plastic tubes

[bettybob]

a couple days ago i stacked a 10 gallon tank onto my current 20 gallon and connected the two using plastic tubes. they are the "bubble" kind that are supposed to be easy to climb. (and way too expensive in my oppinion)
has anyone else used those and had trouble getting there gerbs to go in them? i tried sticking food in there and they just climed in far enough to get to the food and wont go any further. i thought gerbils were supposed to be more curious than this...

[AndreaS15]

I use those for a tank of 3 boys. The love it.
I think if the tube goes to high, they may be reluctant to use it.
Do you have one tank on top of the other?

This is how mine is put together,


I don't think there are any foot holes on the Red & Purple middle peice anymore, they chewed them all off, But now that it's flat in that one, they don't seem to chew the pipes anymore.

Try getting them used to the pipes by makeing them smaller and gradually lengthening them.

And yes, they are WAY to expencive!
I used to have them for my hamster when I was a kid, hundreds of dollars worth, when i went to find that stuff at my parents place, My Dad told me he sold the whole lot for $25 (Including the habitats, mazes etc.) at a garage sale!

[bettybob]

wow whoever got all that for $25 really lucked out.
i wondered if mine would chew the pipes or not, but they already chew on the plastic on my tank (the edge thats there to set the aquarium top on is all chewed away)
i don't have a place to put the tanks side by side like that...so yes they are stacked. so the tubes go up pretty high. i just figured such a climb would give them good excercise. :/

[RyanF]

Mine chew them if they are bored.. But they were afraid at first, then got used to them. Just let them get used to it.

[Shanawaz]

I was thinking of doing this ... Just like the one in the pic ... Its really nice ...

[uknowbest]

I got these cages and tubes for free about 3 months ago from a friend, i got 3 gerbils in them and they love them. the only problem is they kick the bedding out of the cages all the time

[ashgerbil]

wow! that looks great!
i'm sure your gerbils love their house! ;D
but i can see what you mean about the bedding flying everywhere, i had one of my old gerbs in a rotastack (only temporarily though, i was waiting for a tank ) and the bedding basically covered the carpet after a couple of days! he just loved digging, as all gerbs do! ;D

[cinnycinnamon]

Of my 8 gerbils, Billy was the only one who would chew and chew on the plastic tube that connects his and Bobby's house. It didn't matter what I put in the tank to occupy Billy. He would always go back to the tube. He finally chewed his way out not once, but twice. And lucky for him, the cats did not get him. Although, I think he liked playing the "you can't get me" game. At any rate, I really wanted them to still be able to use their playground (the top tank) so we bought a small dryer hose to connect the two tanks together.



He hasn't even tried to chew or dig his way through the dryer tube.

[zabchev]

We have a 10 gallon tank, which I drilled 53 mm holes into (using a special drillbit from eBay). I then cut 6 squares of untreated poplar. Into two of these, I drilled 2 1/8" holes (A); the other four got 2 1/4" holes (B). I glued them to make a pair- A + B+ B. I then cut a straight piece of Habitrail in half. I inserted the cut end into the wood block and glued it in place (it goes in 2/3 way). I then put the tube through the hole in the aquarium and glued the whole thing in place. Now the gerbs have their aquarium plus the Habitrail tubes. I can easily change the tubes whenever (and EASY to clean- I just take them outside and hose them out) and keep them constantly challenged. They LOVE LOVE LOVE their tubes. It is delightful to watch them scamper their way all over the place.

[Megamimitchi member soon]

I have a bubble tube that goes strait up and down. One of my gerbils loves it but the other one CAN'T GO DOWN THE TUBE!!! HELP!!!!!!!

[caz]

LOL! try putting a sunny seed at the bottom! ;D

Caroline

[Megamimitchi member soon]

Lol. I tryed that, it didn't work. I even made a trail down the tube but nope! Then I tryed gradually lowering a sunny seed but he just chewed on the string! He goes down when I block the tube entrance but other than that he's ony gone down once! And it's only a little cage up there, it's not great.

[caz]

Can you not swivel the tube to a more gentle angle or add a corner piece so it can swivel

Have you got a pic?

[Megamimitchi member soon]

It's like this:
0=opening
( or)=bubble part of tube
\or/= curve pieses
...=empty space
_-|=other kinds of pieses

..------\
0__.....)
........\...)
........(...)
........(...)
......../../
..0__/

I'll try to get a pic but my camra doesn't connect to the computar well.

[caz]

So, it's a bit curved then (took me a while to get the code )

Just get a pic LOL!!!

Caroline