Mochi
Member
Snickerdoodle and S’more: Adopted on April 9th, 2021
Posts: 199
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Post by Mochi on Feb 23, 2022 8:48:50 GMT -8
There would be shelves in my tank but it would still be in the tank.. No mesh (besides the lid of course.) That’s why I’m worried about ventilation. I would do a mesh topper but they will DEFINITELY scratch it.
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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 Apr 6, 2022 18:04:24 GMT -8
TANK WILL BE BUILT ANY DAY NOW!!!!!! (Length: 30 in.)(72.6 cm) (Height: 24 in)(60.96 cm) (Width: 16 in)(40.64)
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Post by Markpd on Apr 17, 2022 15:08:47 GMT -8
We look forwards to seeing it
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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 Feb 20, 2023 8:56:52 GMT -8
Haven't been on in almost a year and a lot has changed Cage was finished early August and the gerbs loved it ( I assume). After switching cages they were much more active and friendlier as well. They had lots of platforms, about a foot of substrate, a new wheel, tons of toys, a sandbath, and they seemed happy and healthy. Unfortunately in November as the weather started getting colder I noticed some issues. They were slow and seemed wobbly. I assumed the weather had something to do with it because where I live it gets very cold and my room does not have good heating. I put a heater next to the cage so that it could warm half and the other half they could go to if they got too warm, but I don't think the heater was enough. One day after school I got home to find both the gerbils dead curled up next to one another. I assume it was the cold weather because they seemed fine the month before. I'm not sure what else I was doing wrong . I don't think I'll be getting new gerbils soon, it just breaks my heart that I didn't know how to heat their tank the right way and that they suffered because of me. Sorry for the lateness of all this. RIP Doodle & S'more. <3 [ Their cage right after the switch over, since then a few changes have been made]
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Post by Markpd on Feb 20, 2023 12:57:02 GMT -8
Nice cage , and thanks for updating us btw. Sorry to hear about your gerbils , what temperature did the room drop to? Just thinking I'd be surprised if it was the temperature that killed them seeing as you had a heater next to their cage.
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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 Feb 22, 2023 5:22:50 GMT -8
Thanks I’m very happy with the way it turned out!
The temperature would drop to sometimes as low as 56 degrees and the heater would shut off during the day after a few hours so if I was gone or sleeping I couldn’t turn it back on for them.
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Post by Markpd on Feb 22, 2023 5:57:44 GMT -8
Although 56F(13C) is a bit on the low side, it is above the minimum safe temp of 50F(10c) mentioned by our Shootingstar in her Common ailments guide (near the bottom). So if it didn't drop below that and they had plenty of nesting material, I doubt it would be that alone, so it's likely it's not your fault it seems.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Feb 22, 2023 6:03:16 GMT -8
I'd agree that 56F/13C isn't that low. I keep my room above 15C and usually at around 17-20C in the winter and the gerbils seem fine with that. I can see they had plenty of bedding and of course each other for warmth so I think it's quite unlikely to have been the temperature.
I know they started having symptoms before you were using the heater, but is it at all possible that the heater (or another appliance in the house) was malfunctioning and producing carbon monoxide? I only ask because if that were the case, you might be at risk too. Usually pets would be affected by carbon monoxide before humans are because they're more sensitive to it.
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Post by Markpd on Feb 22, 2023 6:25:45 GMT -8
That's a good point L&D, I was assuming that it was an electrical heater (so no fumes, unless it went wrong, but then you'd definitely notice that!), but if it was a gas heater working poorly, then it might not be so obvious!
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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 Feb 22, 2023 10:29:37 GMT -8
It was an electric heater and it had some sort of timer on it that I couldn’t figure out. \_(•~•)_/ I really hope it wasn’t any fumes because I have been using that heater for awhile now. They were both only a little more than a year old so I wouldn’t think they had other health problems. They were from a pet store so they might have had other issues? But seeing they both died at the same time? It just seemed odd to me.
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Post by Markpd on Feb 22, 2023 11:08:30 GMT -8
Yea an electric heater wouldn't give off fumes, unless the wiring was melting, but you'd know about that! CO comes off from badly burning gas heaters and fires. And yea, very odd
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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 Feb 22, 2023 12:08:18 GMT -8
It was just so sudden :/ I suppose they could have had an underlying medical issue but i didn’t know anything could happen that fast
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