Plants?

[happythoughts]

Hey all.

Been looking on Pinterest for ideas to improve our gerbils (& hamsters) tank & loads on there have plants in them. Are plants safe? Is there any we should avoid? I’ve tried to google it but I’m getting very mixed messages as what’s ok & what’s not.

Thanks 

[LilyandDaisy]

I think those photos on Pinterest were probably taken before the gerbils were let loose on the tank, because gerbils will demolish a plant in minutes. The other issue is that plants need damp conditions, whereas gerbils do better in dryer environments.

Some people have made "gardens" for their gerbils in a separate tank/box, with a variety of safe plants. For example this thread.

[yeti218]

I have seen people with plants in hamster tanks though. Erinsanimals (on youtube) has spider plants in her tank. If you do this for your hamsters make sure you research it because although the plant is safe, it produces toxic seeds. So you need to know how to prune the plant to avoid any hazard to your hamster.

But yeah, gerbils are too destructive for that. I've been trying to grow small pots of gerbil safe things to let them destroy as an activity, but I just havent been able to get anything to grow.

Erinsanimals actually does have a live plants video where she talks about hamster safe plants, so I would check that out for your hamster.

[Markpd]

The 'ok foods list' in the FAQ includes some plants, might be of some use to you.

[Markpd]

New list here will be useful to you