Nibblers/cage size

[Skye]

Hi! I'm waiting to be approved but trying to order some things for my gerbs to chew on. The ones I used for my hamster as a kid were like these:  www.wag.com/smallanimal/p/living-world-nibblers-wood-chews-fruit-veggie-mix-112147  and I was going to buy some for my gerbils but it doesn't list the kind of wood. Does anyone know if these are safe? Right now they're chewing on toilet paper tubes and their wooden hidey house. I gave them one of those rock chews but they wouldn't use it.

Also, I got my info on proper cage sizes from the American Gerbil Society website. It says a 15 gallon tank is the minimum needed for 3 gerbils so I figured my (bigger) tank would be sufficient but seeing pictures of your guys' set-ups is making me worry I'm not housing mine well enough. :[   My tank is about 27 gallons and has aspen shavings around 6 inches high for them to dig in. Is that a gerbil rights violation? I don't think I can afford to go out and buy a bigger cage for at least a few weeks and I wouldn't be sure where to look.

[rhianna]

As for cage size, here on the forum we recommend at least 10 gallons per gerbil. While 30 gallons would be an ideal minimum for a trio, they should be alright in 27 gallons. You might want to consider upgrading in the future, though, if you have the space.

Most gerbils tend to avoid the cute little store bought wood chews (which sucks because the pretty little designs would look so cute in their tanks). You would probably be better off buying things such as willow sticks, apple twigs, and different types of natural wood, especially with the bark still left on them. You can find things like that from a lot of pet stores. You could also try giving them pieces of clean, unfinished, chemical-free pine wood, such as chunks cut from a 2x4. My gerbils can get the edges of those worn completely down in a matter of days. You'll also find that they enjoy chewing anything cardboard, so you might want to start saving up packages from food such as cereal, tv dinners, pasta, soda cans, etc. And lastly, you can find flavored chews from the pet store. All of my gerbils and hamsters absolutely LOVE Cheesie Chews, which used to be sold at Walmart but now are only sold at Petco by the brand Ecotrition. Another hit with the gerbils has been Greenies dog chews, and the similar Whimzees alligator-shaped dog chews which are sold at Petco.