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Post by stellamaris on Dec 21, 2021 14:52:29 GMT -8
I don't know where gerbils with no toppers urinate. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. My lone gerbil, Scooby, has a topper. As far as I can tell, he doesn't pee in his bedding. Which is good, I guess.
He wees (and poos) on the flat bits (glass or terracotta) that I put on the floor of his topper so he has a comfy place to stand. (And wee, evidently.) He also wees in his plastic wheel. He has a sand bath in a small fish bowl. I'd hoped he'd use that for a toilet, and he sometimes does, but his favourite places are smooth surfaces. (By contrast, my hamster pees only in his sandbox, and leaves poos in the corner outside his hutch. Tidy boy.) In the morning, I sieve Scooby's sand bath, clean his wheel, and clean his terracotta saucer. Then I clean his saucer probably another 3 times during the day and evening. The only odour associated with him and his belongings is the pee-covered saucer. Just curious, does my habit seem like a normal gerbil-owning experience? Four times a day. Sometimes I feel like his maid.  What do people with several gerbils do to keep up?
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Post by Markpd on Dec 26, 2021 15:34:03 GMT -8
Lol , 3-4 times a day seems rather a lot to spot clean, I personally do it just once a day, but if that's what your happy with, I can't see it'll hurt. Out of interest, do they wee immediately after in the place you've just cleaned? I've seen my boys do that, I wonder if they do that to return their spot to its 'proper' scent?  It's funny that gerbils do seem to prefer smooth flat surfaces high up (we really should record these and other observations in a 'Gerbil behaviour' thread!). My boys are living in a tank that's split (until I sort out there new home), but it was originally setup for them both, so the wheel+raised roof and glass ledges are on the right hand side. When either one is in there they wee mostly on the glass ledges at the top of the tank, but sometimes in the sandbath. When either one is on the left side, they seem to mostly wee in the sandbath (I think), I feel that when their on the left that I'm depriving them of an ideal spot to wee  My boys used to wee in the wheel until I lined it with cork lining. Where they wee is a fascinating subject! Have you noticed your gerbils do a little dig before they wee? (even if it's on glass, lol). |
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Post by catnut on Dec 26, 2021 15:41:40 GMT -8
i give my boys the tops of their tins(dollar store ones so no sharp edges) and they wee on those, no training required!,saves bedding for me and i give them two, of course i have to clean them daily and sometimes more! When there was a shortage of bedding last year, it helped out alot, they seem to really love the smooth surfaces to go.
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Post by Markpd on Dec 26, 2021 15:44:31 GMT -8
As in the top of a food tin?
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Post by stellamaris on Dec 28, 2021 12:02:48 GMT -8
As in the top of a food tin? (The dollar store sells small tins for storing food, etc.) It IS cute how they do a little dig while making their offering. I guess in the wild they'd be on dirt, and it would be a way of either marking or covering. |
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Post by catnut on Dec 28, 2021 14:41:51 GMT -8
sorry, at Xmas in Canada, they sell decorative tins in different shapes, not sure what others' use it for but they are perfect for gerbils! the tops have rims without edges so they are smooth and safe.
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amura
Member
Learning!
Posts: 56
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Post by amura on Jan 7, 2022 7:28:06 GMT -8
Mine likes peeing on an upside-down wood box I use for the water bowl and wheel.
Which is very convenient, it takes me a second to spot-clean. Which I'm doing twice a day because I'm a lot at home, but when my holidays are over I'll probably clean it only once a day.
And yes! I love how he does his "digging dance" on the wood!
So cute!
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Jan 7, 2022 8:59:43 GMT -8
As in the top of a food tin? (The dollar store sells small tins for storing food, etc.) It IS cute how they do a little dig while making their offering. I guess in the wild they'd be on dirt, and it would be a way of either marking or covering. I think I read somewhere that the digging motion creates little scented mounds which in the wild serve as territory boundary markers. |
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What do people with several gerbils do to keep up?
