Pim
Member
Posts: 346
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Post by Pim on Aug 26, 2020 9:24:46 GMT -8
Hello! I currently have a lone gerbil named clover who is extremely active and I was looking for some ways to provide more enrichment in his cage to prevent boredom. He is very aggressive with every gerbil I've tried him with from 8 week old pups to very submissive adults and I've given up on getting him a partner now since it's been 2.5 years since I got him. He lives in a 40 gallon tank with 10+ inches of bedding to borrow and a very elaborate set up that gets switched around every week or so. Using the same toys and not changing the bedding just rearranging them so he can explore. he gets an hour of free roam on my desk in 15 minute segments per day as well as running around the floor of my room for 10 minutes or so a day. he is super sociable with me and climbs right into my hand when he wants to come play. He jumps in the corner of his cage when he wants to come out or if his bottle is buried or if he wants to be fed a treat. And he obsessively does so in the evenings when he wakes up but I don't have anymore time to play with him and was wondering if anyone had anymore ideas to keep him busy and not bored. He has a wheel butr never uses it anymore he just chews it so I took it out. and he gets cardboard often at least once a day!
Thanks!
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Post by Markpd on Aug 26, 2020 11:19:05 GMT -8
Can't get solid metal wheels in the US? (like the ones tictac does here in the UK).
Hazelnuts are a chew challenge for Gerbils (as well as a food of course).
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Pim
Member
Posts: 346
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Post by Pim on Aug 26, 2020 14:16:26 GMT -8
Well I only took it out because he was chewing, Otherwise he wasn't using it at all. I was looking for some chew proof foraging toys but couldn't find any I also wanted to order some herbs and different nuts to give him something new to try.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Aug 26, 2020 16:43:41 GMT -8
Mine like to be out for longer than 15 minutes. I find if I put them away too soon they get very cross and wound up and more restless than if I hadn't had them out at all. I have an arrangement whereby they can move between their tank and the floor freely and they generally stay out for 30-60 minutes before naturally winding down and going to bed. If it's possible you could consider having his free roam time in 1 or 2 blocks, if he doesn't mind being out for so long. My newer female gerbil, Rocket is quite active too, and I found she seemed a lot happier with more climbing toys in her tank rather than really deep bedding with fewer toys. Neither she nor her cagemate Storm are as keen as burrowing as my other pair. I had to lower the bedding to about 7 inches to fit the toys, but I'll be getting a topper soon so they can have the best of both worlds. I'm not sure how tall a 40 gallon is but I would look at whether lowering the bedding a bit would allow you to put more toys in, or if you could get a topper. You could try different types of wheel if you haven't already. Mine weren't interested in a plastic 8 inch wheel but did eventually figure out a wooden 11 inch wheel. I think the wooden one being heavier moved less, so they felt more confident playing on it. They seemed to be unnerved by the movement of the plastic wheel. They still don't use any wheel much though and would be just as happy without it. You should also be careful not to reinforce any attention seeking behaviour. My Lily loves to be dramatic and pretend she's dying of boredom in her 4 foot tank full of bedding and toys, but I always completely ignore her until she has stopped any jumping or chewing for a whole minute, then I take her out or give her something to do. Ignoring means not looking at her or in her general direction (I'm convinced they know when you're looking at them) and definitely not moving towards the cage. This has actually helped her more than anything else I tried. I've taught Lily & Daisy to use some puzzle toys. Perhaps he might enjoy something like that. I have one similar to this www.amazon.com/Trixie-Products-Flip-Board-Level/dp/B0054Q9TMA/ref=sr_1_53?dchild=1&keywords=hamster+puzzle+toy&qid=1598483652&sr=8-53 but mine is a different version designed for rabbits so it's a different colour and has slightly different parts (the lids and levers are smaller). Here they are solving it: youtu.be/AlLRj9YJLyA
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Post by Markpd on Aug 27, 2020 8:49:50 GMT -8
That sounds like a cool arrangement where they can take themselves out , got a picture of that? I'd like to see how you've done it. Also, what sort of things have you got in the pen? Your Gerbils are cute and clever!
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Pim
Member
Posts: 346
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Post by Pim on Aug 27, 2020 10:07:09 GMT -8
He isn't really demanding and I don't let him out most of the time when he does this as he usually just stand on the highest point and waits for me to notice that he's awake. Only when he hasn't been out enough yet that day and I wait for him to calm down. He just seems bored with his cage all the time. He has like 9.5" of bedding leaving 9.5" of space for other things which is packed full of toys. he still creates burrows and such so I don't think it would be beneficial to decrease the bedding. He used his wheel before but has stopped recently I tried some other types but he didn't use those either. He would love to have permanent free roam but his cage is quite far off the ground so I don't know how well that would work plus I have dogs that would try to get into the pen. He is being switched from the desk to a kiddie pool for freeroam now since he has been trying to jump off the desk. I'm getting a 2" dog ball puzzle toy for freeroam and I'm going to stuff it with herbs, I am also going to get some safe sticks and leaves to give him everyday so that he can chew them apart as well. He is out for as long as it takes for him to get bored or jumpy It's usually around 15 but can be longer just depends.
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Post by catnut on Aug 27, 2020 14:07:57 GMT -8
cool toy, can you buy the rabbit flip board on amazon.com? i can't seem to find them.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Aug 27, 2020 15:26:25 GMT -8
That sounds like a cool arrangement where they can take themselves out , got a picture of that? I'd like to see how you've done it. Also, what sort of things have you got in the pen? Your Gerbils are cute and clever! Their tank is on a desk which has about a foot of space free. As you can see in the photo they can climb down to that space and use the wheel. From there, there's a plastic flexible tunnel leading to a chair, and I prop the mesh tank lid against the chair for them to climb down to the floor. Lily and Daisy don't have a playpen. They just free roam the room. I put a few tubes out and sometimes a climbing frame or a branch but mostly they just run around and explore. Rocket and Storm don't free roam because Lily and Daisy have become accustomed to seeing my room as an extension of their territory and they got quite upset when Rocket and Storm free roamed for the first time. Now I have a pop-up ball pit from Amazon for Rocket and Storm, but they don't use it often. When they do go in it, I put in some tubes, branches for climbing, some houses and hides, a sand bath and a wheel.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Aug 27, 2020 15:27:11 GMT -8
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Post by Markpd on Aug 28, 2020 4:33:51 GMT -8
Wow! A whole room to roam around! Lucky them I definitely can't do that! , would have to be a temporary pen or in the bathroom.
Has anyone tried outdoor pens? I'm thinking of one with a wire meshed floor so they can access the plants in the lawn (I don't use fertilisers or pesticides) [edit] and not burrow out or go under gaps], although I would have to check for any poisonous plants before hand....
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Post by gerbilord on Aug 28, 2020 7:23:10 GMT -8
I've thought about it (obviously not now with the cold rainy weather, maybe next summer?) - the only thing is I'd worry about the gerbils getting spooked by cats, birds, literally anything. (And knowing my girls they'd be thumping their feet in a corner for the whole time they were out...)
I'd also be too anxious about them somehow escaping - even though its unlikely - I have a tremendous amount of anxiety when it comes to my gerbils!
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Post by gerbilord on Aug 28, 2020 7:26:10 GMT -8
Has anyone tried outdoor pens?
I'm thinking of one with a wire meshed floor so they can access the plants in the lawn (I don't use fertilisers or pesticides), although I would have to check for any poisonous plants before hand....
also, wouldn't a wire mesh floor be bad for their feet? (Bumble-foot) - If you were guarding them while they were out then they wouldn't have the chance to burrow out of the cage, I imagine it would take a long time for them to make any burrows, by which time you would have noticed? (Unless I've misunderstood)
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Post by Markpd on Aug 28, 2020 9:24:20 GMT -8
Nah it's not going to hurt their feet when their mostly be walking on the grass etc (true it would take a long time for them to burrow out though). Not to mention they'd only be in it for short periods. Bumble foot would be more of an issue for a wired cage that they near enough lived in permanently.
You might well have a point about them being spooked a lot though, hmm... With an outdoor pen being meshed on all sides I can't see that they'd escape from that, as long as you can place the transport cage inside it, and get them to go back in it when time's over. That might be the tricky part.
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Post by gerbilord on Aug 28, 2020 11:18:18 GMT -8
yes, I meant when you had to take them out at the end they might sneak past you... I'm sure you know by now just how quick they can be! A transport cage inside the pen might be a good idea, if you can herd them in ;D
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Post by Markpd on Aug 28, 2020 15:40:29 GMT -8
Lol, herding Gerbils! Now that would be quite a feat!
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