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Post by rafwright on Jun 5, 2020 19:00:39 GMT -8
My gerbil recently lost her last remaining sister and is now alone. She’s had cage mates her whole life so this is a big shift for her, especially since gerbils are already very social creatures. She’s fallen into what I can only describe as a depression and spends most of her time sleeping and only gets up to use the bathroom and grab some food. Below is a list of things I’ve tried to help entertain her:
- Running wheel. She used to love running on her wheel and trading off with her sister, but she hasn’t gotten on it once since her sibling passed. - Cardboard tubes. She no longer chews up her cardboard for bedding anymore and instead just uses the tissues I put in there like blankies. - Climbing gym. I built a climbing type gym out of bark and old wood because I heard gerbils like to climb, but she only sniffed it a few times and hasn’t climbed it at all. - Giving her seeds and peanuts once a day to give her something to do. This is a short term solution and she usually cracks them open in a minute or so, so it isn’t much. - Chinchilla sand bath. She previously had her sisters to help clean her but now she’s on her own and I see her itching a lot. I put the sand bath in cause I’d seen her roll around in it previously but this time she just kicked all the sand out and used it as a bathroom and it got gross really quick so I had to take it out. - Taking her out to play. She’s never been very social when it comes to people and she gets very upset when I take her out and starts stress chewing on everything and trying to dig through my clothes. She’s also started biting me when I take her out which her and her sisters NEVER did. I don’t want to keep doing this because she’s responding very poorly to me trying to acclimate her to humans and I don’t want to stress her out that much.
My next idea is buying her a ball to run in, but when I first got her and her sisters, the ball I had she didn’t know how to use so she just went to sleep in it, so I doubt it’ll help. Does anyone have any ideas of what I could do to try and entertain or help her? Please don’t suggest getting another gerbil. After she passes I no longer want to care for gerbils and she’s getting up there in age so I don’t think I’ll have her for much longer, but it upsets me to think of her spending her last days depressed and lonely.
Any ideas are appreciated!
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Post by jal on Jun 7, 2020 5:17:44 GMT -8
Hi. I'm sorry to hear about your gerbil. Have you cleaned the tank out? It may help her to forget her sister if she can no longer smell her scent. She probably just needs a little time to adjust. I think many people, including myself, are not that keen on the use of balls. Some gerbils panic or freeze if put in one and they could also get nails or toes caught in the slits. Keep trying with different tit bits and things to chew. Some ideas are loofah, anything made of seagrass (balls, mats, tunnels), maybe the Rosewood sticks (without honey) or Rosewood corn on the cob. If she enjoys them it would keep her busy for a while. I hope she feels better soon.
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Post by betty on Jun 8, 2020 1:43:53 GMT -8
Hey rafwright - and I know what it is like to want to find things to keep certain gerbils active - so hopefully I can say a few things based on your comments to see if we can sprak her interst again? - Running wheel. Perhaps move the wheel if you can to be suspended at height in the enclosure so it almost seems like a way that she can get to another place - gerbils usualy LOVE to make and explore new paths or different angles - so perhaps running upwards might seem more appealing?- Cardboard tubes. Perhaps make the cardboard more of a toy or adventure rather than a tunnel - for example using a top-filled tissue box as a pit of something (like hay or shredded paper with a favo treat in the bottom) Alternatively put the cardboard in a really annoying place like one of the entrances to their house or on a ledge making it blocked. - Climbing gym. I've nver really found gerbils like climbing - they like going in things or under things - so perhaps making layers in the their enclosure out of cardboard, (safe) branches and platforms so in effect you are doubling or trebling the floor space for them. Some gerbils have great fun with dangling things as they just want them gone or moved and so can keep travelling back and forth revisiting certain things.- Giving her seeds and peanuts Great idea - but perhaps make it more fun and harder - so find her a hazelnut or walnut still in its shell - perhaps with a tiny hole to get them started. Hours of frustration right there...And, once the but is eaten - you can use the shell like a tiny KONG toy and refill with treats and hay/paper like a lucky dip where they need to have a good rummage to get the food!- Chinchilla sand bath. Many gerbils love to kick all the sand out and poop and pee in the sand bath but that doesn't mean they aren't really enjoying it (we just don't think it looks nice?). So perhaps make a point of putting it in for just short bursts so that they can still make a mess - but you remove it before it gets too crazy. Just like a toilet roll - max time 5 minutes for most gerbils - but we would never not put them in - it is just 'what they do'. Also using a jar for a sand bath can get them to use it in differnt ways specially if it is never in the same place or there all the time.- Taking her out to play. Some gerbils just don't like coming out to play - and all individuals are very different (and they are even different to how they appear in a clan compared to alone), so if you think she doesn't like it - then do it less or not at all. I used to have a 3ft vivarium that I made into a play ground so she could have a run around with different things but it wasn't human-focussed so she had no need to nip or pee on everything!My next idea is buying her a ball to run in: Yes, as said above - gerbils aren't designed for ball-running (mainly because their locomotion method involves hopping (like rabbits) and this is very awkward inside a constantly moving globe). Depending on your enclosure, you could divide it into two sections with a clear divide, so to get from one side to the other there is a bit of a journey.Great how you are looking for more inspiration for her - and I hope you find something that works!
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Post by rafwright on Jun 8, 2020 12:27:47 GMT -8
Thank you all for the suggestions!! I’ll be trying them out as soon as possible : )
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Post by betty on Jun 9, 2020 3:11:13 GMT -8
I'm sure there are plenty more things that others could suggest too - and it would be great to get some pictures or feedback from anything new you try incase others want to try it for their little guys.
Maybe some other members have some pictures too of things they have tried?
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Post by londongerbils on Jun 9, 2020 9:47:58 GMT -8
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Post by betty on Jun 11, 2020 7:01:56 GMT -8
Hey londongerbils - I give the whole thing and - just like you said they end up eating bits of it in tiny mouthfuls after breaking the shell and gradually working at it until they can get a greater amount out. You can check the nut every morning if you want as there aren't many places they can usually hide it. If they DO eat too much any one night you can take it out. I imagine they get tiny shell pieces in their mouth when chewing it - but just like when they shuck pumpkin and sunflower seeds they can tell that apart and eat only the nut. I would imagine they can't break through too much at a time and so don't eat any great volume at a time - but even if they do occasionally have a gluttonous sitting - noone has ever had any short term effects that I have noticed in all my gerbil-keeping years. If you are worried yourself, maybe use hazel nuts instead as they are smaller overall, so less nut can be eaten in one sitting overall maybe? I give mine a variety of nut pieces in and out of shells, and am not too concerned about them as a one-off treat. Sometimes they do stash the nut underground in a tunnel that they then decide to dig a new path through and the nut keeps getting banged against the side of the tank over and over while they kick the substrate out behind them!!!!!
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Post by londongerbils on Jun 11, 2020 9:01:07 GMT -8
That’s great, thank you. I will definitely try this!
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Post by jal on Jun 16, 2020 1:09:37 GMT -8
Something else my gerbils love are the Rosewood "Naturals pick 'n' fly" (marketed for birds, but also okay for rodents) and the "Naturals harvest festival" (for rabbits and small rodents), available from Amazon and Pets at Home. I prefer the former as the harvest festival has a very strong mint or aniseed smell and larger pieces the gerbils aren't keen on, but they both contain flaxseed sprays and other grasses and seeds in their natural state. Sprinkle a little around her tank and it might pique her interest. Also, Rosewood naturals nature's salad which contains various flowers and leaves, puffed wheat and corn is very good for foraging as a treat once in a while.
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