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Post by blackie on Oct 25, 2004 2:25:37 GMT -8
I just wondered, like when you use a storage box as a playground for gerbils etc, how do you know if the plastic the box is made of isn't poinsonous for them if they ingest it?
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Oct 25, 2004 5:16:04 GMT -8
its not that the plastic is poisonous, its that it doesn't break down in their stomachs and can cause blockages
in plastic tanks vigilance is needed to deal with any chewed ares, therefore choosing as flat sided as possible is necessary.
plastic toys WILL be chewed and should be avoided.
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Post by sweetie on Oct 25, 2004 10:54:55 GMT -8
Great question. I used the plastic tub for a bit to split cage. I made sure that they could not chew at the tub. Most tubs are smooth inside and they can dig at the walls but not chew off a piece.
I always wondered about toys!! I never got any because they were plastic. Some one suggested bird toys but most have plastic on them!! What kind of toys do you give them? I stick to boxes they can chew and wooden fruit chew sticks. Do you think they get bored with them?
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Oct 25, 2004 11:41:01 GMT -8
the cosy nook hmaster toys are resin and they are fine old crockery if it has big enouth holes and no sharp edges (Teaposts, jugs, mugs, half cereal bowls  .) terracotta flower pots and saucers (I have group of boys in a 3 storey wire hamster cage who sleep in a terracotta saucer!!!) stones and bricks, safe wood and wood toys, old childrens building blocks (my kids grew out of them), the wooden beads off parrot toys, jars, the list is endless. |
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Post by lydia on Oct 25, 2004 14:19:03 GMT -8
LOL, I had a vision of you,taking your kids toys of them.to give your gerbils Doomgerbil,"No darling,it's made of wood,let's give it to the gerbils".
I then had visions of little wooden trains,blocks,tops, dolls houses and all sorts, going into gerbil cages ;D
Lyd
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Oct 25, 2004 14:58:35 GMT -8
yes to trains ( no metal) yes to tiny wooden houses, but no tops |
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Post by RyanF on Oct 26, 2004 15:35:36 GMT -8
I also have a plastic "burrow house", but there is no way they can chew it since it is all flat surface on the inside.
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Post by gerbilicious on Oct 26, 2004 16:28:42 GMT -8
My gerbils currently have a rather large wooden cube with holes--they've never gone inside it, but prefer to fill it with bedding.  |
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Post by sweetie on Oct 27, 2004 17:14:50 GMT -8
Great idea!! Instead of having a yard sale to get rid of all the toys my kids grew out of, I'll give them to the gerbils. I am amazed at the reduction in the amount of trash I throw out weekly now that I recycle all the food boxes and paper rolls and I still need my friends to save me theirs LOL!!
Now I can start on the kids toys ;D
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Post by j on Oct 28, 2004 0:21:31 GMT -8
The only plastic storage containers I'd be worried about are the ones with a very strong plastic smell. I know Walmart has some that reek of plastic/rubber. It's gross.
I don't really care about mine gnawing and chewing on plastic. When I was a kid and had hamsters and gerbils, they always had plastic toys and they always chewed them. I figure if nobody died back then, they wont now. I don't buy the plastic toys anymore, but sometimes I'll give them plastic containers to sleep in and they always end up chewed down to nothing a month later. Like recently, I gave them a plastic coffee container. (those thick green ones Folgers makes now..) But that's just me. ;D
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Post by blackie on Oct 28, 2004 8:18:25 GMT -8
Well, what I have noticed with my gerbils, not that I give them plastic toys anymore, but if they chew on plastic they spit it out, they don't tend to swallow it. So I don't know...I think they are clever enough to know the difference between food and plastic. Oscar and Rasmus, for instance have had a plastic tube in their cage for a very long time that has not been destroyed. MAtilda and Silje, my females , destroyed their tubes one year ago. Of course you should never put something dangerous in the tank. Oscar and Rasmus' cage came with a small plastic house with a pointed roof which I removed. I gave it to my cousin who is 5. |
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.) terracotta flower pots and saucers (I have group of boys in a 3 storey wire hamster cage who sleep in a terracotta saucer!!!) stones and bricks, safe wood and wood toys, old childrens building blocks (my kids grew out of them), the wooden beads off parrot toys, jars, the list is endless.
