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Post by trashpanda on Nov 21, 2021 8:59:11 GMT -8
This is my first post on the forum, so first of all hello! I’m very grateful to have a place I can ask questions about my boys, haha. I recently got two male gerbils, and I’m trying to give them the best care I can. But I feel like I’ve been pretty badly bumbling the whole tank thing…it’s been a bit of a struggle.
First, while I was researching, most places I looked said that 20gal tanks were an acceptable size, so that’s what I bought for them…but now, not only am I feeling like they deserve something larger, but I realized I didn’t know at the time there was a difference between 20gal Long and 20gal Tall, and my tank is short and high. I want to get them something better.
I was watching videos about nice tanks and tank setups, and I saw one discussing the Niteangel Bigger World and Mewoofun tanks, and they looked extremely roomy and nice. I ended up ordering a Mewoofun on Amazon, but now my concern is that despite the description saying it was recommended for hamsters and gerbils, it might possibly only be good for hamsters and not good for my gerbils at all. I was wondering if anyone had experience with these sorts of enclosures? I’m trying to find out if the purchase was a complete waste of money (so I can try to return it) or if it’s actually a good home for them.
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Post by PipSqueak on Nov 21, 2021 9:40:37 GMT -8
Welcome to the forum! 😊 When I first got my gerbils I had a 29 gallon glass tank. It’s basically the base of a 20 gallon with some extra height. They were in this for almost a year and then I decided that they needed some more room. They also had a 10 gallon topper on this tank. So a few months ago I purchased a 55 gallon tank which you can get for $74.99 at PetCo. I wouldn’t recommend the MEWOOFUN cage for these reasons. Since there is a door at the front this limits the amount of bedding you can put in there. Gerbils love burrowing so try to get as much bedding as you can in their enclosure. Secondly, the door and side windows are made of acrylic which is a type of plastic. Since gerbils are chewers off they can chew it they will. Since there are air holes they will be able to chew the plastic. It also is quite an expensive enclosure and there are some significantly cheaper enclosures available. Here are the comparisons of a 55 gallon tank and the mewoofun enclosure. The 55 gallon tank is $74.99, the mewoofun enclosure is $149.99. The tank has a total floor space of 682.5 square inches. Where the mewoofun enclosure has a total of 776.8 square inches. For less than 100 square inches difference in size I would say that the money you could save on a tank is quite a bit. If you don’t like the look of tanks, another type of enclosure to consider is a diy enclosure. There is one made from IKEA table tops that has a nice design and doesn’t have any plastic. Click here to see the video. It also has a lid that you can make for it and it still costs less than the Amazon enclosure. Find the lid video here. I hope this helps 😁 |
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Post by barryozzy on Nov 21, 2021 14:04:09 GMT -8
Welcome! If I've found the right one, it seems to be made of wood and plastic. Doesn't sound very chew proof  . When I got my first gerbil, back when I didn't know anything about gerbils, I had one of the tiny habitrail cages and he tore that up pretty quickly! After that I've only had the aquariums. Though my biggest has been only twenty gallon with a topper |
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Post by trashpanda on Nov 21, 2021 15:12:36 GMT -8
Thank you both so much for your responses! Unfortunately I’ve been really struggling with how to home them; I did also buy a cage to put on top of the 20 gal, but they don’t seem to make the right size for toppers for 20 gallon tanks? All I could find was a 10 gal, apart from one seller on Etsy who seemed to make very nice toppers but they were very expensive and the wait time to actually receive them were about two month or more! Too long for me to wait.
Then actually finding a way to get the 10 gal topper to sit on the 20 gal…..it’s been one struggle after another. I also live alone on the third floor of an apartment complex; I struggled bringing the 20 gallon tank up the stairs by myself, but I managed. I don’t know that I would physically be able to carry up a 40-55 gal, so that’s another concern I have. When I check petco I see the tank but they don’t seem to deliver.
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Post by Markpd on Nov 21, 2021 15:50:43 GMT -8
Welcome to the forum trashpanda  (cute avatar btw!) Are their no friends or family who can help you bring in a bigger tank/cage? That's what I did recently when I bought 2nd hand large aquarium (I also live alone). Btw guys, although I agree that the Mewoofun cage is unsuitable for all the reasons pipsqueak said, plastic isn't a no go in itself, if their are no edges that the gerbils can get a bite on. Perhaps the Niteangel Bigger World is an example of that?? (but I've no idea what the inside looks like, and it's expensive. So is the equivalent german built version, LaOla® Nagarium, also expensive!). Although gerbils scratching on plastic is noisy! |
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Post by trashpanda on Nov 21, 2021 16:44:10 GMT -8
Thank you! Those are my boys, haha. Unfortunately, the only person I’d have nearby would be my mother, but because of her age and some health problems in general she can’t lift very much; certainly, unfortunately, not enough to help me move furniture.
It’s a bummer about the Mewoofun tank, I really thought it looked like a cute+sturdy enough option. I should at least leave a review on the page to let other potential buyers know that even though it says it’s great for gerbils, they should look elsewhere!
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 21, 2021 17:37:51 GMT -8
The Mewoofun cage may be workable. Looking at it from this video it seems like the front door is only half of the height, so depending on the overall height of the cage, you might be able to have a good depth of bedding in the lower half and then have the front door for interaction. You would need to make sure the plastic door doesn't have any little holes or bits sticking out where gerbils might start chewing. It looks like acrylic which is a fairly chew-resistant plastic. My main concern with be the lid. It doesn't offer nearly enough ventilation and the gerbils will be able to chew the little gaps and lines bigger to escape. You could replace it with a wood and mesh lid though. As long as the cage is smooth inside, with nowhere for gerbils to start chewing, wood and plastic aren't complete no-goes. I have a Living World Eco Habitat which is wood and acrylic, and haven't had a problem. I glued extra strips of acrylic over the ventilation holes at the side (which aren't really needed if you're only using it for gerbils and you have a mesh lid). I have heard that these tanks are quite low quality and start to fall apart pretty quickly though (especially if taken apart regularly for cleaning). A glass tank will be a safer long-term solution. |
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Post by trashpanda on Nov 21, 2021 17:54:10 GMT -8
The Mewoofun cage may be workable. Looking at it from this video it seems like the front door is only half of the height, so depending on the overall height of the cage, you might be able to have a good depth of bedding in the lower half and then have the front door for interaction. You would need to make sure the plastic door doesn't have any little holes or bits sticking out where gerbils might start chewing. It looks like acrylic which is a fairly chew-resistant plastic. My main concern with be the lid. It doesn't offer nearly enough ventilation and the gerbils will be able to chew the little gaps and lines bigger to escape. You could replace it with a wood and mesh lid though. As long as the cage is smooth inside, with nowhere for gerbils to start chewing, wood and plastic aren't complete no-goes. I have a Living World Eco Habitat which is wood and acrylic, and haven't had a problem. I glued extra strips of acrylic over the ventilation holes at the side (which aren't really needed if you're only using it for gerbils and you have a mesh lid). I have heard that these tanks are quite low quality and start to fall apart pretty quickly though (especially if taken apart regularly for cleaning). A glass tank will be a safer long-term solution. This is the exact video I watched that made me want the tank to begin with, haha. and the reason I was really liking the look of the tank was because of that front opening portion; I know that gerbils are prey animals, and really don’t like stuff coming down from the sky at them, so I thought they might appreciate coming from the side instead. It looked to me like I could still put a decent amount of bedding inside even with the door on the front. In the tank I have now it’s very difficult to fit in their water dish and wheel while having enough space for deep bedding. |
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. When I got my first gerbil, back when I didn't know anything about gerbils, I had one of the tiny habitrail cages and he tore that up pretty quickly! After that I've only had the aquariums. Though my biggest has been only twenty gallon with a topper
(cute avatar btw!)
), late 70s
