Cleaning cage when we can't yet hold him

[benthegerbil]

It's nearly been a week and I want to clean his cage a bit. How am I able to do this keeping in mind we can't yet hold him to remove him?

[gerbilord]

You could always do a spot clean while leaving him in the cage. The size of the cage matters most, I do a full clean-out every 2 weeks usually. Unless its really dirty just let him settle in a bit and take out the soiled bedding.

[betty]

Yeah, gerbils don't need a weekly clean, usually they do their toilet in one place (or you can create one for them with a smooth or exposed wooden surface or a dust bath) so you spot clean that area regularly, and because most of the mess is in the same spot, you can leave the full enclosure much longer without a problem. And spot cleaning means that the enclosure always still smells of them so they don't get stressed out eavery time.

Disturbing small areas every few days and topping up with extra straw, hay or shredded paper once a week or so (on top of all the usual cardboard) keeps the cage fresh and keeps them entertained.

Also, just as a side note, cleaning them out fully every week will become very expensive if you have filled that enclosure half full or more every time.

[Thelodar]

When you do decide to clean, you can usually get them out by trapping them in a box or jar. They can't resist running into a new box, as soon as he does cover the opening with your hand (box needs to be narrow enough to allow this) and move it to whatever holding container you have.

[betty]

Great tip Thelodar - works every time (and really safe for both you and the gerbils).