Is it necessary to have more than one level?

[jennybenny]

We currently only have one level in the aquarium. I would like to add more or possibly a topper, something for climbing, but is it OK that we do not have that?


They started in a little starter plastic and wire cage that only lasted a few days. They started fighting and I learned what they did was called a death ball. Mistakes were made as I now realize that enclosure was much too small for the both of them and they weren’t getting enough exercise because they would not use the wheel in there. We had a giant aquarium, so used that and turned it into a split cage and then later re-introduced them. The re-introduction went well, and they even sleep together. Thank goodness I found so much helpful info on this forum.

Also, I was looking at other pictures on here and the bedding seems to be a lot deeper so they can burrow and make tunnels. Is it recommended that I add a lot more bedding ? Since we don’t have levels, but I just push it away from the wheels?




Anyhow, here’s a picture of the current aquarium…

[LilyandDaisy]

It's not necessary at all to have a topper, and sometimes they can actually cause issues between gerbils. Given that yours have fought in the past, I would recommend being very cautious with making the enclosure too complex too soon.

Your tank is an amazing size and also looks to be a good height, so in time you should be able to have a nice depth of bedding. Gerbils do best with at least 8-10 inches of bedding, though in your case I'd recommend increasing the bedding level gradually as lots of new bedding all at once could potentially cause issues between your gerbils.

When the bedding is deeper, often people will use platforms for things like the wheel and sand bath, like this (this is pre-bedding):

[jennybenny]

Thank you so much, those are very helpful tips and insights!

It’s a pretty gigantic aquarium. It was in a shed that a previous owner left behind and housed turtles. We cleaned it up and made it into a home for the gerbils after we realized the first one was too small and they were fighting and we had to do something ASAP. We didn’t plan for it to take up so much of her floor, but she doesn’t mind!

[Markpd]

Great tank you've got now , what size is it?

Here's one of the platforms I made (before the legs got buried by bedding ), the bowl was their old sandbath.