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Post by sugarspice on Jun 29, 2020 10:38:55 GMT -8
I discovered that my two girls adore the cardboard tube from the indide of toilet roll (when I finish a roll)
My question is, if they decide to eat some of the roll, is that reasonably safe for them or could it cause a blockage?
One of them (Spice) has decided that the cardboard tube is a magical tunnel to magicland, Sugar seems to want to eat the cardboard tube.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 29, 2020 10:57:43 GMT -8
Yes, toilet rolls are completely safe. Sugar is probably shredding it up rather than eating it. You might notice a pile of bits of cardboard when she's finished with it, or they might carry the bits to their nest. They can also have any other clean cardboard and paper from around the house.
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Post by sugarspice on Jun 29, 2020 11:56:57 GMT -8
Trying to find things to keep both girls amused in their cage (they have a new one coming tomorrow, Spice keeps escaping from the current cage, which isn't ideal when I have cats as well, admittedly one cat is afraid of the gerbils but the other one shows a bit too much interest in them for me to be okay with letting Spice run around outside of the cage)
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Post by sugarspice on Jun 29, 2020 12:02:11 GMT -8
(my avatar is them both after I had to almost completely empty the cage to get the photo)
Sugar is the one on the left, Spice is on the right
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 29, 2020 12:44:38 GMT -8
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Post by sugarspice on Jun 29, 2020 14:16:46 GMT -8
I think I know how she keeps escaping, cant zoom in on the photo but there's a gap between the lowest bar on the cage and the plastic base thing due to the design (when it's supposed to be a cage for gerbils and other small furries) i have a better cage coming tomorrow for them so will be moving them across to better cage tomorrow this is as best as i could zoom in:
the top centre you'll see it dips down a little bit (the plastic bit) yet the bar goes straight across
i am sure that is how she gets out, digs the bedding away from there then squeezes through
poor design
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 29, 2020 14:58:09 GMT -8
It does look like a poor design for a cage.
Gerbils do best in tanks really. Burrowing is their main source of enrichment so they really need a good 8-12 inches of bedding, and you can only fit that in a tank. Tanks are also fairly escape proof.
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Post by sugarspice on Jun 30, 2020 1:19:23 GMT -8
I been told that gerbils can chew their way out of tanks, unsure where my friend heard that one and not sure if it's true or not.
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Post by sugarspice on Jun 30, 2020 3:39:08 GMT -8
New cage (tank with barred top) imgur.com/NZ15OG7Hoping Spice does not escape from this one.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 30, 2020 4:21:45 GMT -8
That tank looks great. You'll probably find Spice settles down a lot in this kind of set up where they have room to burrow.
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Post by sugarspice on Jun 30, 2020 6:00:52 GMT -8
Is the tank big enough to house both of them without them feeling crowded though? I don't really have space to put a bigger tank than that anywhere.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 30, 2020 6:19:15 GMT -8
Is it this gerbilarium: www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Friends-Mayfair-Gerbilarium-Accessories/dp/B005CAWHSQ/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=gerbil+cage&qid=1593526187&sr=8-5 ? I think the size is ok for now if the tank is filled up to the top. This increases the amount of space available to the gerbils because they can dig a large burrow underground and still run around on the surface of the bedding. Is it possible to mount the wire topper on top of the tank rather than sitting it inside? This way you could fit a couple of large shelves in the topper which will also increase the space. As they get older the cage may start to feel cramped so you could consider upgrading then. If you can't a cage with a larger footprint you could consider getting a deeper tank with a tall topper. Usually it's better to go for a longer tank for gerbils but toppers can help if space is limited.
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Post by sugarspice on Jun 30, 2020 7:03:05 GMT -8
yep its that one i got for them i would have put the shelves up but the caged bar bit seems to want to keep falling into the glass tank bit so i've had to take the shelves out and have the bar bit inside the glass tank, there doesnt seem to be any other way of setting it up other than the way i did it
there wasnt any instructions with it so i dont see how the bar bit can possibly be above it, as i said it keeps falling in
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jun 30, 2020 9:06:54 GMT -8
From the Amazon image it looks like there are four clips that hook over the glass tank and hold the topper up. Did you get any clips with yours?
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Post by sugarspice on Jun 30, 2020 9:08:43 GMT -8
yeah there's clips with it but they dont seem to be able to take the weight of the barred top
maybe i'm doing it wrong, idk
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