food bowl problems?

[gerbillover9612]

When my gerbils have a big bowl that they can sit in, they poo in it, but when they have a small bowl they kind of get in it but are perching on the edge and it looks uncomfortable but they dont poo in it but they still like to the sit there. so im not sure weather the keep the bowl they have now ( www.google.co.uk/search?q=polka+dot+hamster+bowl&rlz=1C1RNNN_enGB372&espv=2&biw=1440&bih=809&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=DsUVVPegN-er7AbYhIDAAQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=O4TYTourMvtbmM%253A%3BOTQ5DxNYunioGM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi.ebayimg.com%252F00%252Fs%252FMzM2WDMzNg%253D%253D%252F%2524(KGrHqR%252C!pgE9eG3UgLcBPiFyj)Pkw~~60_35.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.co.uk%252Fitm%252FHamster-Gerbil-Rat-Porcelain-Blue-Polka-Dot-Pet-Bowl-Dish-Feeders-Mason-Cash-%252F130733084483%3B300%3B300 THIS BOWL) or weather to give them a bigger bowl even though they might poo or maybe pee in it? i don't want one of them to poo on the food then the other one eat the food they poo'd on because that gross ;( anyone got any ideas? xx

[karin66]

I don't use a food dish at all now just scatter.feed. Riba gerbil does poo in her sand bath dish but that's convenient for me to clean out every.day

[Jazzable]

Firstly: it's not a huge problem if they poo near their food. They eat their poo sometimes anyway, like most rodents. Secondly, perching on the edge of the bowl is perfectly fine (mine do it!). If they were uncomfortable they wouldn't do it. I wouldn't worry about it, your current bowl is fine.

[qtoffer]

Every gerbil is different. One of my gerbils will obsessively throw every piece of food out of her 5 inch bowl so she can use it as a potty (pee and poop). I place her food in a pile on one of the cage topper shelves.

My other two gerbils like their food in a bowl (identical to the other gerbil's bowl, btw). They either perch on the edge or sit inside it. They do all their bathroom business on the topper shelves.

[gerbillover9612]

Ooo thankyou everyone. I dont genrally like to scatter feed because i dont know if they are eating what they are supposed to, how much they are eating an when they need more food ah i just worried that they were uncomfortable but as u said they wouldnt sit their if it wasnt comfortable aha yes my two poo in their sand bath which is handy thankyou everyone. Xxx

[alleyj]

My girls pee in their food bowl every day, it's nasty. I'm thinking about getting them a hamster potty made by super pet, it's essentially a gerbil/hamster litter box that works really well for hamsters. since mine like to go in the bowl and their dust bath they might take to the potty, yours might too.

i never thought to scatter food, i think they'd just bury it and forget about it? i'm always nervous that they'll forget about it since red hides his food and never seems to touch it after. plus their cage gets dirty so quickly i don't want them eating soiled food.

[gerbillover9612]

Arrh silly little gerbils. hmm, maybe. As i said they do go in their sand bath but i found yesterday that they have decided to build a huge nest in their sand bath so now i cant clean it or they might poo somewhere else and it will get soiled :/ i swear they try to make things difficult on purpose :') Boyss l' be boys
yeah, i concidered scattereing it but as you said theres always the possibility it will get soiled and such xx