Gerbil building shallow nests

[icecontroller2529]

Hello everybody,

I've noticed some new behaviour our gerbil Billy is showing, and I wonder what it means. Have you experienced this with your gerbils, too?

So Billy is living alone after a declan. Her enclosure stands right next to my desk, so she is close to us physically. I have a close bond with her, we have a lot of contact in her active periods.

At some point, she started spending many of her sleeping hours during the day in shallow nests right at the surface of her deep bedding area. I can see her coat sticking out clearly, she would be easy prey to a predator.
Isn't this against gerbil law? Shouldn't they sleep deeper down where it's nice and dark, better protected?

Would be interesting to hear about your experience. I'm still quite inexperienced with gerbils. 

[Mygerbiliscute]

Interesting.
Can I ask what the temperature in your house usually is?
In July and August, when temperatures are hot, my house is a lot warmer than it is year-round. During those months, my gerbils will often sleep out in the open. During the rest of the year they only sleep underneath their bedding.

[icecontroller2529]

That's interesting. In our case, we've just left the hot summer days behind us and it's now nice and cool.

[LilyandDaisy]

I don't think any of my gerbils have slept in a shallow nest when they had the opportunity to burrow, but they do sometimes sleep (or at least rest) in hides at the surface level.

It does seem to be against gerbil law, but then, in captivity there aren't the same pressures and dangers that would enforce gerbil law. In the wild, a gerbil who liked to sleep at the surface probably wouldn't survive long enough to reproduce and pass on their weird sleeping habits to another generation so there is a pressure to sleep underground where it's safer. In captivity, these weird quirks can exist because the pressure against them isn't there.

[Markpd]

Interesting to hear, I don't recall my boys ever doing that, though like L&D's gerbils, mine do often rest/snooze (with eyes open usually) on the surface.