Gerbil playpen area advice

[conniew]

I looked for a thread about Playpens for gerbils and didn't find one. I would love to allow my girls time outside their cage for some fun and exploration. But I cannot do it on the floor for several reasons. I need to have something for on top of my kitchen table when they have play time outside their cage. 
I have a kitchen table 3' X 4' X 30"H.....I don't want to just let them loose on the table top I am afraid they would fall off or jump off. I was wondering if using one of those kids hard plastic play pools they sell in the summer would work? Are the sides on those tall enough so the gerbils couldn't jump out? I think they come in 4' round and 5' round sizes. Has anyone used one of these for this purpose? I also saw the fabric pet playpens on Amazon and I think a gerbil would eventually chew through those. 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

How tall should the sides of a playpen be for gerbils?
Thanks

[LilyandDaisy]

Gerbils can jump very high. A wall probably needs to about 2.5 feet to prevent them jumping out, and that's assuming there's nothing inside the playpen that they can stand on to escape. If there's something tall in the middle of the playpen, they will climb up it and then jump horizontally onto the top of the wall to escape. They will chew a fabric playpen too.

Personally I've never had much luck with gerbils and open-topped playpens. They've always managed to escape. In fact, whenever I put them in a playpen they seem to take as some kind of challenge to see how fast they can get out. So if you do try a playpen it would need to be under constant supervision really.

[Catastrophic]

I used to have a 30cm tall playpen, and all of the gerbils would pile up and jump off of each other over the wall to escape, so had to gerbil proof the utility room and use that for the pen so we could catch them! One of my friends who has gerbils put them in this little children’s tent thing for a pen, but I don’t know how they don’t chew their way out.

[conniew]

Thank you so much for this information. It sounds like a playpen is not the best idea for gerbils. I was under the impression that gerbils needed time outside their enclosure.
Maybe not...? Or is sounds like a safe play pen would be a rather involved project. Thanks again!

[Markpd]

A play pen is a good idea, but it has to be very secure.
I've a spare tank which I use as a playpen (it'll be their main tank as it's bigger, one day!), for now I use it as a play pen.
My previous pair, Avon and Blake, never used to try to escape from it, and I only covered the part of the tank where the cardboard box is.
But one of my current boys is an escape artist! Like L&D's gerbils, he seems to take it as a challenge, although he gave up when I covered it end to end .
Anyway, here's a couple of videos of him trying to escape, and in one he did! lol.
The height up to the glass ledge from the bedding is about 39cm/15.3"

Nothing much happens after 15s in this 1st one - photos.app.goo.gl/US2anhqEj5Kfq6o26
A little more action in this video!

Feb 22, 2024 12:35:35 GMT -8 Catastrophic said:

I used to have a 30cm tall playpen, and all of the gerbils would pile up and jump off of each other over the wall to escape, so had to gerbil proof the utility room and use that for the pen so we could catch them! One of my friends who has gerbils put them in this little children’s tent thing for a pen, but I don’t know how they don’t chew their way out.

Lol, I would love to see a video of that!

[mygerbilprince]

I have used the fabric play pens for the last few years but I have to get my friend or myself to supervise. I usually put my gerbils in there while I clean their tank, but the mesh material of the pen allows them to escape by climbing and chewing through. However, I have seen some good play pens around, mostly on Amazon. I understand that you want to put it on your table, but the best playpens I've been able to find would be too large for your table so you'd have to put in on the floor.

This one is a bit pricey, but it will probably last a while. It's 24 inches tall and since it's made of shiny plastic it should be difficult for the gerbils to climb out of. There isn't a bottom, but some sort of tarp or clean floor would work fine.
Playpen

As long as you're nearby, this playpen could be a good option. Hope this helps!

[conniew]

Mar 30, 2024 11:43:17 GMT -8 mygerbilprince said:

I have used the fabric play pens for the last few years but I have to get my friend or myself to supervise. I usually put my gerbils in there while I clean their tank, but the mesh material of the pen allows them to escape by climbing and chewing through. However, I have seen some good play pens around, mostly on Amazon. I understand that you want to put it on your table, but the best playpens I've been able to find would be too large for your table so you'd have to put in on the floor.

This one is a bit pricey, but it will probably last a while. It's 24 inches tall and since it's made of shiny plastic it should be difficult for the gerbils to climb out of. There isn't a bottom, but some sort of tarp or clean floor would work fine.
Playpen

As long as you're nearby, this playpen could be a good option. Hope this helps!

Do you have a link to this playpen you describe? The Playpen link just took me to the top of this thread.

[betty]

I used to have a large wooden 4ft vivarium that I used to use as a playpen when I had a lot of gerbils.

It gave them all a safe spot for playing and doing something different without me having to stay in the same room for absolutely hours each time. I could put things in there that didn't really fit in the tanks either - or were a bit to extravagant to buy 20 of - or that were potentially chewable - so didn't want to leave them in with it overnight.

[Markpd]

I had a look at mygerbilprince's post in BB code, they've put in a massively long url which seems to have messed with the forum, lol.
Anyway, I copied the following section out which I hoped would get you near to the right page, but it doesn't, I suggest you just go to - www.amazon.com (if you're in the US) and then simply search for Playpen-Transparent-Animals-Hamsters-Hedgehogs-bunny, or parts of that (at least until mygp gets back to you).

[LilyandDaisy]

Apr 2, 2024 11:35:35 GMT -8 Markpd said:

I had a look at mygerbilprince's post in BB code, they've put in a massively long url which seems to have messed with the forum, lol.
Anyway, I copied the following section out which I hoped would get you near to the right page, but it doesn't, I suggest you just go to - www.amazon.com (if you're in the US) and then simply search for Playpen-Transparent-Animals-Hamsters-Hedgehogs-bunny, or parts of that (at least until mygp gets back to you).

I find that happens sometimes with Amazon links. The forum gets confused by them and just redirects back to the thread.

[conniew]

Are you talking about those fences that are made of squares that snap together? I thought gerbils could chew right through those. Thanks for the link idea.

My problem is my gerbils are not hand tame, I would not know how to get them so I could move them to a playpen. And with Coco's recent trauma she is 
more afraid to come to the front door of the cage than before and somehow she must have communicated that to Cream because she is more hesitant too.
I haven't been able to hand feed them in a long while now. They are more skittish than they used to be.

[betty]

Have you tried the long tube or jar technique for moving them about?

Gerbils love walking in to new things, and so holding a tube or jar inside the enclosure and waiting for them to hop in it is usually very successful - especially for gerbils who are not quite yet people friendly, or where there is a long distance between enclosure and run/sofa.

This very effectively reduces the chances of drops and is very much safer for gerbils overall.

[conniew]

Apr 3, 2024 7:33:29 GMT -8 betty said:

Have you tried the long tube or jar technique for moving them about?

Gerbils love walking in to new things, and so holding a tube or jar inside the enclosure and waiting for them to hop in it is usually very successful - especially for gerbils who are not quite yet people friendly, or where there is a long distance between enclosure and run/sofa.

This very effectively reduces the chances of drops and is very much safer for gerbils overall.

Thanks, Betty, what I do when I clean the cage to move them is I put a coconut hide in the enclosure until one or both jump in and then I cover the opening with one hand and move them that way. Cream is getting wise to that and she nipped my hand covering the opening once. Then last time I tried moving her with the coconut and not covering the opening and she almost jumped out and I was moving her. Fortunately I caught her with my hand and it wasn't far to move her and she was safely put into the cage. I will have to use something larger than a coconut hide I guess.  

[betty]

Yes indeed. A full gerkin jar is usually the best - as once gently tipped on end there is no need for a hand to cover the top as it is so far away - or at least have a coaster to hand. You are right to always think 100% safety when gerbils are being transported at human height - otherwise it could be such a fall for them if someone were to think they might get bitten and lose their grip on the coconut shell. Disaster.

If you need to treat - put a bit of kale or other tasty plant in the bottom so they have a reason to go in - but always wait for their full entry before tipping it gently - they rarely ever go all the way into somewhere new first time - they peek, then they peek again, then they trial it, then they run off, then they peek again, then trail, then almost commit, then they are out again. Only when they have brought their back legs up underneath them at the kale (like a kangeroo) or - if they are twitchy - at least both back feet are inside the neck of the jar before gently tipping it.

Coconut shells are a very favourite hideout and so they know them very well - and how to get out!

[mygerbilprince]

Apr 2, 2024 11:35:35 GMT -8 Markpd said:

I had a look at mygerbilprince's post in BB code, they've put in a massively long url which seems to have messed with the forum, lol.
Anyway, I copied the following section out which I hoped would get you near to the right page, but it doesn't, I suggest you just go to - www.amazon.com (if you're in the US) and then simply search for Playpen-Transparent-Animals-Hamsters-Hedgehogs-bunny, or parts of that (at least until mygp gets back to you).

Thanks so much! I didn't realize the link was broken!