Minimum size sandbath

[ietje]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forum so please correct me if I'm doing anything wrong in question placement, layout etc. 
I have my 2 little male gerbils for a week or 2 now and have given them a beautiful large glass bowl for them to use as a sand bath, which they of course instantly turned into their nest (even though many other options were provided of course). I therefore put in a small (diameter of 8 cm) metal bowl with sand for them to wash. This however is currently used as a toilet instead of a bath, which is fine by me, but it does make me wonder, is there a minimum size they prefer? Is there a way I can offer them a sand bath that they won't nest in but they will use? I am slightly short on space in the gerbilarium (80x40x50cm) because of the other stuff in it so i would love to offer them a small bath if possible. Do you guys have any suggestions?

[LilyandDaisy]

Hello,

If gerbils haven't used a sand bath before sometimes they can take a while to figure it out. That might be the case with yours as you haven't had them long.

I think 8cm is a bit small for a sand bath. It should ideally be at least the length of their body (not including the tail) so they can roll in it comfortably. I've used cat or rabbit bowls 12cm in diameter, or ceramic oven dishes 15cm long and my gerbils have always been able to roll in them.

At the moment I actually offer mine sand every evening when they come out of the tank as I have trouble fitting sand baths in their tanks.

There's never any guarantee that gerbils will use anything for its intended purpose. You may find your gerbils will move their nest in a week or two and you can use the glass bowl as a sand bath again. A sand bath with always be used a toilet as well as a bath.

[betty]

Yes, they love to use the sand for toiletting - great really as (with the help of a tiny tea leaf sieve) you can keep their cage cleaner for longer by removing just the little presents on a daily basis and therefore 'refreshing the bath again.

Some people use a deep container - more like those self serve sweetie jars (the lid is set at an angle facing forwards and usually screw on - maybe you use them for tea bags or pasta), that way you can plonk the bath in on a shorter timeframe anywhere in the tank and they won't assume it is a permanenet feature as it comes and goes and so will be less likely to nest in it. Also, it allows it to be a deeper/larger dust bath than would normally be able to be allocated its own spot in a smaller or more busy enclosure.

[ietje]

Thanks for the tips. I bought a new glass bowl that I'll put in every evening just to see what they'll do with it. I'll keep the tiny sand bath/toilet in as well which indeed works great as I just sift through it every day.