20 Gallon Tank Setup?

[bettyandveronica]

I just got my gerbils a 20 gallon tank and I wanted to know your ideas for making the best tank possible for my two female gerbils. I kind of wanted to make some levels in the tank so my gerbils can climb on them because one of my gerbil LOVES climbing on things. Does anyone know how I could make levels in a tank, is this even possible? Also, how can I attach my water bottle to the inside of the tank, is using tape okay? Overall, I want to make the tank as fun and as exciting for them as I possibly can, so give me some ideas on what worked best for your gerbils. Thanks!

[*Tikal*]

Theres nothing like boxes to add huge structures. You could try to use those to add some elevated space easily, or wood. More what you are suggesting could be optained by tank toppers or locker shelves maybe? bins turned upside down?

[bettyandveronica]

I can't really have tank toppers because Betty chews on the wires, this is the reason I needed a new tank in the first place. I like the idea of putting upside down bins though, she would like that! I'm still curious about how I'm going to attach the watter bottle though. Any ideas?

[raging]

I found a water bottle at Wal Mart that had an attachment for aquariums. I think they do exist, you just have to look around, as the wire cage ones are far more popular it seems.

[rjsusko]

You could always rig up some chew-proof way to hang it off the top of the tank, my friend has one but I never really studied it since I have a wire topper. I just ended up sandwiching mine between the wall and the cage tho because I couldn't find the twisties that it originally came with...

Maybe get something pliable like a big paperclip and wrap it around tightly to keep the bottle in place, then attach that to something hanging securely from the top? I'm not good at putting my inventions into words haha but it would work.

[esztershine]

if you give them deep bedding, like 20 cm, then they wont need anything to climb on
They will be happy to build burrows and that is amazing, after all that is what they love in their instinct
about the water bottle, try wire mesh and make a hodling for it, you can hang it.
I used tape for years but ruined my tank as i cant take off the stuck on glue, but as a temporary solution you could use it

i hope you can see what i have done with the water bottle in the top right corner

[wizz]

I like to give mine as much substrate as possible, this way they can make tunnels and keep active as well as enriching their environment to near natural conditions:

Underneath all this bedding are wooden and cardboard items as well as ceramic flower pots which they like to nest in. They will also dig and chew at the wood and ceramic and thus keep their teeth and nails nice and trim:


Sometimes though they like to sleep in a tunnel...

[amski]

One of my tanks does have shelves, but they like cardboard just as much:



My water bottle came with a metal (chew proof) holder - it hangs over the edge of the tank

[bettyandveronica]

Thanks everyone! I will take your idea's into consideration!

[kryspkreme]

I'm not sure if petsmart or petco are stores in your area but I know petsmart sells these wonderful little water bottles that attach to the inside of tanks with adhesive and a plastic backing (seen here: www.kaboodle.com/reviews/all-living-things-small-animal-aquarium-water-bottle).

Of course the downside is your gerbils may potentially try to chew the handle off, but if they do, it still works. One of my gerbils (i have two females, separate tanks) decided to chew on it when I had tank filled with a ton of bedding and used a tank topper for a brief period of time while the other gerbil doesn't touch it at all. They are VERY secure though from what I've experienced and seem to fit your needs. Either way, good luck!

[abbynormal]

Kryspkreme, I use to use those bottles, and I've come to hate them. True, they are nice waterbottles, but they don't hold alot of water for one. You can't move the water bottle around the tank, it has to stay in the same place forever. I've had those bottles start to fall off, because the adhesive fails, and once the adhesive fails, your left with a nasty eye-sore of the adhesive glue that's stuck to the tank glass. Of course, this is ust my opinion, but I just prefer a hanging bottle than one that sticks to the side. d:

[reesesturtles]

I use that exact same water bottle Kyrspkreme in two of my tanks. At first I got just one as a trial basis, and loved it so much I got a second. They are small, but if all it is for is 1-2 gerbils it is fine. And if you have a gerbil family in a tank, you can always place more than one in. That said I still use hanging water bottles if the tank lid can accomodate it. But for my tanks where the lid makes the hanging bottle difficult, I do love that variety. It works perfect in the right circumstances.
I did get another similar variety ("Flat-Bac"-- has a ducky instead of a turtle inside) but to get it to adhere to the side of the tank I had to fix velcro to the tank and to the water bottle, and it still just didn't adhere well. So the Flat-Bacs ended up being a waste of money :/

[casdesign]

I have a few questions for those of you with the All Living Things water bottle that adheres to the side of the tank. We got two of them because we were going to use them in two different tanks. We put the one in the first tank to test it out. I poked the ball with my finger and water came out, so I thought all was well. I saw them drink from it a few times, so I wasn't worried until the afternoon on the next day when I noticed the water level hadn't budged! I tested the spout again and nothing would come out. We've tried both water bottles in there now and have had the same problem with both. They work at first but stop after a few hours, and then we have to take the out and shake/tilt them a bit to get water to come out when we tap the metal ball.

Are we doing something wrong? Do you have any tips for getting them to work consistently? I really like having the bottle attatched to the wall, but it's not going to work if the bottle doesn't function.

[reesesturtles]

Casdesign, you may get more responses if you post your question as a separate thread rather than inside this one where it can get lost amid the other unrelated posts. But to be honest, I have never had the problem you are having. Keep in mind, gerbils are not continuous drinkers. So the waterline of the waterbottle may not change for a whole day or even two, then it will suddenly drop by a cm or more. Gerbils will go very long stretches without drinking any water then spend 5 minutes or more drinking out of the water bottle, only to go another whole day or two without drinking anything again. They are desert animals, so that is just how they replenish their thirst. Ocassionally bedding will get stuck at the bottom of the bottles I use. I just remove the stuck bedding, tap the ball a couple times with my finger, and it's working fine again. Sorry I can't be of more help, but I have not really had the problem you described :/

[*Tikal*]

If you ar looking for something like ezstershine has for shelves, you can easily get some glass cut to the appropriate length and attach them permanently with silicone aquarium sealant. Just remember they'd never come off.