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Post by daisy on Dec 9, 2014 17:16:53 GMT -8
I bought my gerbils a hendryx grass / straw hideaway. They took it apart and interwove it with their bedding to make a wonderful nest in the corner of their aquarium. They seem to love it. I clean the tank once a week and throw out all bedding. I hate to destroy all their hard work. Would it be okay to leave the nest for an extra week and clean around it? How long could I leave it for them?
Thank you.
Daisy |
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Post by eleda on Dec 10, 2014 14:39:23 GMT -8
I only do a full cleaning of my tank every couple months (its a 20 gallon) the rest of the time I do partial bedding changes and the nest only gets disturbed when I do a full cleaning. i wouldn't worry about leaving it for a little while; as far as I know they keep their beds pretty clean.
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Post by qtoffer on Dec 10, 2014 21:39:56 GMT -8
During cleanings, I usually leave their nest alone if I can. Gerbils generally won't pee or poop in their nest. I would leave their nest there indefinitely - at least until they completely destroy it and build another one elsewhere.
BTW, it's not necessary to replace all the bedding. I reserve the top 1/4 - 1/3, which usually remains relatively dustless and free of poop. After cleaning out the bottom of the tank (where most of the dust and poops tend to settle), I replace the reserved old bedding and fill the tank up with fresh bedding. This saves me a significant amount of money and provides the gerbils with a clean home that still smells familiar.
How big is your tank, how many actual gallons of bedding, and how many gerbils? I only clean my 20 gallon tanks (full to the top with 20 gallons of bedding) once every six to eight weeks - depending on how dusty the bottom gets. I have two gerbils in one and one gerbil in the other.
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Arwen (F) and Eowyn (F) 11/12/2011 - 20 gallon with 20 gallon topper
Goldberry (F) 11/12/2011 - 20 gallon with 20 gallon topper
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Post by daisy on Dec 11, 2014 20:07:56 GMT -8
My two gerbils live in a 20 gallon long tank. I have always cleaned the entire tank once a week. So, today, I removed all of the bedding except in the nest area, cleaned the bottom of the tank and put in new bedding with a little of the old mixed in. When the gerbils returned to the tank, they immediately check out their nest and then explored every where else.
It seems interesting to me that they dismantled a really nice Hendryx hideaway and then reconstructed it into a nest, mixed with bedding. When I do finally dispose of the nest, I have to make sure I have a new hideaway from them to dismantle.
Daisy
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