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Post by gizmoandrascal on May 13, 2017 15:08:44 GMT -8
Gizmo keeps chewing the bars. I had a few theories on why this was happening but nothing I did seemed to help! First thing I did was took him out of the cage because he chewed the bars at the door which I took to mean he wanted out, so I got him out more frequently but this didn't seem to solve the problem. I put more things to chew in there in case he was bored but he took no notice of them, I even added more bedding so he could burrow deeper but it just made a mess. What do?
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Post by betty on May 19, 2017 8:02:52 GMT -8
Gerbil bar-chewing is a pain - and some gerbils just LOVE doing it.
It could be linked to the fact that the 'door' is there - as once they set their little hearts on making a new route that is that. It doesn't help I suppose that almost every time he chews on the bars there - the front door opens and he gets a treat or to come out. Reinforcing his actions (if he is that way inclined).
Also, giving someone who like puzzles a load of books doesn't stop them liking puzzles - which may explain why the distractions aren't working?
I do know that gerbils usually like to dig behind things that are in corners (incase there is a new path behind it) or when things are 'in their way', so perhaps putting a wooden box or house in the corner near to the bars he is chewing might tempt him away?
Or perhaps just to stop the chewing at least, when you close the cage door, slide in a sheet of cardboard on the inside of the cage (wide enough to cover all of the door and more to the side, so he physically can't chew the bars in that same place. It would be interesting to see what changes if anything - it may just end up making more noise than before with him scratching the cardboard instead?
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Post by gerbilpetsitter on Jul 2, 2017 4:37:39 GMT -8
I know right it's so annoying and it makes loud noises at night!!!! I give them lots of cardboard but they chew it up in five minutes.🐭🙄🤔
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Post by gerbilpetsitter on Jul 2, 2017 6:26:51 GMT -8
I recommend to give them lots of cardboard in case they just really need to chew somthing. If they chew it in less than 10 minutes or if they still chew the bars when you give them cardboard then get better help than mine.
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Post by OneLilGerbie on Jan 4, 2018 9:45:10 GMT -8
I used to have the same problem.
My gerbil(s) used to live in a normal cage, but they were ALWAYS chewing the bars. Then we tried a bigger cage, with the same results. So finally, we decided on a gerbilarium (we got one with a BIG tank bottom) and guess what??
My (lone now - her sis had died before we had switched to a gerbilarium) gerbil finally stopped chewing the bars completely!!!!
I think why it happened is because she had a lot more room to keep her busy digging, so after a few weeks of chewing the bars, she finally gave up and is now happily making tunnels all over the place.
I don't know if this will help, but (if you don't have one already) maybe you should consider getting a gerbilarium for your gerbil(s).
Hope this post helped!!!
xx
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Post by betty on Jan 5, 2018 2:25:09 GMT -8
That is very interesting OneLilGerbie, gerbils can often change behaviours after the loss of a companion - often due to the more dominant gerbil controlling what they could and couldn't do. I have seen it many times myself.
But added together with the bigger digging space this is great news for her (and you)...
Thanks for sharing.
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