Do Gerbils like having a "potty" area?

[kristinenote]

So basically: I used a food dish with chin sand as their sand baths for Smoke and Silver (my other two boys have their own little gerbil-house-ceramic thing).

And Smoke and Silver just pooped in the sand bath. I left it in all day and they didn't once play in it. Not one grand of sand had been kicked out. So I went back to basics: Paper Plate! Now Silver is having a blast making a mess and bathing!

Silver hasn't used the food bowl-sand bath since a little after I introduced him to Smoke. At first the two loved their sand baths in the food bowl!

Now it looks like I'll be using a paper plate lol. Note: It's a spare food dish for the sand baths.

So... my question is: Should I keep the bowl in there for potty area? Chin Sand is expensive, though, and I rather not use it as litter. Ideas?

[linkasaurus]

My girls did the same thing. I had bought them one of those little ceramic critter huts for sand baths. But, instead of bathing in it, they would kick all of the sand out and use it as a bathroom. I've given up on attempting to leave a sand bath in their tank, and just let them roll around when I take them out.
If you leave the empty dish in, they may use it regardless if sand is inside of it or not.
Mine definitely prefer having their potty area sand-free!

[Nightingale]

Yes. They like a smooth, flat surface to do all their poops in, haha. Mocha uses her terracotta tile and pot; I know a lot of people give gerbils glass jars for this use. A dish without any sand in seems like it would work to me, just clean it when needed. Should be easy enough to do.

[Jazzable]

I'm not sure if they necessarily 'like' it. But they will often use a smooth flat surface, or a sand bath, if it's provided for them. And it makes cleaning a lot easier. You could try just leaving the empty dish like linkasaurus suggested. They may use that as a toilet so you can clean it regularly and keep the cage less smelly.

[3LilGerbils]

When i first put the fresh sand in they both have a bath but after that Its a toilet lol. They will only pee and poop in their little ceramic dish with the chin sand in it! I prefer them doing this as i can clean out that dish every couple of days and it keeps the rest of their home clean (i get a big box of chin sand for like £2.50 on amazon! Ive not even finished the first box an ive had them over 4monthes. I originally paid £7 for the exact same item on another site!) x