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Post by Guest101 on Aug 1, 2020 16:24:06 GMT -8
Hello!
I am looking in to getting some gerbils soon. They will be Living in a custom 55 gallon tank. It has 430 sq inches f floor space and is 24 inches tall. How many gerbils should I get? I kinda want just a pair but am open to more.
Also I was wondering: about howmany Inches between bedding iand the lid do they need? Also, do I need two wheels?
Thank you gerbil forum 😀
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Post by betty on Aug 2, 2020 1:47:50 GMT -8
Hello - and welcome to gerbils.
If you put some solid layers in that set up and hung the wheel (one would be enough for starters as most gerbils don't actually use the wheels) from the top - you could easily fit a trio in there on it's own - or a quad if you made a topper too.
Pairs are always more stable with both sexes, but related males brought together can go bigger quite safely.
Substrate-wise - fill up as high as you want. Some people go all the way to the top with the substrate and have the essentials in the topper - but as your enclosure is taller than normal - you might want to section off a taller solid area for the essentials instead.
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Post by Guest101 on Aug 2, 2020 8:28:53 GMT -8
I was considering not having a tank topper as I can't find one that fits my current tank. Thank you though! I hear gerbils like to 'redecorate' whatever you do and it's hard o add a spot with a sand bath. Do they need one all the time or only every once in a while?
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Post by betty on Aug 3, 2020 3:56:14 GMT -8
Many people make frames that are adjusted for any topper - even sometimes toppers that are bigger than the tank itself (although these are much more fiddly).
Any size topper is fine - even if only half the length of your enclosure. They are relatively easy to make if you have the tools.
Yes, they will cover the sand bath with substrate if it is in a dish - but many people buy those pasta jar type things so the gerbil has to jump INSIDE the jar to get to the sand - therefore, if this is facing the glass tank - less bedding can get kicked into it in the first place. You would need a safe level for this though as they are quite heavy and you wouldn't want them to fall over.
They don't need to be left in all the time, but when you do occasionally put them in some people leave them for a day or two - seiving out the droppings. If you CAN have a permanent jar type sand bath - they will use it as a toilet so it can keep the rest of the tank cleaner for longer?
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Post by Guest101 on Aug 3, 2020 7:41:11 GMT -8
Okay 👍 What about feeding? I'm hearing mixed opinions on how much and how often to feed a pair of gerbils. I've heard twice every day, 5 times per week, once every 3 days, etc.
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Post by betty on Aug 3, 2020 9:27:30 GMT -8
It really depends on what you are feeding them and how you are feeding them.
They say an average of a teaspoon a day is enough per gerbil, but if you are scatter feeding you have no idea what they are eating - and if you are feeding too many treats, they won't eat all the 'normal' food anyway and if the food you feed is a premium extruded or lab block - they will need much less of it.
Best is to watch them with whatever you have, following or going just under the recommended amount first and seeing what they do. Sometimes feeding from a bowl helps to judge this as the yare obviously not eating what is left - but it also doesn't mean they are eating all of what they take!
Hope that helps!!!
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Post by Guest101 on Aug 3, 2020 19:56:48 GMT -8
Thank you! That was really helpful:) I was planning on feeding Higgins sunburst. Is there such a thing as to big of a space for gerbils?
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Post by Markpd on Aug 4, 2020 2:27:47 GMT -8
A small(?) number of people seem to think it can cause de-clanning, but in the few months I've been researching it I have found nothing to support that idea so far, including reading a few research papers. You might find this article by the Swiss animal welfare interesting (I translated it, with help), I wouldn't panic about the huge cage size they recommend btw, lol, I consider their minimum as an optimal 'minimum' rather than an adequate minimum, if that makes sense!
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Post by Guest101 on Aug 5, 2020 3:55:46 GMT -8
Thank you for the article! It was interesting to read. The last part made me wonder, what are the differences in care between duprasi and Mongolian gerbils?
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Post by Markpd on Aug 5, 2020 10:18:27 GMT -8
Didn't that article say something about them jumping much more? Or something like that, beyond that, not a foggiest!
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Post by gerbilord on Aug 5, 2020 10:54:11 GMT -8
Duprasi look different (weird looking tail, a bit more round like a hamster(?)) Other than that, I don't know as iv never actually had any. (I would like to get one one day, though, they look so sweet!)
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Post by Markpd on Aug 5, 2020 11:04:11 GMT -8
I think they look weird! , but each to their own
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Post by betty on Aug 5, 2020 13:44:39 GMT -8
Duprasi are awesome little critters, and although they have and eat all the same things as gerbils (deep bedding, nest, bendy bridges, tunnel and wheel etc.) - they use them differently.
They do much better with longer wider enclosures rather than taller deeper ones - as they love to run run run (and a wheel is essential). They aren't very good at heights and seem rather clumsy at edges - but they are great climbers (up only).
They love to dig but not so much to make tunnels just for fun (?) and although they CAN chew their way through plastic and wood, they rarely bother. Bar chewing, however, is a very popular pastime.
Everyone needs to have at least one doop in their life!
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Post by Guest101 on Aug 5, 2020 15:37:37 GMT -8
Does anyone know where I could find doors (doop is auto correcting to door)? I know we have a few gerbil breeders nearby, and a degu breeder, but that's it.
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Post by Markpd on Aug 5, 2020 15:59:31 GMT -8
Which country?
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