little bundles of energy!!
For the last 3 weeks on a Sunday i have been 'Gerbil proofing' one of the bedrooms and doing like you said in your reply - blocking all holes and removing anything tempting to nibble on!!! And when they got over their nervousness about being in such a big wide space they seemed to really enjoy it!!
Thankyou for the advice, enjoy your little friends, take care Lisa

[belldandy]

glad your buddys like it.. they seam to enjoy running about and exploreing!!