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Post by yeti218 on May 23, 2021 19:30:35 GMT -8
Definitely give your gerbils any toilet paper tubes or paper towel tubes. They love those.
You can take them out everyday if you have time. My guys only like to come out every 3-4 days. I have a playpen next to their cage and will put a tube between the cage and playpen if I want to give them some playtime and then they can choose to come out or return to their cage. So, if I offer them playtime 2 days in a row, they likely will just stay in their cage the second day. They do have a pretty good sized cage though, and are a bit older than yours so your gerbils may like to be out more. If I go 4+ days without letting them out theyll start trying to climb up my arm to freedom when I feed them.
I would definitely recommend doing shorter play sessions at first though so they dont get too stressed. It can be hard to tell sometimes if they're just having the time of their lives or freaking out a bit.
I would recommend putting at least some other stuff in the bath with them. Something they can hide in for sure, you can use cardboard boxes for this. Then if they are stressed they at least can take a time out and not feel so exposed.
I will say that gerbils dont always get as tame as we like. My gerbils will let me pet them or pick them up, sometimes, but other times they want nothing to do with me and will flee if I make any move.
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Post by PipSqueak on May 24, 2021 2:34:14 GMT -8
Mk! I just don’t have regular cardboard ALL the time. Should I be doing 20 min of playtime EVERY day? Every other maybe? See if you can get a cardboard box from someone. If you have any friends that live nearby ask if they have any spare boxes that aren’t too big. You can then cut it up and give it to them. I have a little trash can that I don’t use anymore and I put all of my toilet rolls into it for my gerbils.
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Post by PipSqueak on May 24, 2021 2:38:08 GMT -8
As Yeti218 said sometimes gerbils don’t get as tame as other small pets like hamsters. They have more energy and will not always just want to sit on your hand. One of my gerbils will let me pet him, and he never bites but he won’t really just sit on my hand. Sometimes I would scoop him up in a mason jar and then let him walk out onto my hand but that’s really the only way he will go onto it. As for my other gerbil he is much more shy and when I first got him every time I would move or make a noise he would dart into the bedding. After 6 months he is much much better now letting me take the lid off and moving things in the enclosure or petting him. Sometimes he gets scared but that is to be expected.
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Post by PipSqueak on May 24, 2021 2:48:51 GMT -8
Ok! I wasn’t aware on how much you could give them! Good to know thanks! As for the topper I am in the US and I have heard more bad reviews on cage toppers than good ones. Also do you guys do free range time or mark off part of your house? Do either of you let your gerbils on your bed? -Mochi Still waiting for approval on my account........ I live in the US as well. I got the You & Me topper from PetCo and it’s great! It is about $30. I use this Niteangel hanging ladder instead of the ladder it came with since that one is made of wire mesh. I bend it in a stair form for them to climb up. I couldn’t find the same bendy bridge that I have but I put this in the far left corner so their feet don’t get hurt. I also put a tile next to that but I got it from a friend who was redoing her bathroom so I don’t have a place to get one. And then for the extra space I use the wheel and sand bath since I have an 8 inch pie dish so the sand bath takes up a lot of space. I have this topper from PetCo but the same one is also sold on Amazon which is where I got mine. I also found this one from PetSmart but I have never use it before. I can attach a picture of my topper a little bit later.
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Mochi
Member
Snickerdoodle and S’more: Adopted on April 9th, 2021
Posts: 199
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Post by Mochi on May 24, 2021 4:13:00 GMT -8
This is good to know!! Y’all have been so helpful!! Any recommended cage toppers? I am in the US.
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Mochi
Member
Snickerdoodle and S’more: Adopted on April 9th, 2021
Posts: 199
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Post by Mochi on May 24, 2021 4:15:17 GMT -8
Oh! Sorry didn’t see your post Pipsqueak! Thanks!
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Mochi
Member
Snickerdoodle and S’more: Adopted on April 9th, 2021
Posts: 199
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Post by Mochi on May 24, 2021 4:22:05 GMT -8
Looking at a picture of that topper, looks like there is two ladders in in? Also how ironic is it that in that picture there is SO little bedding and the point of the cage topper is that they can have more digging time. 🤣
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Post by PipSqueak on May 24, 2021 5:53:33 GMT -8
Looking at a picture of that topper, looks like there is two ladders in in? Also how ironic is it that in that picture there is SO little bedding and the point of the cage topper is that they can have more digging time. 🤣 There are 2 ladders. There is one long one that is used as a bridge to get up into the topper an then there is a platform that you can hook on the bars with a ladder to get into that too. I used it for a little while and then took it off but it just depends on what you are putting in the topper. You can have a water bottle or bowl be up there or food but the platform is optional. What type of lid do you have on the enclosure? Since that is made to be sitting on top of a 10 gallon tank (which is too small for gerbils) you need to have it resting on someplace else. I have a lid for a reptile tank and I cut a square a little bigger than the topper opening and then placed the topper on top and secured it with some zip ties. You might need to take it off every so often to clean under it because food and poop gets under mine but its not too bad. I will take a picture now and post it to the thread. I don't remember if you told me but do you have one or two gerbils. You really should have a pair but with a topper one can block off the top while the other is forced to stay on the bottom. My gerbils are brothers and have been together since they were born so I do not personally have this problem but if you are looking into getting a second gerbil this is something to consider.
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Post by PipSqueak on May 24, 2021 6:39:10 GMT -8
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Post by Markpd on May 24, 2021 11:13:10 GMT -8
As has been said, I wouldn't worry too much if you can't pick them up with your hands, I've had my boys nearly 10 months now, they still generally won't sit still on my hands, lol. Blake will occasionally sit still for a few seconds to allow me the honour of stroking him for a few seconds . I think I've been somewhat unlucky in the gerbil lottery in that regard, but they're still great . I don't think they've been scared of me for sometime now though, if I put my hands in their cage they'll quite happily eat, chew etc next to my hands, just if I try to pick them up they'll hop away. I usually have to corner them in the wheel to catch them (or lift them up in the sandbath, their favourite hang out ).
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Mochi
Member
Snickerdoodle and S’more: Adopted on April 9th, 2021
Posts: 199
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Post by Mochi on May 24, 2021 12:18:51 GMT -8
Hi!! Thanks for all the great pics! Supper helpful! btw love yout topper set up!
So, question about the toper. How do you dead them with it? I scatter feed so they have to forage and dig....
Also, I am going to take them out for some play time in the bath. They don't like to go into the jar through their own free will but I don't want to trick them or they won't trust me....
-Mochi
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Post by Markpd on May 24, 2021 12:23:43 GMT -8
They'll likely get wise to is after a little while too
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Mochi
Member
Snickerdoodle and S’more: Adopted on April 9th, 2021
Posts: 199
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Post by Mochi on May 24, 2021 12:57:07 GMT -8
Soo, what would be the best solution for that?
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Post by Markpd on May 24, 2021 13:27:11 GMT -8
How about a poster tube? I don't know if they'd grow wise to it, but it gives them much more to hide in, so maybe they'll like it? My boys do.
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Post by PipSqueak on May 24, 2021 13:28:18 GMT -8
Hi!! Thanks for all the great pics! Supper helpful! btw love yout topper set up! So, question about the toper. How do you dead them with it? I scatter feed so they have to forage and dig.... Also, I am going to take them out for some play time in the bath. They don't like to go into the jar through their own free will but I don't want to trick them or they won't trust me.... -Mochi I usually just lift the lid up a bit and scatter feed in one corner so I don’t have to take the whole topper off every day.
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