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Post by ariehl on Nov 8, 2005 6:06:35 GMT -8
Hello Everyone My Gerbil Redford passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 4 . I miss him so much so last week I went out and got 2 more males. Their names are Wayne and Garth. Wayne is quite outgoing and hyper and Garth is more laid back. My concern is Garth. The first few days I had them Garth seemed to be sleeping alot more and now I am hearing what sounds like sneezing. They have a large clean cage with no wood shavings so I don't know what is making him sneeze. Other than the ocassional sneeze he seems happy, curious bright eyed, and plays lots with his brother. Is he sick? What can I do to help him if he is? Also I have a no drip water bottle which Wayne figured out pretty quickly but Garth seems to be having trouble with. He will suck water off my fingers and he will suck the water bottle but he is not really pushing the ball? Will he learn from watching Wayne or should I get another waterbottle? My concern is Redford my old gerbil used to drain his old bottle and I don't want the cage damp especialy with Garth's sneezing. Thanks Amber
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Post by meganb52 on Nov 8, 2005 15:18:31 GMT -8
What kind of bedding are you using? Gerbils can be allergic to things other than wood. I don't use the water bottles with balls in them . I use the glass 'test tube' type with a glass tube sipper. the water stays in by hydrostatic pressure alone and the gerbils don't have to work to get a drink. Some gerbs will chew on the rubber stopper though. They are smaller than other water bottels, so you have to watch them closely to make sure they don't run out of water. I keep two in each tank. They're pretty cheap, so it's easy to keep multiples around. Here's a pic of one. I got mine at Petco -Megan
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Post by AndreaS15 on Nov 8, 2005 20:54:23 GMT -8
I have one of those water bottles and it just leaks all over the tank and can't be used. So I don't know I think I just have no luck with them, b/c Sandy uses them in all her tanks.
I would think he would learn to use the water bottle, seeing the other gerbil knows how. Could it be to high for him maybe? I have a gerbil allergic to Aspen, and another to carrefresh so as Megan mentioned gerbils can be allergic to almost anything. How old are the two boys, and how long have you had them?
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Post by meganb52 on Nov 9, 2005 19:19:28 GMT -8
You know Andrea, I've gotten a few like that myself. They're so cheaply made, sometimes the glass tubing isn't bent right or something and they leak. Since they're like three bucks apiece or something like that, I'll usually just buy another and it works OK. Sometimes you have to fiddle with the placement of the sipper tube in the stopper to get them to work right too. I guess sope people's gerbils may try to climb on it or something as well whichmight cause it to leak. Just my thoughts. I like them though, not only because it's easier for them to drink from, but also because it forces me to change out their water more often since they are so small.
-Megan
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