Potty Training backslide

[mothman]

As some here know, I'm new to the gerbil world, we've had Pepper and Joey for, I think 6 weeks or so now.

When we got them, I immediately put a glass jar on it's side up in the cage topper as a potty.

Pepper quickly got the hang of going up in the topper, and right away he chose to use the jar, so there was never more than a couple little poops on the cage topper floor, and no pee.

Joey initially didn't go into the topper, and so of course he did his business down in the tank somewhere.

Eventually, after a few weeks, Joey got the hang of going into the topper, so I moved the food and water up there permanently.

I did see joey use the jar a few times, and I thought all was great.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long until all the potty training went out the window.  Both gerbils started doing their business on the opposite side of the topper, on the floor. (the jar was initially on the front side, and I thought maybe they preferred being on the back side where it's more 'private' and secure feeling)

I moved the jar over to that side, but they still just go on the topper floor.

They use the jar all the time... but just to take their food into and eat! It's just got a lot of food remnants and a few poops in there every day.  They do poop/pee in there a bit, if they happen to be in there at the time i guess, but mostly they just poop on the floor.

I think they must be peeing mostly in the tank as I have found that their bedding is a little more smelly now than it was for the first few weeks ... first full cleaning was at 2.5 weeks and there was no smell at all other than normal wood smell. Now about 2 weeks after that full cleaning and I just did a partial bedding replacement last night as it was smelling a little bit.

Anyhoo.... any tips on how to get them back to using the potty like they were initially?   Seems like once Joey started going up top, Pepper decided to not use the jar anymore, and I guess Joey never really did use it a lot.

It's not a huge issue, as it's easy to use a dust buster to vacuum the poops out every night (and the poops they kick out onto the carpet), but it was much nicer (and less smell) when they used the jar.

[Keeper]

When you moved the food how close to the toilet did you put it? Are they peeing closer to the food?
Also with them peeing on the topper floor maybe try adding more toilets for them, if one smells more like the other gerbil then having one each may encourage them to use it more.

[mothman]

I didn't actually move the food, I moved the toilet.

When I first put everything in the topper, I put the food and the toilet on opposite corners (food back left, toilet front right). I then noticed that they had stopped using the toilet jar and were using the floor near the toilet, but on the opposite side of the cage (back right). So I moved the toilet there. They continue to poo around the toilet, and a bit in the toilet.

As to where they are peeing, I don't know... I don't see any wet spots on the cardboard topper floor, though it may be drying before I see it. They do seem to pee in the jar some, as when I clean out the jar (as mentioned, many food remnants, a few poops), it appears to have been a bit wet.

I'll try your idea of putting in a second jar in the original location. Thanks for the tip.

[Jazzable]

What is on the surface of the topper, cardboard? Could you try sprinkling some of their bedding over the cardboard to cover it up? Mine always seem to pee on smooth/flat surfaces (like the glass inside a jar) - so they might find the cardboard equally appealing. If it's feasible to cover it with a bit of bedding, they might decide the jar is the better place to go.

[mothman]

Another good suggestion.

I put a second jar in yesterday, so far this morning it's still clean as a whistle, lol.

I'll leave it for a bit to see if they take to using it. I'm hesitant to spread bedding on the upper floor, as I think the bedding being kicked around will make more of a mess than the poops that fling out. lol I added some short (1 inch) side walls to the topper's lowest floor, all around the edge, to try to keep the poops from flinging out as much.

[lucille]

I have found that my gerbil LOVES to pee and poo in a bowl full of sand - even better if it feels private. I haven't potty trained him at all - he just likes to do it in the sand so I leave little sand dishes all over and his cage stays clean for a long time. I do notice though, if he doesn't have enough private areas to go into for eating and other things he'll re-appropriate a litter box and then go in the bedding more. And he will pee a little bit in certain places, I think, just to make things smell good to him - if I clean up what he does outside of the box then he will immediately re-soil it in the same place, the same amount. If I just leave that alone though, he self regulates and doesn't add anything to it and goes back to using the sand bowls.

[mothman]

You have the sand dishes in the tank? Or do you have a topper?

I'd try that in the topper, but I think they'd kick sand everywhere out of the cage lol.

THings are OK right now... they mix it up between the two jars and the topper floors, but it's never all that bad, and a once-a-day quick dust buster gets the poops off the topper floor easily enough.

[Keeper]

Glad it helped, sometimes they poop if they sit and eat so that could be a reason for more in the topper, same as my hamsters they poop more by the water bottle and food as that is where they sit still. xx

[lucille]

I have the sand dish in the tank - After I clean his cage, Jack Jr will spend the whole night kicking most of the sand out of the dish and arranging it in his home however he wants... and then after I refill it he leaves it in the dish. It's pretty cute to watch him kick it all over the place but it's funny cause once he feels he's spread enough of it around then he's done until the next cage cleaning.

I'm glad your situation sounds like it's getting more manageable over there : )