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Post by iamplankton on Nov 15, 2022 11:06:13 GMT -8
Hi all, I haven’t posted here in many years or kept gerbils for a good few. Is a Savic XL gerbilarium still an ok size for a pair please? I plan on adding wooden shelves to the topper and changing it slightly to maximise the space. Thank you
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 15, 2022 19:33:27 GMT -8
It depends who you ask really. It's definitely too small for many owners these days.
Personally I don't hate the Savic XL. There is far worse out there. However I would want more space for a pair. I would recommend a tank more like 80cm+ long, and 45cm+ high if you don't have a topper. A topper is useful with any size tank but particularly helps to maximise the space in a smaller tank.
I do think the Savic XL can make a good first enclosure when you bring home young gerbils as the topper and big front door help with taming. It's also a good size if you ever need to travel with your gerbils. So if you have one in storage, it might still be worth keeping.
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Post by iamplankton on Nov 15, 2022 23:42:22 GMT -8
Thank you. I’m planning on removing the included platform and adding different wooden shelves and ladders to make the best use of the height of the topper to expand the space. I will also look at alternatives, however glass isn’t really an option, I’ve struggled to clean glass tanks in the past
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Post by iamplankton on Nov 16, 2022 3:18:44 GMT -8
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 17, 2022 10:20:06 GMT -8
I have the more square one. I've been meaning to post a review about it. You can get it cheaper from Wilko. It can be made suitable but it requires some DIY. It's a rather poor design and (unless I followed the instructions wrong) the bottom tray doesn't lie flush against the back of the cage, which leaves a gap. I filled this gap with a strip of wood. The wooden edges may also be chewed by gerbils. I protected the ones at the bottom (which would be hidden by bedding) with aluminium corner profiles. This is my setup. I only use the top shelf.  |
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Post by iamplankton on Nov 17, 2022 11:55:05 GMT -8
I have the more square one. I've been meaning to post a review about it. You can get it cheaper from Wilko. It can be made suitable but it requires some DIY. It's a rather poor design and (unless I followed the instructions wrong) the bottom tray doesn't lie flush against the back of the cage, which leaves a gap. I filled this gap with a strip of wood. The wooden edges may also be chewed by gerbils. I protected the ones at the bottom (which would be hidden by bedding) with aluminium corner profiles. This is my setup. I only use the top shelf. Interesting and many reviews seem to suggest people have had to modify it in some way. I have enquired about some gerbils up for rehoming with a tank but keeping options open at the moment |
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Post by iamplankton on Nov 20, 2022 23:26:20 GMT -8
I have the more square one. I've been meaning to post a review about it. You can get it cheaper from Wilko. It can be made suitable but it requires some DIY. It's a rather poor design and (unless I followed the instructions wrong) the bottom tray doesn't lie flush against the back of the cage, which leaves a gap. I filled this gap with a strip of wood. The wooden edges may also be chewed by gerbils. I protected the ones at the bottom (which would be hidden by bedding) with aluminium corner profiles. This is my setup. I only use the top shelf. Would you consider this large enough for 4 gerbils? |
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 21, 2022 11:24:24 GMT -8
I have the more square one. I've been meaning to post a review about it. You can get it cheaper from Wilko. It can be made suitable but it requires some DIY. It's a rather poor design and (unless I followed the instructions wrong) the bottom tray doesn't lie flush against the back of the cage, which leaves a gap. I filled this gap with a strip of wood. The wooden edges may also be chewed by gerbils. I protected the ones at the bottom (which would be hidden by bedding) with aluminium corner profiles. This is my setup. I only use the top shelf. Would you consider this large enough for 4 gerbils? Yes, but a pair is always the safest way of keeping gerbils. Groups of 3+ often declan, especially if they're female. If you came across a group of four gerbils needing a home this cage would be suitable for them, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend getting four just to make "maximum use" of the cage. |
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Post by iamplankton on Nov 21, 2022 12:22:43 GMT -8
Would you consider this large enough for 4 gerbils? Yes, but a pair is always the safest way of keeping gerbils. Groups of 3+ often declan, especially if they're female. If you came across a group of four gerbils needing a home this cage would be suitable for them, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend getting four just to make "maximum use" of the cage. Thank you. I am going to be rehoming a group of 4 females (2 mums and 2 daughters) who are currently in a 20 gallon tank with no enrichment. They apparently get on very well but they literally have no enrichment whatsoever, no sand bath and they use a water bowl which is always buried. I’ve ordered this cage with some plastikote acrylic and aluminium corner trims. I’ve also ordered a 12” silent spinner, various wooden toys, water bottle with screw mount, ceramic bowl and sand etc. |
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Post by Markpd on Nov 22, 2022 13:19:26 GMT -8
Firstly, welcome back to the forum  , ~6yrs is quite a break!  Sounds like you've got a good cage (with mods) in line. Re the 4 females, by 2 mums do you mean 2 adult females? Or do you literally mean that each younger gerbil is a daughter of each adult female? |
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 22, 2022 13:29:03 GMT -8
I have to admit, 2 mums and 2 daughters makes me nervous but I suppose if they're getting along okay so far...
Do be prepared to separate them, as it's more likely than not that you'll need to at some point.
I would also be careful moving them to the new enclosure. Sometimes a poorly bonded group can be held together, at least temporarily, by an enclosure that's too small. A bigger enclosure might cause the cracks in their bond to appear. When you move them to the new enclosure, move over as much of the old bedding as you can, and not too much new. Move over their old toys and things too, and avoid adding anything new for the first few days. This will mean having a very bare enclosure with shallow bedding, but it's safer to begin with, and you can increase the bedding and toys gradually. Don't overwhelm them with lots of new stuff all at once.
You could also consider separating them straight away into mum and daughter pairs, if you are able to get another enclosure.
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Post by iamplankton on Nov 22, 2022 13:31:47 GMT -8
Firstly, welcome back to the forum , ~6yrs is quite a break! Sounds like you've got a good cage (with mods) in line. Re the 4 females, by 2 mums do you mean 2 adult females? Or do you literally mean that each younger gerbil is a daughter of each adult female? Isn’t it just! My last pair died a good few years ago and I was adamant I wasn’t having any more gerbils but I really miss them and have found my way back! I have been looking after a friends rats following a change in her housing circumstances and the last one is remaining now, but I’ve decided gerbils are much more ‘me’. So there are 4 females that I saw on pets4homes, 2 who are older and initially lived together with a wrongly sexed male so both got pregnant and both gave birth within days of each other, so there are 2 mums and 2 daughters living together now in a 20g tank. I do have the Savic XL as a back-up in case they decide to de-clan in future and I wasn’t really after more than a pair but my heart went out to these as they’re in that tiny tank with no stimulation whatsoever. The PawHut came today so I am going to make all the adjustments and I am meeting the gerbils and bringing them home on Sunday. I’ve been busy purchasing things including the bits to make the PawHut suitable and I can’t wait to see how it turns out! |
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Post by iamplankton on Nov 22, 2022 13:47:53 GMT -8
I have to admit, 2 mums and 2 daughters makes me nervous but I suppose if they're getting along okay so far... Do be prepared to separate them, as it's more likely than not that you'll need to at some point. I would also be careful moving them to the new enclosure. Sometimes a poorly bonded group can be held together, at least temporarily, by an enclosure that's too small. A bigger enclosure might cause the cracks in their bond to appear. When you move them to the new enclosure, move over as much of the old bedding as you can, and not too much new. Move over their old toys and things too, and avoid adding anything new for the first few days. This will mean having a very bare enclosure with shallow bedding, but it's safer to begin with, and you can increase the bedding and toys gradually. Don't overwhelm them with lots of new stuff all at once. You could also consider separating them straight away into mum and daughter pairs, if you are able to get another enclosure. The sad thing is, they don’t have any toys. They literally have a water bowl and a ceramic thing that isn’t even filled with sand so they are very greasy etc. I think I will keep them together for now and see how it goes but will absolutely separate if needed, but at the moment they sleep in a pile etc but they just don’t have much space or anything to do. Would you say the 2 daughters would likely pair off and the mums or could it go any way if they decide to de-clan? |
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 22, 2022 14:22:05 GMT -8
I have to admit, 2 mums and 2 daughters makes me nervous but I suppose if they're getting along okay so far... Do be prepared to separate them, as it's more likely than not that you'll need to at some point. I would also be careful moving them to the new enclosure. Sometimes a poorly bonded group can be held together, at least temporarily, by an enclosure that's too small. A bigger enclosure might cause the cracks in their bond to appear. When you move them to the new enclosure, move over as much of the old bedding as you can, and not too much new. Move over their old toys and things too, and avoid adding anything new for the first few days. This will mean having a very bare enclosure with shallow bedding, but it's safer to begin with, and you can increase the bedding and toys gradually. Don't overwhelm them with lots of new stuff all at once. You could also consider separating them straight away into mum and daughter pairs, if you are able to get another enclosure. The sad thing is, they don’t have any toys. They literally have a water bowl and a ceramic thing that isn’t even filled with sand so they are very greasy etc. I think I will keep them together for now and see how it goes but will absolutely separate if needed, but at the moment they sleep in a pile etc but they just don’t have much space or anything to do. Would you say the 2 daughters would likely pair off and the mums or could it go any way if they decide to de-clan? It could go any way. They could split neatly into pairs, but you could also have one being excluded from the other three, and a messy situation where one of them can't live with any of the others. It's believed that typically once a female has had pups, she will always want to be in a dominant role in future. Therefore it's possible that two bred females living together are just a ticking time bomb for a dominance dispute, especially if they were quite young and not fully mature themselves when they got pregnant (their feelings might change as they mature). It's not an arrangement people often try, so I couldn't say it never works out, but it's a big unknown. How old are the mothers and their daughters? |
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Post by iamplankton on Nov 22, 2022 14:32:48 GMT -8
The sad thing is, they don’t have any toys. They literally have a water bowl and a ceramic thing that isn’t even filled with sand so they are very greasy etc. I think I will keep them together for now and see how it goes but will absolutely separate if needed, but at the moment they sleep in a pile etc but they just don’t have much space or anything to do. Would you say the 2 daughters would likely pair off and the mums or could it go any way if they decide to de-clan? It could go any way. They could split neatly into pairs, but you could also have one being excluded from the other three, and a messy situation where one of them can't live with any of the others. It's believed that typically once a female has had pups, she will always want to be in a dominant role in future. Therefore it's possible that two bred females living together are just a ticking time bomb for a dominance dispute, especially if they were quite young and not fully mature themselves when they got pregnant (their feelings might change as they mature). It's not an arrangement people often try, so I couldn't say it never works out, but it's a big unknown. How old are the mothers and their daughters? The mothers are around a year but that’s a guess as they came from a pet shop and the daughters are 8 months. What would you guys do? I almost wouldn’t want to separate prematurely but absolutely know that there’s also a risk but also have the spare Savic XL and I can keep the tank they are coming in also if needed. Or do you think I’d be better off finding just a pair to help out? These tugged my heart strings with how sad they looked without anything to do and the children in the home have lost interest as is usually the case |
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, ~6yrs is quite a break! 
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