Can a cage be too big?

[Wild Prairie Gerbils]

Hi, I love to create huge habitats for my hamsters, mice, etc. and I will be getting gerbils in the future, but I read somewhere gerbils will declan if given too much room?
their cage would be the dimensions of an ikea detolf, but taller and a few inches less long. My questions are:

1) would that work for 2 gerbils?

2) would that work for more than 2 gerbils

3) what sex would work best?

4) would a female and neutered male have less chance of declaning than 2 same sex gerbils?

5) do they have to have 2 of everything? (two wheels, two huts, etc)

I really want want to give them a big cage, even if they would be fine in a 20g, I would hate not to give them all the space I can :\

[keldamouse]

I don't think you can have a big enough space. The most important thing is that they have it deep enough to dig tunnels. most people have a 20 gallon long or 20 gallon high so anything in that height range would be good.

Here are the sizes of the best minimum tanks sizes for 2 gerbils:

US gallons Litres Inches LxDxH Centimeters LxDxH
20 (high) 75.7 24 x 13 x 17 61.0 x 33.0 x 43.2
20 (long) 75.7 30 x 13 x 13 76.2 x 33.0 x 33.0

for 3 Gerbils I am not sure on the sizes, I think you will need at least 30 gallon tank but 40 gallon may be better.

I do believe that people have used the ikea detolf and it's worked well but I am not sure of the height of the tank you are looking at.

As far as declanning the most stable groups are 2-3 males, followed by 2 females. No more than 2 females is what I have read is best. Of course I'm sure there are lots of bigger groups that have been fine.

No you shouldn't have to have 2 of everything because gerbils for the most part love to share and snuggle and eat together. If your gerbils are crazy for their wheel and you constantly see them waiting to get on it you could get two. Your gerbils most of time will share all items really well.

I look forward to seeing pictures!

[Wild Prairie Gerbils]

Thanks!
I'm planing to build the tank myself and go to a glass cutter, so I can make it a tall as I want, it's probably going to be taller than the Detolf, how deep should the bedding be?

[erin]

Great idea! It's recommended that you have at least 5 inches of bedding but for gerbils, the more the better, and your gerbils will love you for it. It can get a bit pricy so I often shred plain printer paper and mix it in with their bedding. There have been gerbils that declanned and people think it's because they have too much space, but that's likely not the reason. They're very social and always together. Females are more likely to declan later on in life and like keldamouse said, 2 females is best to avoid fighting and declanning. Males are the more calm of the sexes so you can easily house 3-4 of them (ideally brothers). Hope this helps

[ella]

Yes, the declanning-because-of-too-much-space myth was probably influenced by the actual increased risk from clearly defined "rooms" from Crittertrails and such.
Gerbils are too small to be safely neutered, really.

Your future tank sounds awesome! Have fun