<slams fist on desk> Grrrrr!

[Manix]

I've had it with these stupid tank toppers. I think I've had it with tanks period. I'm looking for an alternative.

My peeves with the ten gallon fish tank:
- Its intended for fish not gerbils...
- It's too heavy to be pratical and makes cleaning difficult.
- It's glass and does not insulate noise well. In fact, I think the glass makes everything seem louder...am I crazy?
- It's nearly impossible to empty every grain of sand/grit/filth out of it without taking a water hose to it.
- Somehow I always manage to dump over half the old bedding into the floor when cleaning...even though the whole tank is in trash bag to avoid this disaster. I must be cursed.
- In spite of my best efforts, my conniving little friends still manage to kick poo out of the tank. I hate vaccuming and they know this.
- Stimpys nose is now bald. The idiot thought it would be fun to pick up a new habit of knawing the bars of the tank topper.
- It's impossible to access any part of the tank without completely disassembling it.


Ok, I think I'm done ranting. Now I need ideas. I'm terrible at building things so let's leave home made remedies for last, becuase they invlove me trying to learn how to use a jigsaw...not pretty.

I need something that's easy to clean, allows at least two levels for gerbils to play in, is impossible for gerb. to kick poo/bedding out of, is fairly light weight, offers sufficient ventalation, knaw proof, and insulates noise.

To put it short, I need a miracle.

I have a few ideas for a home made wooden cage, but I still yet have a lot of kinks to work out. Tools being the main issue.

Does any one know of the ultimate gerbil home? All ideas and suggestions are welcome. Also if you have ideas that can be incorporated into a home made cage, feel free to offer those as well. Do not limit your creativity to what can be done at home with basic tools, although, cast metal and plastic formed parts are out of the question. My check book can't handle them lol.

[RyanF]

The tank is the best choice! Those plastic cages take forever to clean and have no good burrowing spots for gerbils. Also, gerbils will chew on cage bars. Tanks actually are the best insulator for sound because there is no plastic to chew on, and when they scratch the side of the tank, it makes no noise.

Compared to cleaning my plastic cages, my tanks together take about 20 minutes, compared with the 1 hour I would spend with the plastic ones.

About dumping bedding on floor - been there, dont that ;D Just make sure the tank is properly placed in the bag, I will take pics the next time I clean my tanks which will be soon.

About Stimpy's nose. If you don't want them chewing cage bars you MUST give them wood, but preferably cardboard. The cardboard keeps them busy and will deter them from going to the cage bars.

How do the gerbs get poo out of their tank?

Last thing, to get the little dust pieces out, just use a normal vacuum.

Hope this helps..

EDIT: Ahh, you have a tank topper. I do not use them and I do not plan on it because it has cage bars, and things that plastic tanks do. GET RID OF THE TANK TOPPER! Just get them a 20 gallon tank or something.

[Manix]

The weight of glass is a problem. The sound of things clanging against the glass is a problem. Inside the the tank, the sound seems to be amplified, as if there is nothing there to absorb and dampen the noise. The same would apply for plastic or perhaps even plexy glass. This is why I'm considering wood. Something over a half inch thick would surely be thick enough to absorb the sound and make it more tolerable. Unfortunatly, I also need a hard enough material to prevent damage from chewing and some sort of non toxic coating to prevent moisture and oder from seeping into the wood.

Then again, maybe some sort sandwiched panel could be a remedy? Maybe the outer layers being plexy glass, and the middle layer being of a softer material like styrofoam. Plexy glass is lighter than real glass, and as easy to clean as real glass...just more expensive.

<the metaphorical gerbil wheel starts to turn>

[sprigmom]

Hi, Manix. I use almost strictly glass tanks, all with toppers. I don't have any problem with waste getting kicked out, it's too high up. Do you have them on their sides instead of upright? That's the only way I could see they'd be able to kick anything out! (unless you have super gerbils! )

The weight is a problem, yes. I have a 30 gal that's a ton; I use a dustpan to scoop most of it out, then a vac if needed.

There are toppers that are hinged, so you only have to open one side; they're great, but of course, cost a bit more. My toppers are almost all the screen type; even these little rascals can't get a good "tooth hold" on them (as opposed to bars!) I have one plastic one and it annoys the heck out of me. It has 4 little sliding locks that have to be undone everytime I want to get in. To feed tho', I just have to unscrew a little round cap (the opening is water bottle sized and there are two of them.)

I have a couple of the large plastic "Critter Keeper" type tanks; they're much easier to move, but I can't keep more than one gerbil in them without paying an arm and a leg for the giant sized ones; tanks are cheaper! (only $7 or 8 for a 10 gal at my discount pet store)

The noise is a problem, but I try to keep things buried in the bedding (the base of a wheel, for ex.) I also move "furniture" away from the walls. I have to move them back every night or so, but it helps. Water bottle holders tend to thump a bit, but that could be fixed w/a piece of velcro or the thick, squishy double sided tape. I just haven't bothered. (it also helps that hubby and I sleep with ear plugs!)

As for the chewing, Ryan is right: wood blocks, etc are the way to go, with cardboard as a good addition. I also have ceramic dishes in some tanks and a clean terra cotta (the cheap orange type) flower pot in another.

I first put the pot in on it's side, buried mostly in bedding. After they enlarged the drain hole, I put it upside down in the bedding instead. The little ones loved to use it for a hidey hole and as it gets larger, the big ones do the same. It looks pretty cool right now, the bottom (rim) is still intact, but the top (where hole is) has been gnawed down to the rim half way around, so it looks like some weird sculpture with a big swirl at the top! Oops, rambling..

Idea: If you want to do wood, you could put plexi glass in as a liner in bottom and up the sides, fixing it to the wood w/a good adhesive and sealing the joints with aquarium sealant.

[lizzy]

I don't have a problem with waste getting kicked out of the gerbils tanks. I don't use tank toppers, simply wire mesh lids. The dust from the peat can get everywhere, however :/

the ideal world for gerbils is a fish tank but it is often not ideal for some gerbil keepers.

Gerbils will often chew the bars... its common behaviour for those with access to bars. you can just put a lid rather than a tank topper on.

And yes, fish tanks ARE intended for fish.. hence them being.. fish tanks.

[Manix]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. However, I'm still not convinced that there is not something better than an aquarium out there that is equally attractive. The problem is, has anyone ever bothered to design it? I personly feel that having to use vaccuums, dustpans, full body armor (in my case ) etc. to do a something as simple as cleaning, is necessary.

And I whole heartedly agree, the tank topper does need to go, but one of my gerbs has a bit of a jumping habit, I can't have him giving himself a concussion on a nightly basis.

Perhaps I'm on my own here, but I think there should be a better product available on the market. If there already is, fantastic, save me some time and tell me about it. If there isn't, I intend on designing one.

However, I'm not much for building, so getting my designs off of AutoCAD and into a testable prototype will be a challenge. I'm a draftsman, not an engineer, I'm used to letting the mechanics and engineers battle out the gritty details of production.

Let's assume there isn't a miracle cage out there already that answers, not just mine, but every small rodent owners needs. What would you picture this mini marvle to be? I can design something to solve my problems, but as most of you have incinuated, you've never encountered my problems. What issues would you be first to address if you were going to design your own cage?

[Manix]

Alrighty! I compromised. Seeing as I can't even refinish a piece of furniture without messing it up. I continued to look for something that would better suit my needs.
This is what I found: www.exo-terra.com/EN/products/glass_terrariums_i.html
A reptile terrarium. I bought the 12X12X18, removed the foam background and installed a shelf. A very pricy move, but a step closer to what I'm wanting. Technically, one of the deeper models would have afforded more room, but all furniture deep enough to accomate those are in use by my fish tanks.

Technically they have the same amount of room they would in a ten gallon, minus the tank topper. This is basically a ten gallon stood on its side, with doors on the front and a removable top. I believe its tall enough to accomadate Stimpys jumping habits, no bars so he can't rub his nose raw anymore, and light wieght so its easily cleaned. I do wish it were a bit wider though. However, if this works out, I'll get one of the larger deeper models that would better suit two gerbils and give Peanut this one. I should have a place for a deeper model when I can finally shut down the 7 gallon bowfront aquarium in light of my new 20 .

Sadly, I still have the horrid noise problem. I'm goind to try to sandwich something gainst the glass in hopes of muffling it a bit.

BTW, you guys were absolutely right....A Shop-vac is a wonderful thing. I didn't know they came in such small sizes now! This will make cleaning the other two 10 gallons a breeze!

[RyanF]

I don't see how noise can possibly be a problem. What do you do to make noise? Chewing cardboard? If it's cardboard, you will get used to it, just like I did.

[Manix]

No, not cardboard, I've kept gerbils for at least 10 years now and what I can never seem to get used too is any hard surfaced object like a water bottle, wheel, cuttle bone, wooden chew toy, bowl, etc... slamming against the glass. If it only happened every now and then, it wouldn't be a big deal, but nearly every gerbil I've ever owned is fasinated by noise, and will slam something repeatedly ( 15 min intrevals) just to listen to it. Sometimes I wonder if they KNOW this drives me insane at 1:00 in the morning when I can hear them two rooms away. I can normally shut them out by closing the doors, but my Dad sleeps in the room adjacent to the 'gerbil room'. I can only imagine what it's like for him to hear that in the middle of the night. He sleeps poorly enough as it is, yet he's never complained about them. I know he can hear them, and I know they keep him up nights. If I can quiet them down even a little, for him, then I would be happy.

I've tried removing ALL objects from the tanks as well. With nothing to occupy them, they start leaping high enough to bash their little heads against the lid, which is just as loud and will happen just as often.

[doomgerbiluk]

yes mine do this at night too, or when we're watchign films
I often ahve to adjust toys and water bottles to discourage it
and yes I agree they enjoy the noise they make doing it
That viv looks great
I was thinking of making something similar one day...maybe having a deeper base to allow for digging though!!!

[Manix]

If you can make one, go for it! The new gerbil condo cost around 60$. But hey, I can actually CATCH my gerbils now, so I don't feel too bad about shelling out that much for it, especially since I lack the patience to build something properly. I was truely wondering if I would ever be able to play with Dusty, he always ducks for cover as soon as the lid came off, Now I can follow him to the bottom level. yay.

I've encountered a new problem though. Punkin, my male Nutmeg, is more jealous than ever. He always watches when I'm paying attention to Stimpy and Dusty. It drives him crazy they get so much attention, but when I try to play with him, he lunges at me. He's had two bad encounters, the first where his first owner saved his life by catching him by his hind foot (he was leaping off the back of a 4 ft tall dresser), the second was when I had to seperate him from what he thought was rightfully HIS girlfriend, Peanut. Needless to say, he hasn't forgiven me. I can't even give him a treat without him snatching it from me and trying take a little flesh with it.

<looks at Punkin>

Great...he's brooding again. Why does he have to be so tempermental? Well, at least Peanut turned out ok. I think she's the only sane one of the bunch.

[queenofthenile]

Manix, I've noticed that the banging has subsided to a great degree since I started filling the tanks with lots of shavings. Everything hard winds up getting buried, so they can't bang it around. The tanks wind up being about 1/2 full with shavings and cardboard. I keep the bottle, food dish and wheel in the tank topper. The only noise now is the wheel, and it means I have to grease it more regularly.

I have 1 27 gallon tank with a small cage on top. I also have 2 "bagel bins" that were being thrown away at a local grocery store. They are made of plexiglass and have a large cage on each one. My last setup is a plastic bin ~ 20 gallons. I haven't had any trouble with noise with any of these setups.

[RyanF]

Cardboard is the cure! Take out everything except some cardboard. Works for me at least.

[SuperGirlH]

My gerbils sometimes like to hit things up against the walls too... I just put some bedding behind it so that when they push it, it hits the bedding instead and doesnt make (or not nearly as much) noise. This is of course only temporary until the little boogers start to dig the bedding out from behind it, but it still seems to work for a while. I have my gerbils in another room, so the noise doesn't bother me at night. One time I tried sleeping in that room and it was horrible. I commend you people who have gerbils in your bedrooms. I was kept up all night by chewing and digging and rattling... what a nightmare! Sometimes we can hear Loca chewing on a plastic tube (which is almost half gone now) inside the tank ALL the way downstairs. It's so funny because it sounds like someone is typing on the computer. When we have people over they always ask "who is upstairs typing so loud on your computer?" my boyfriend gets all embarassed, and says "oh thats just the stupid gerbils" lol....

[kate2]

Tank toppers are a good idea at least Sussie and Cassie love theirs.but they had it for over a year now. And they are potty trained:) haha yes they go on wood slates. I get 6 for a dollar someting at Walmart I change it every week and scoop off the poo. Well this is not a up to date pic but the others are


Mom's gerbs ginger and Pepper have a tank topper too