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Post by teambenji543 on Mar 11, 2021 18:26:17 GMT -8
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Post by elsaandanna on Mar 11, 2021 22:23:32 GMT -8
You could add deeper bedding Egg boxes are good too
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Post by tanzanyte on Mar 12, 2021 1:23:22 GMT -8
Welcome to the forum! I agree with ElsaandAnna, much deeper bedding is needed so that they can burrow and make nests. Because you have a great topper you could fill the tank quite high for them. There’s quite a few topics on substrate. Most of us use a mix as it holds tunnels better. They also love hay as they will spend quite a bit of time chewing it into smaller pieces and using for tunnels.
You could try some logs or thicker cardboard tubes, maybe a coconut shell? There are the twig/stick bendy bridges as well. Lots of people use these as dividers. You’ll also need a sand bath. Most of us use other pet food bowls or kitchen bowls of some sort. It just needs to have sides that are a couple of inches deep as the sand does flick a bit.
Once you’ve got the deeper bedding in it actually doesn’t look so bare, so you may find you don’t need a lot.
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Post by teambenji543 on Mar 12, 2021 3:46:06 GMT -8
Ok thanks!
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Post by Markpd on Mar 18, 2021 12:16:34 GMT -8
Be careful if you use bendy bridges as dividers (sticks vertically), their have been a small number of injuries reported where gerbils/hamsters etc have trapped their leg in the gap, so the gaps need to be filled. Some people have suggested moss for this, but I can't see how that could be properly stuck in. Personally, I'd use aquarium 'rated' silicone sealant. Oh, and branches of safe wood, can make good chew toys/tunnel support Btw, I see you have a plastic tube in there, which will likely get chewed to bits, plastic can cause problems if ingested so I would remove that to be safe. [edit] Although the wheel is plastic too, if it's hard enough your gerbils may leave it alone, you'll need to keep an eye on it.
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Post by PipSqueak on Mar 19, 2021 8:04:58 GMT -8
(Anything in bold is a clickable link for a product I use and some good links to information for gerbils.) Hi, I’m a bit late but definitely deeper bedding, I like layering hay into my bedding along with different brands of paper bedding. I currently am using All Living Things brown paper bedding with hay and natural colored Carefresh layered. You can also put sand in the top because usually it is recommended that gerbils have a sand bath. Mine use it as a litter box but that just makes it easy for me to spot clean. For my sand I use children’s play sand from Home Depot and bake it at 350 for 30 minutes and then sift it once it has cooled off. I change it when it smells. I also would take out any plastic that isn’t the wheel or water bottle. Also your wheel could be a bit bigger as the recommended size minimum is 8 inches. I have the Niteangel wheel in the Small size. You can even attach the wheel to the bars to save space. If you have a tree with safe wood in your backyard you can snip some of the limbs and clean them for your gerbils to chew. I also recommend having a good herb blend to sprinkle around and grapevine woods are the best as well. For more hides you can get some coconut hides which are great. My gerbils also love hiding in their mason jar that I put in their cage. I just washed it with soap and water and they love it, I buried it a bit in their bedding and made sure they could still get in it so it has a cover so it is more private but I can still see them since it is up against the glass. If you can find rocks in your backyard they can be cleaned and placed in the sand bath for your gerbils to file their nails on. Some good hamster YouTubers are Victoria Raechel and Erins Animals. Usually you can apply the information for hamsters to gerbils but I wouldn’t use hamster food recipes as they need a different protein and fat percentage. Some good YouTubers for gerbils are FinsandWiskers and ErinsArk. Also what size tank do you have? Just wondering because that hide looks really big in it. If you ever use bendable bridges always buy some reptile moss and stuff it in any cracks so their feet, tails, or nails don't get stuck. How many inches of bedding so you currently have? It is recommended to have at least 6 inches but I recommend at least 10 or more. I currently have 14 inches and still think they need more.
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