Gerbil baths?

[dors]

I recently adopted two gerbils who are rather greasy looking. I changed their bedding to Care Fresh. Will this absorb the oil or do they need a sand bath? I have read that chinchilla dust is bad for them and have never heard of gerbil sand. I read that play sand is too coarse. Would any of the reptile sands work. The gerbils are friendly, but until they are cleaner I do not want them to climb on me. My other gerbil looks nice and clean, but I think she might enjoy a sand bath too. Any ideas??

[reallybes]

i think playsand is fine. i use it all the time with my gerbils, they love it. in my opinion, chinchilla sand is too dusty & INSANELY expensive, i would never switch back to it. i never tried reptile sand, i just looked it up and it also seems a lot more expensive than playsand. playsand is about 3 bucks for 50 lbs, while reptile sand is 10 bucks for 10 lbs. but i guess i'll leave opinions on reptile sand to people who have tried it.

edit: i wanna share a thought. who said playsand is too coarse? come on, it's okay for kids to PLAY in it and having it touch their bare skin (arms, legs) but it's TOO COARSE for gerbils who practically LIVE in the sand in the wild? I think that idea is a bunch of CRAP. Sometimes people are SO extreme it sickens me.

[doomgerbiluk]

Woah
Big difference, children aren't covered in fur. The sand damages the FUR not the skin, over time making it dull and less protective to the gerbil. This may not be a major difference to a pure pet but for show animals it matters as it reduces their show life.

From an earlier thread on the subject..posted by Ed
''Chinchilla "sand" is bestfor long term use. Childrens playsand over time can damage the coat, and also has much greater potential to irritate the eyes, as the particles of play sand are much harder, tougher and have sharp edges, whereas chinchilla "sand" particles have rounder, smoother edges, which conditions, and doesn't damage hair structure. Also another point, when you buy the playsand it is often damp and may contain bacteria so is best baked until dry before use.

Chinchilla "sand" itself can be a variable product, materials used in commercial products can be volcanic ash or pumice, Fullers earth( a clay product made from silica and aluminium with many other trace minerals) crushed limestone, or it can even be made from a cement byproduct. For Gerbils the chinchilla "sand" is far superior to the dust, which is far too fine and could cause respiratory problems for younger gerbils.


and

Of course it's that harmful otherwise i wouldn't have bothered adding input into the discussion on the subject As a person who has shown gerbils for many years, i can honestly say that playsand is no where near as good as chinchilla "sand". A gerbils show career can be quickly shortened by using playsand continuously. Not only is childrens playsand harmful to the coat longterm , but childrens playsound can be highly dangerous to the respiratory system too. It is known to be carcinogenic with prolonged use and can also affect reproductive systems and cause birth defects.(Yes, it's dust is harmful to humans too!) You mention that wild gerbils sandbathe. yes that's correct, but most sand around these areas are much finer and free of silica, which is the harmful abrasive substance. This sand, by nature, is whiter and finer and very safe to use, although it is more expensive and harder to find. Most childrens playsand isn't natural sand but mined from Quartz quarries.

Americans, especially Californians are probably more aware of the health issues surrounding safe childrens playsand, so much so, that their childrens playsand has health warning labels on it!

www.safesand.com/information.htm

There is also the issue of tremolite asbestos in childrens playsand, which can be fatal if exposed to for a length of time.

store.yahoo.com/safesand/trasfiinchpl.html

As i mentioned earlier true safe sand is around, this is often called tropical sand, and is free from harmful silica. It's feel isn't gritty, but is a lot smoother. It's often available in cool colours too, so layering it in an aquarium looks really good. Here's a couple of links i found earlier for your American readers,

www.crabstreetjournal.com/modules.php?name=Universal&op=ViewItems&vid=4


store.yahoo.com/safesand/index.html

However all this aside, the main purpose of sandbathing for gerbils was as i said in my last post, to effectively remove grease from the fur, and chinchilla sands are the most efficient in doing this harmlessly.''

Now Ed not only has far more experience of gerbils than most of us 'newbies' put together, but researches extensively. I, for one, have taken his advice on board am now buying chinchilla snad for my animals.

[reallybes]

I got my information about playsand from this forum. Someone said it was okay so I bought some and lugged that heavy piece of crap all the way home. But now it's unsafe?

I'm not planning on showing my gerbils. And I don't have enough money to splurge on chinchilla sand every once in a while. I really don't know anymore. I don't want to NOT give them sand .. and I don't want to give them sand that causes all these things that have just been 'discovered' .. SO IM LOST. Maybe I'll go to the desert and get me some sand.

Edit: This stuff sounds ****ing amazing.
www.crabstreetjournal.com/modules.php?name=Universal&op=ViewItems&vid=4

I'm gonna go buy some ...................
If i could find it.

[RyanF]

Alrighty guys, you don't kill each other over SAND. I mean, come on.

Bes: Have you ever had problems with normal childrens playsand? If not, I don't see why you can't use it.
People tell me cotton and polyester fibers are bad for gerbils and should never use them. But I do anyway because they love it and have no problem with it.

Everyone has their own opinion, and for many issues there is not definite "right or wrong" products to use for gerbils.

[dors]

O.K. I bought chinchilla sand, but could not find a bath house for gerbils in three pet stores near me. I put the sand in gladware and they jumped right in did a couple of flips then jumped out and went on the wheel. My other gerbil did two side flips then jumped out and chewed the edge off the dish. I took the sand out and will offer it again tomorrow. Thanks.