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Post by tripleb on Apr 26, 2015 7:39:17 GMT -8
My daughter (18 yo) bought two gerbils about three weeks ago, brought them home, and put them in this cage:  . We also bought this 'potty kit'  which they never seemed to use except to eat in once they grabbed some food. We noticed one or two droppings on the raised (green) section of their cage before she cleaned it out, but now that she has cleaned it out, they do all of their business on the green platform and in the 'hamster head' (white housing on the green platform)...which leads to a stinky top of the cage...and trust me, it gets soiled very quickly. She didn't have any more 'litter stuff' to put back in the potty kit but they never seemed to use it anyway. Other than taking the green platform out, are there any suggestions you can give to keep them from doing their business on the green section and in the hamster head? Thanks for any and all input. TripleB |
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Post by betty on Apr 26, 2015 10:19:13 GMT -8
Well, in a short answer, no.
You could try covering the shelf in a thin layer of cardboard and change that out rather than cleaning the shelf itself, or wood. Or put in a dust bath up there as they like to poo a lot in those and then you just sieve that regularly. You could always take out the green shelf and replace with wooden chinchilla perches instead? Or maybe put bedding up on the green shelf so it absorbs some of the wee?
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Post by twinkietwixoreo on Apr 26, 2015 11:48:09 GMT -8
I have noticed that all of my gerbils so far (I have had five) always like to go potty on a flat, smooth surface, such as an empty box of pasta for instance. I think it's just how they like it, so if that bothers you, maybe you can take that green part out.
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Post by qtoffer on Apr 26, 2015 18:43:29 GMT -8
Gerbils rarely use their cage furniture for the purpose that their humans intended - potty kits are often used as nest boxes! Many gerbils prefer to go potty on a flat, smooth surface away from where they live and nest. The green shelf in your setup fits the bill as far as they're concerned. This is actually a good thing for you if that green platform is easily removed and replaced. It's easier and more economical to wash off a potty shelf with warm water every few days, than it is to replace bedding and clean the bottom of the cage.
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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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RIP
Maire 11/6/2008 - 4/6/2011; Eithne 11/6/2008 - 10/10/2011
Lori 5/2/2011 - 7/24/2013; Mo 5/2/2011 - 1/14/2014; Carly 5/2/2011 - 5/21/2014
Arwen 11/12/2011 - 2/8/2015
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Post by blanknote on Apr 27, 2015 0:39:29 GMT -8
You could put chinchilla sand in the 'potty kit' as usually they like to use chinchilla sand bowls as their toilet? My boys have cardboard in their cage so they usually use that as the toilet, but whenever I put chinchilla sand in their cage, they end up using it as well.
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Post by the_gerbilpetsworld on Apr 27, 2015 6:47:14 GMT -8
I agree with Blanknote. Chinchilla bath sand is a great way for your gerbils to go to the toilet and bathe in. If they don't use it in the "potty" I would just put it in a different but accessible dish/bowl, and put it somewhere in the cage that they can easily get to. You will probably find that they use it as a toilet AND to bathe in. You will need to change it weekly but the stuff lasts for ages Hope I helped  PetMad15 |
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Post by Shooting Star on Apr 27, 2015 8:13:05 GMT -8
I wouldn't waste chinchilla sand on a potty area. Plain dirt-cheap play sand will do just fine.
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