dirt?

[morian]

i would like to create a more natural environment for my two gerbils and was wondering if anyone has tried using dirt in at least part of their gerb-itat (mine is a 20 gal tank) and if so, where can you get dirt that is...clean (sounds funny, i mean free of organisms and chemicals and such)
right now i use a tightly packed-several inches thick layer of carefresh as bedding but the never tunnle in it! i'd like them to be able to tunnle..

[ashgerbil]

well, i think that you can use peat mixed with some hay and (safe) woodshavings, if you want them to burrow around. but i'm not sure about how to make it germ-free though! ;D

[doomgerbiluk]

A deep layer of woodshavings layered with hay will do fine
add cardboard tubes and boxes to provide soem structures and when theya re chewed they will also enhance the 'digability' of the substrate.
You can also bury jars and nest boxes for extra stable chambers or look at Eds site (www.gerbilshowsuk.org) for how to make an artificial burrow system from wall tiles.
Remember the deeper the substrate the better the digging and the less often the cage needs to be cleaned out.

Peat will stain gerbil coats and needs to be kept slightly damp. You have to buy sterilised peat without added pesticides. I haven't used it myself.

[ashgerbil]

yes, i've never tried peat either. as i would be worried about them burrowing too deep and their tunnels collapsing or something like that (can you tell i'm a bit overly-paranoid about the safety of my gerbies?!)
so i always stick to woodshavings, some paper bedding, a bit of carefresh and some hay and of course, tons of cardboard boxes!

[morian]

where do you get peat? i am going to give up wood shavings for a while (always used to use aspen...but i think one of my boys is allergic. and well...IM allergic to hay.

[AndreaS15]

There is someone here on this board who has used a peat habitat for their gerbils. I asked a few questions about it b/c I was curious myself.
She did say that you didn't need to clean it much, and she enjoyed it quite well, but stopped useing it b/c it attracked those little black flys, and she couldn't get rid of them.
I'm not a big bug fan, and i HATE those little flies... so i decided a peat habitat wasn't something I wanted in my home.

I'm allergic to hay also, but I still give it to my gerbils (i keep it in a bag so it's stays fresh and dosn't make me sneezy). I used to mix it with carefresh and as usualy tons and tons of cardboard, so they coudl burrow.
I now use corncob (b/c of allergies & $$) and it has to be the worst for burrowing. So i just give them more cardboard and that works well to help them to make small burrows.

Have you tryed carefresh?

[Jes]

Just go somewhere that sells garden stuff such as Lowes or Home Depot and look at the different dirts/sands/soils. You can use kids play sand. I used dirt once, but I don't remember what kind I used..it was something for gardens. You have to really read the bags though. Some have chemicals and things for plants ..which could be toxic to gerbils.

Dirt and sand work. I tried that before. I filled 1/2 the tank with it. But it's a pain because in order to tunnel, it needs to be damp. When you think of a "More natural habitat" for them, think of the desert where underground the dirt/sand is damp. So for them to have tunnels, you have wetting it. I used to just flood the top of it like once a week and it would seep down into the bottom and the gerbils would mix it all up with their digging. It's like being at the beach and building a sand castle and getting it wet where you need it. I noticed when there were puddles, they'd just kick sand on top of the puddle and cover it up and go dig somewehre else. So it used to mix in all nice and they did have some pretty good tunnels and burrows. Some collapsed but they're gerbils, they dig, they burrow. They had no problem digging themselsves out and making a new one.

Then it was heavy to try and clean and dump it...

Then the problem with Sand is that gerbil pee and sand don't mix. The smell reeks. Depending on how much sand you use and how long you leave it, it can smell. I took care of that problem by making them a bathroom. I put some sand in a jar high on top of a wooden house in the tank. They love peeing in those for some reason..

Oh and you said something about them being allergic to Aspen. Was it Kaytee by any chance? If so, you might want to try another brand of Aspen. Kaytee reeks for some reason. If you fill half the tank with Aspen and give enough cardboard. after a week or so, they get a pretty decent burrow going.. I clean my tanks like every 6 weeks because I use so much shavings.

[morian]

it was kaytee aspen...but i didn't really think it smelled bad. just smelled like aspen to me. i don't know for sure that he is allergic...but he is always itching and gets bloody looking bugers all over his nose more and more often.
and about sand...i thought gerbils hated being wet. i think wet sand stinks..playsand does at least.
i used to have a big glass bowl full of sand in their tank...but i took it out because i'm adding another level to their home and make that be all sand i think.
and AndreaS15, i wouldnt want those black flies thanks for the warning. not going to get peet if it attracts them. there are enough bugs around here anyway (oklahoma is very buggy..)
thanks for all the tips guys

[Jes]

Yeah, mine scratched on Kaytee too. A couple other people noticed this too on the petshub board. It's something about the way Kaytee proccesses it. They suck.

If he's still scratching though he might have mites. Kaytee's Apsen smell is really strong and weird. I've never smelled such a strong scent on any other brand of Aspen. Try and find L/M Aspen, it's a lot better and the smell is nowhere near as strong. Petco might have it and any small petshop should. Petsmart doesn't carry it.

Oh and I used beach sand when I filled a tank with sand so i don't know about kids sand smelling. I thought it just smelled when mixed with urine. They don't like being wet as in soaked but they didn't mind the sand slightly damp when I did it. They kept digging in it.


I'd recommend trying another brand of Aspen though over the sand. It's easier.

[AndreaS15]

I have a gerbil allergic to Aspen also, and one allergic to Carefresh which was really strange. So now I'm stuck with corncob, which isn't realy bad, but crummy for burrowing.

[shrimply]

I use peat on half my tank so a lot of the problems above don't apply but I will give you my view on some of the concerns.

Peat will stain gerbil coats and needs to be kept slightly damp. You have to buy sterilised peat without added pesticides. I haven't used it myself

I only have two gerbils and one is black so I really don't know whether it stains their coat but since I don't show my gerbils so it isn't a problem. Peat is also a 100% natural product so there is no worries about pesticides.

i would be worried about them burrowing too deep and their tunnels collapsing

Gerbils are very good at digging if they can support a steady tunnel in wood shavings then it is unlikely that a burrowing substrate would collapse. You can also add rocks and jam jars(very funny when they try to dig through the bottom) which add extra support.

it attracked those little black flys

I have never found any little black flies maybe you don't get them in Britain.

it needs to be damp

I have to admit I always forget to keep it damp and never had problems but a couple of sprays with a misting bottle day and night is all it needs.

Really I like my set-up, I don't think i would like it for them to live completely on peat but this is great fun for them. A peat set-up is for the casual pet owner who wants to give their pet the most fun environment. It is completely unfeasible for breeders to use and keep but watching the gerbils dig in the peat is quite amazing. And another thing I have learned is that my gerbils don't choose to sleep in their burrow chambers but in the dry bedding. So that is maybe something else you should consider.

[bettybob]

hmm i'll have to try the damp sand. i havn't been able to find peat at any gardening type places around here yet. just peat moss. maybe there is a different name for it?
and i will try another brand of aspen...its so much cheaper than carefresh. although i try to avoid buying things at petco...

[bettybob]

this is morian...just in case that confused anyone.

[Jes]

I don't really know what peat is.. but why would it attract those little black flies?

Did the person who used it maybe feed them any fruit or something and forget to clean it out?

[AndreaS15]

Jes said:

I don't really know what peat is.. but why would it attract those little black flies?

Did the person who used it maybe feed them any fruit or something and forget to clean it out?

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. Peat forms in wetlands or peatlands, variously called bogs, moors, muskegs, mires, tropical swamp forests and fens.

From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat

Peat is almost a compost in a way, but a natural one, so it would attrack/grow black flies.

My favorite use for peat -

Peat fires are used to dry malted barley for use in Scotch whisky distillation. This gives Scotch whisky its distinctive smoky flavour, often referred to as "peatiness" by its aficionados.

hehehehe....