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Post by cantrelax on Apr 20, 2014 15:20:40 GMT -8
I am distraught. For the first time ever my husband, 12 year old son and I were able to take a family get away together alone and we come home to this. We got our boys in Feb, I posted pics after we lost our beloved Zoom. We left Thursday morning, extra big bowl of food for the boys and an extra bottle of water and $85 of chewing toys I just bought. My sister stopped in to check on them Saturday. We get home at dinner time tonight (sunday) and find 2 missing and an uncovered spot in their cage. My sister tells me that she saw movement but didn't actually see the gerbils. What? What exactly does checking on them mean?? Sorry but I am upset. We moved the sofa and refurgerator. We have seen signs of them in the kitchen and living room on the first floor, nothing obvious on the 2nd floor (stairs are carpeted)but we have alot of stuff in our house. I am just so upset. Poor Frodo is lonley. We are puting out a couple spots of used bedding in containers so hopefully they will come close to the cage to make a nest but I am thinking they might have already made one, we will put a couple of toilet tissue tubes out so maybe we will find out if they are ok. Suggestions and prayers are appreciated.
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Post by bros108 on Apr 20, 2014 15:49:19 GMT -8
Oh no hope you find them soon!
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Post by cantrelax on Apr 20, 2014 15:50:23 GMT -8
we have no idea how long they have been out  |
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Post by crittercrazy on Apr 20, 2014 15:58:56 GMT -8
Have you put food out? Once they get hungry if they had a food source available where it wasn't in a "scary" place (like in the middle of the living room or something) then I would think they would come out. Have you ever taught them to come to the sound of their name or treat container being shaken etc.? If you had then you could try calling them/doing whatever they will come to. That sometimes works for my girls.
My gerbils (two of them anyways) got out once while I was away (not on a trip though just shopping) and when I got back they were missing. Luckily we found them shortly because we heard Pixel thumping her hind legs. So that's another thing; when you can try being just quiet for long periods of time in different rooms and see if you hear anything.
I'm sorry I don't have any other advice to offer- I hope you find them soon!!!!!!!!
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Post by cantrelax on Apr 20, 2014 16:33:19 GMT -8
We have only had them a couple months. When they were in the cage the would come to us when we opened the cage door to give them a treat. We have been quiet listening for thumps or squeeks. We have been home for 4 hours and have pulled out from the walls everything we can including the refrigerator. We have looked under everything. We have found droppings but nothing shredded to look like nesting material. The place that it looks like they got out is not an obvious exit, it is hard for he to imagine that they both got out at the smae time but the 3rd didnt. I dont know if they fell while escaping and are hurt somewhere or have gotten themselves into some place that they can't get put from.
I am also upset with my sister that she didn't make sure all 3 were there yesterday. I think she is afraid of them and didn't want to risk leaving a latch undone herself and it probably isn't fair of me to be uspet with her. We had a nice weekend at the ocean and come home to this. DMy son didnt even look at his easter stuff when we got home.
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rhianna
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Post by rhianna on Apr 20, 2014 17:46:26 GMT -8
I'm so sorry to hear that this has happened. The same thing happened with all 3 of mine (at the time) once while I was away, and my brother found 2 but Theodore was gone until we got back and tore my room apart.
You could put a box with an entrance cut out, and put food and water and used bedding inside, maybe even a toilet paper tube. If they come across this box they might claim it as their home base. Try and keep silent all night and listen for chewing on the toilet paper roll. I'm sorry that I don't have any better advice than this.
If you still haven't found them in a day or so, you might want to resort to setting up a few humane mouse traps. Block off underneath all the doorways, and keep all the doors closed. Put a trap behind each closed door.
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Post by rexcalibur on Apr 20, 2014 20:08:21 GMT -8
We get home at dinner time tonight (sunday) and find 2 missing and an uncovered spot in their cage. My sister tells me that she saw movement but didn't actually see the gerbils. What? What exactly does checking on them mean?? What do you mean by an uncovered spot? What type of cage is this? There is no way they'd really be able to chew out of a glass tank with a secure mesh lid. Is this one of those bar cages with a plastic bottom base? If not, I'm not really sure. I guess I don't fully understand the story. |
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Post by cantrelax on Apr 20, 2014 20:25:30 GMT -8
They were not in an aquarium. It is a bar cage with the plastic on the bottom. The did not chew out. The top of the cage has holes for the tubes that have plastic covers, They were on one of the shelves and somehow pushed the cover off. We found the cover on the table the cage sits on. It was a case of the cover not being put on properly, probably by me when I cleaned the cage last week.
We have put food and a bit of water out in a couple places and made a little nesting area with some used bedding in one spot. It is midnight here and I just got up to check to see if the had been to any of the areas and they haven't.
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Post by ignacia on Apr 20, 2014 22:16:06 GMT -8
I really hope you find them soon, my prayers go to you and the gerbils
Apart from what they have said above, I'd suggest you lay on the floor in silence as much as you can. When I lose my crazy gerbil in my room I do this. You'll have many rooms to do this, you should ask your family for help. If you lay on the floor in silence, you could get to see them, hear them or even have them come to you by recognizing your smell (though you have to be calm and quiet because they are stressed by now). Don't forget to put some food in different rooms and maybe lettuce (to cover hydration needs).
Best wishes
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Post by Sunny&Sandy on Apr 20, 2014 22:20:08 GMT -8
They were not in an aquarium. It is a bar cage with the plastic on the bottom. The did not chew out. The top of the cage has holes for the tubes that have plastic covers, They were on one of the shelves and somehow pushed the cover off. We found the cover on the table the cage sits on. It was a case of the cover not being put on properly, probably by me when I cleaned the cage last week. We have put food and a bit of water out in a couple places and made a little nesting area with some used bedding in one spot. It is midnight here and I just got up to check to see if the had been to any of the areas and they haven't. This type of home isn't a good idea for the reason you've discovered and other reasons, but it might actually work out to your advantage for now. If the cage is on the floor with the door open, could the gerbils crawl back in? When I was a very young gerbil owner, one of my gerbils had a cage like what you described and was quite the escape artist. The few times that he escaped, I would just put the cage on the floor with the door open so he could crawl back in whenever he wanted. Luckily for me, he always came back within a couple of days. Is there any way that you can relocate your remaining gerbil and some of his current bedding to a different secure home (such as a tank with a mesh lid), then leave the original cage on the floor so the others can get into it if they want? It's probably best to leave the cage out at night and then check the cage first thing in the morning - gerbils are more likely to roam at night when the house will be quiet. If you see them inside the cage, quickly shut the door! Also, make sure to leave water out in the form of a fruit or veggie, or a regular water bottle for small animals - just no open bowls. Gerbils can drown in open water bowls more easily than you might think, including water bowls for other pets if you have any. You will also be able to tell if they've been nibbling on fruits and veggies more than you could tell if some of the water was missing. :-) Good luck and please keep us updated! |
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Post by bettina on Apr 20, 2014 22:43:35 GMT -8
When two of my girls escaped for an entire weekend, I placed some of their favourite food in every room and closed all doors. A couple of hours later I checked to see which food they had eaten from. That way I found out that they were in the kitchen. Then I sat on the floor completely silent and listened. Noises came from behind the refrigerator. They were extremely scared but when I finally catched them they actually seemed relieved :-D
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Post by rexcalibur on Apr 20, 2014 22:55:41 GMT -8
I really hope you are able to find them but yeah, I'd never go with those colorful, gimmicky cages they sell in pet stores with a plastic base. I don't even know why they're legally authorized to be sold as suitable living environments for gerbils.
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Post by sarahobw on Apr 21, 2014 0:59:40 GMT -8
Bless you, this sounds like an awful time! I've never had this problem myself but remembered reading some useful tips on the American gerbil society website, though they're very similar to what some others have suggested: "Escapees are not likely to travel far from their home, so start in the room where their tank is kept. Slowly move around the room; looking under and behind the furniture or in the back corner of the nearest closet. Once you have found them sit down quietly and wait for them to come out. They usually can't resist investigating. If they are very friendly, confident, and recognize you as the source of good food they may come near enough that you can carefully scoop them up. Often a gerbil will come right up to their tank; if it is placed on the floor, especially pups. Keep a 1 - 2 foot section of PVC piping handy. Lay it on the floor near where they are hiding. Sit back a ways and be very quiet. Whey the gerbil investigates the PVC pipe quickly drop a towel over it; blocking both exits. Quickly, but carefully put your hands over the two ends. (You will only have a few seconds.) A shoebox with a small hole in one side can often work, too. If you absolutely can't get your gerbil out of hiding, or can't find it, set out a number of sunflower seeds on the floor along with a dish of water in that room (or in each room if you can't find them). Count the number of seeds, and check back later. Often you'll find the husks of shells left over, which means the gerbil has been there. You might be able to set a high-sided trap with ramps leading up to the side, and a towel to climb down (the weigh of the gerbil should pull it into the trap). The idea is that the gerbil can get into it but not climb out." Found here: agsgerbils.org/Learn/Gerbil_Care_Handbook/behav.php#escapesI also think rhianna's idea of humane mouse traps could work well, if you really can't locate them. Good luck, I hope you find them safe and sound. |
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Post by cantrelax on Apr 21, 2014 2:36:35 GMT -8
Thank you everyone who has offered suggestions, it is so appreciated.
WE had no activity at our watch spots last night. What my plan is now is to sift flour on a piece of paper in each room and put some seeds and a bit of water and a cardboard tube in the middle and close the door. Hopefully this will bring them out from where they are hiding and we can focus our search to just that area.
I was hoping that this wouldn't turn into a discussion about habitats, but for those concerned, we chose these tanks for many reasons that I won't go into here. We have kept our last gerbil in these cages for his lifetime (nearly 3 years) and have never had a problem. My husband and I both work from home and the cages are literally 10 feet from my desk. They have tons of cardboard and toys to chew on (we added a bunch extra that I bought the day we left). They have a ton of room to run around in and lots to explore, we have 3 cages and they are hooked to a 20 gallon tote half filled with stuff to dig and burrow in. We feed them the food that we have found is best for the (Gerri Gerbil) that I order online. We take them to the vet when they are sick. We take good care of our pets. **What happened her was not the fault of the cage, they did not chew through anything, it is the case of one of the exits not being secured properly and could have happened in any kind of cage/tank.
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Post by bettina on Apr 21, 2014 2:40:19 GMT -8
I am sure thar your gerbils live an excellent live and get the best of everything. Some gerbils are escape artist and will do anything to go on an adventure. We have had gerbils for 2,5 years now and they have escaped their tanks two times during that period.
Bettina
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