What does your gerbil area look like?

[rhianna]

I'm interested in seeing where you guys keep your gerbil tank(s) and supplies, because I'm trying to plan out my future setup for when I move since I plan on keeping several tanks. 

Do you keep them in your room, in their own room, or somewhere else? Pictures would be great, and explanation of how you maximize the space and store their supplies would also be awesome. I think this could help a lot of people keep their gerbil space in order. You can also recommend things like shelves and pieces of furniture that you use to hold the tanks or store their supplies. 

I'll start by posting what my gerbil space looks like currently. My room's a huge mess because I've been going through things and packing to move, but I'll show you anyways. 

Both tanks and their supplies are kept in a corner of my very small room. 


Olaf's 10 gallon is on top of a Plano plastic shelving unit, with only 2 of the tiers. Under his tank is the playpen (you can't see it), some cardboard, and I used to have boxes of small chews, but those are packed. The things blocking the bottom are to keep my rabbit out. Then there's a white crate which used to hold a box of their playpen toys and hidey houses and things, but that's also packed now. On top of the crate is a container of their food.


Then Alvin and Simon's 29 gallon is on a Sterilite plastic shelving unit, again with only 2 tiers. Underneath is their bedding, hay, and a box of first aid supplies. I had cleaning supplies over there too but I moved them somewhere else. Beside the tank is 2 crates stacked up. The top is all of their treats, middle is an extra wheel, their sandbath, some panels from their old playpen, and a chew that somehow ended up on that shelf, then the bottom has toilet paper (I give them for nesting) and cardboard tubes in smaller crates. Beside those crates I just have their "greenscreen" which I use for photoshoots sometimes, and a lid for the 10 gallon.


I know it's not fantastic but it gets the job done until we move and I can have a more permanent set-up. 

[snowballandnugget]

Ohhhh! I like the topic!! I am always looking for ways to improve my gerbil area!!!

So our gerbils live in our family room. We chose this area because oh the hardwood floors (easy clean up) and because we wanted to have them as part of our everyday life.

So this is Snowball and Nugget's cage.



They are kept on top of my son's train table that he has grown out of. It has a trundle storage underneath that stores all the gerbil necessities (food, treats, hay, applewood, sandbag). It currently needs a good tidying but overall it functions well. I have a stack of cardboard boxes next to the table and on the other side the bag of bedding. I want to come up with another way to store the cardboard and bedding so that its more out of sight.

Here is Fonzi's tank:



He is currently on the other side of the room but I am considering moving him back next to the girls cage but further apart. His tank is sitting on two barstools, but I want to upgrade him to a cube storage shelf so that he is a bit lower down and for the extra storage.

So either this but positioned sideways:

m.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/for-living-dark-brown-6-cube-cabinet-0680480p.html

Or this with the cushion removed. I like this a bit more because of the lip which would help keep the tank from being slid off by accident.

m.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/for-living-3-cube-bench-white-0687903p.html

[crittercrazy]

Minty and Pixel are in a 20g tank and Pepper and Parsley in a 10g and I put both tanks on a corner table-type thing. I know a 10g isn't ideal for a pair, but until we move it's all I can manage. Once we move (which will be in a few weeks) I'll get a topper or a bigger tank etc.
I keep all my supplies for them under the table, so that in the end they and all their stuff only takes up one corner of my bedroom.



Off-topic question, anyone know if it's okay to keep two tanks of gerbils right next to each other, or will it make them skittish/nervous etc.?
And I do know I need to put more bedding in there- I'm going to just haven't figured out a solution for still being able to keep there wheel. Will ASAP though so no worries.
I like the topic! Looking forward to seeing everyone's setups!

[rhianna]

Thanks for the replies! I love the creative uses of furniture and space. crittercrazy, we'll be moving around the same time!

For my future setup I think I've settled on this: www2.walmart.com/ip/Edsal-48-W-x-24-D-x-72-H-5-Shelf-Steel-Shelving-Black/21685762 It holds a lot of weight and can hold many tanks as well. I actually plan on splitting it into 2 separate units and using one for my hamster and storage, and the other for gerbil tanks. I could fit up to 8 ten gallons with toppers comfortably on 1/2 of the unit, should it ever get to that point!

I also plan on buying two of these, and keeping them on the bottom shelf of the other half of the unit: www2.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-3-Drawer-Wide-Cart-Aqua-Tint/17617466 Those will hold quite a bit of toys and treats and things, while I'll have a separate similar unit next to them which will hold bedding, food, cardboard, etc. I already have it, but it's similar to this (except 3-tier and it's gray): www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-2-Drawer-Bin-Storage/34317212

All of this is going to be fitting underneath a lofted bed in my new room. Originally I was supposed to have a separate room for the pets, but we fell in love with a house that doesn't have an extra bedroom for that. So, I'm going to try the best I can to fit all my pets in my room better than I've done currently!

I hope I'm helping to give you guys some ideas. Keep posting here, I love to see the setups!

[rhianna]

May 22, 2014 8:59:59 GMT -8 crittercrazy said:

Off-topic question, anyone know if it's okay to keep two tanks of gerbils right next to each other, or will it make them skittish/nervous etc.?

It's completely fine to do so. My tanks are very close to each other and they don't even know there's other gerbils in the room. I know a lot of breeders and rescues keep tanks side-by-side with no problems as well.

[summerrain]

Ah, I like this topic too. I only have one set of gerbils, so i suppose mine are a bit easier to organize and such. I keep them in the livingroom since I like to be able to walk by them and talk to them. they are right next to the hallway so they always get lots of attention. Since they are in the livingroom all the guests get to see them too. Before I upgraded I had my boys on wire racks.
 
I got them for pretty cheap at walmart. I maybe spent 50 dollars on two long racks and three small racks. I had all the boy's stuff there. The bottom of the long racks had their toys and mic items inside of their larger travel cage (I use it for car rides when they will be out of their tank for more than a night), above it had their bedding. than on the rack they had their travel tank (for vet visits) filled with replacement table covers and their trash can, than above that all their cleaning supplies and treats, above that cardboard, hand sanitizer and some decos and on top their food and regular treats. I also hung dog food scoop on the rack that I use to clean out their tank. When I upgraded them to their 75 gallon tank I bought a tv stand for about 95 dollars.

In the left side door is their cleaning supplies and trash can, in the right side door is their regular toys, on the top middle shelf I keep their food and the bottom shelf I keep their new treats and cardboard. On the ledge I have their treat jar and another jar that I have their food in so I don't have to pull the box out every other day. I only kept their large travel tank and put their mic. items and playpen, the smaller travel tank is also in there now. I put that under the end table since I don't use it everyday. And I keep the bedding tucked away behind the stand. It looks a lot more pleasing to the eye now. 

[Demonic Hope]

I'll clean my room this weekend so you guys can see my setups. I keep my guys in my room, or as my family calls it the. "The Rodent room that Kris has someone how squeezed her bed in."

[snowballandnugget]

Summertime - I love the twinkle lights in your first picture!! So cute!!

[crittercrazy]

May 22, 2014 16:52:39 GMT -8 rhianna said:

May 22, 2014 8:59:59 GMT -8 crittercrazy said:

Off-topic question, anyone know if it's okay to keep two tanks of gerbils right next to each other, or will it make them skittish/nervous etc.?

It's completely fine to do so. My tanks are very close to each other and they don't even know there's other gerbils in the room. I know a lot of breeders and rescues keep tanks side-by-side with no problems as well.

Thanks Rhianna!  I thought it probably was,  but Pepper and Parsley seemed to get scared by nothing frequently so I just thought I'd check to make sure it wasn't because of Minty and Pixel.  Who knows what they find to be afraid of.

[dailike]

I keep my tank in the living room next to the sofa.
And there stuff I keep in the cupboard beneath them.

[snowballandnugget]

Wow! Very organized and contained!

[rhianna]

I love, love, love seeing your setups. Glad I had the idea to make this topic. They all look great and I'm getting so many ideas for my future setup.

Demonic Hope, I'm excited to see how you keep all of your tanks in your room. I'm the same way with my pets; my parents don't know how I manage to keep all of them and their supplies in my room along with my own bed

[t0m]

Our tank and topper is in our boys bedroom. We were a bit unsure how well it would work at first, escpecially as our boys (human) are both quite young (one is 3 and one is 5). But it's been great. They love having the gerbils in their room and I think the gerbs enjoy the company too. I was worried about the noise at night, but once my boys are out not much will wake them! The gerbs tend to get quite active at the boys bedtime, but now that the boys are used to them they're not too bothered.

I bought the tank and topper and made the base where I store most of their stuff. 

[t0m]

Oh and yes, there is a padlock on the cage!!

[bros108]

Is that so there is no assisted escapes by the gerbils and boys lol.