Gerbilarium Plants?

[squeaky]

I have three young gerbils temporarily housed in a large storage tub with a cage fitted on top. They love their burrows so I'm going to invest in a large aquarium as soon as possible to create a more permanent and natural set up.
Right now I am using a mix of straw and peat as a substrate and am hoping to add some driftwood, rocks etc into a larger environment so that it is more stimulating for them.
I was wondering if anyone has plants in their gerbilarium though? I'm new to gerbils so forgive me if this seems a silly question; it just seemed a natural addition and the roots could provide some extra stability to any tunnels etc. Obviously the plants would need to be safe ones.
I also keep rats and they really enjoy a digging box which I make with sprouted bird seed so I was thinking along those lines. They seem to enjoy foraging for the seeds and don't tend to bother much about eating the shoots (just trample them flat).

[queenofthenile]

The problem with adding plants, even safe ones, is that too much moisture in the gerbils' diets will cause diarrhea. So if they decide to munch on the plant, the would get loose stools. It would be a really cool idea though!

[sweetie]

I agree with Queenie. Plants are great but may cause digestive issues for them. That is why you should only give fresh food to the gerbils 2 -3 times a week and monitor the bowl movements to make sure they are still hard.

Also if you are going to put in peat and such, the tanks need to be cleaned out periodically so the plants may not even have time to take root. I love the idea of drift wood and rocks. They will love it too. Becareful however what type of wood you put in the tanks. Many trees are not good for them. Fruit tree limbs, maple, birch are good. Peter's website goes into alot of that stuff www.petermaas.nl-gerbils-english.htm . It also depends on where you live as to what trees are indiginous to your area.

It sounds like you are taking steps to ensure your gerbils have a happy natural environment . We love pictures. We have a thread "show me your set up" maybe you could add yours to it!

[squeaky]

I hadn't thought about what to do with them come cleaning time
I've already had a look at Peter's website too, I somehow stumbled across that before I found this forum
There's lots of suitable trees around here fortunately, and as a child I was regularly tested on tree identification by over enthusiastic grandparents so that's ok.
I'll be sure to post pictures once we are all set up, I've had a look at all the pics on the board so have lots of great ideas now.

[RW]

sweetie said:

That is why you should only give fresh food to the gerbils 2 -3 times a week and monitor the bowl movements to make sure they are still hard.

Hmmm.....I've always given my gerbils vegetables every day--broccoli, kale, carrot, red and green leaf lettuces, and endive. I do limit the amount to a very small broccoli floret, a carrot circle, or a piece of green about the size of a quarter. I've never had any problems at all with soft poop. One benefit I've had is that sometimes sick gerbils won't drink and they get dehydrated, but every sick gerbil I've ever had would still eat vegetables, even when they would eat hardly anything else.

RW

[sweetie]

RW,
I have read that it is okay to give your gerbils fresh food on a daily basis on some sites and in some books. I have also read 1 time a week on other sites and in other books. Both answers are correct depending on you and the gerbils you have. It is important to remember that information although objective can also be subjective. What is right in some instances can be wrong in others.

Again it all depends on you and your Gerbil. I have 4 oops actually 6 gerbils and I know 1 of them gets loose poops when he eats fresh stuff. I am trying to figure out how much is too much and how often to feed him the fresh stuff. The other gerbils don't get loose poops. I guess my 2-3 times was as a starting point at which time the owner can gage when to increase and decrease as necessary to ensure healthy gerbils!!

You brought up a great point RW. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify!!

[RW]

There is a lot of conflicting information around. A person has to weed through it and decide which things work for their situation and which don't. I didn't mean to imply that everyone should feed vegetables on a daily basis, only to point out that, in some instances, there are no hard and fast rules.

I always start out slowly, giving a very small piece every other day to judge the gerbil's reaction.

RW