Strange behavior after first cage cleaning?

[ticandtac]

So I'm a new pet parent.  But I'll go more into detail on all my experiences thus far in another thread.  Right now I'm a little concerned with some odd behavior.  I recently did the first cleaning of the cage of my two boys, Tic and Tac.  They were pretty nonplussed about all their hard work of their tunnels being wrecked.  But my apartment is small, and I can't have it smelling right?

Anyway I have them back into their cleaned cage and everything seemed normal.  Tic, being the dedicated digger that he is, went right to work on the burrowing box that I put in their tank.  Tac meanwhile starting running on the wheel.  After a while they both took turns on the wheel, as they tend to do.

But now I find Tac is sleeping by himself, beside the wheel, in the shallow end of the bedding in the non-burrowing section that I set aside for feedings, wheel, water bottle, chew toys, etc.  It's very odd for them to sleep alone and not in a burrow.

[crittercrazy]

Gerbils often seem offended by a cleaned tank- but mine have gotten to the point where they enjoy rummaging through the fresh bedding and rearranging.

Are they still sleeping separately? I wouldn't worry about where they are sleeping (my gerbils can be very stubborn, sleeping exactly where I don't think they should), but if they aren't sleeping together for a long time, that could be a problem.

[leafwhisp]

I wouldn't worry about it unless it continues. It sounds like your gerbils are good friends by the way they take turns, no one of them takes over the wheel (like mine now I have 2 wheels so bolt isn't the only one who gets torun)

[ticandtac]

May 26, 2015 5:48:12 GMT -8 leafwhisp said:

I wouldn't worry about it unless it continues. It sounds like your gerbils are good friends by the way they take turns, no one of them takes over the wheel (like mine now I have 2 wheels so bolt isn't the only one who gets torun)

They've both returned to sleeping in their tunnels.  Though they really seem to like that spot beneath the wheel when they eat.  I also put a half full roll of toilet paper in their cage that they're having a blast tearing to shreds.

[daisy]

Remember to always put in some of the old bedding when you clean the tank so they have the familiar odor.

My gerbils immediately rearrange their habitat every time I clean it.  One of them does much more of the work, but they both seem to like putting things in order after I have, in their opinion, ruined their perfect décor.

[blanknote]

A little bit late reply, but my gerbils sometimes have a nap somewhere else than in their tunnels/nest, especially if the tank has just been cleaned out and they haven't had time to fully prepare the nest. Sometimes they even have the nap in the tank topper, and most of the time I still get worried that they are not okay as usually they do sleep in their nest