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Post by paws on Jul 18, 2004 11:06:23 GMT -8
 Hey... Yesterday I got two Gerbils. One I named Paws (Hence the username) and the other Sterling. I think paws is a Spotted Slate. Sterling is uniform black with one little line on his throat. Well, since these are my first Gerbils, I don't know what kind of toys they like, and stuff like that. General info. If you have any general stuff, can you tell me? Paws
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Post by queenofthenile on Jul 18, 2004 12:52:11 GMT -8
For bedding you want to avoid scented wood shavings (like cedar and pine). You can use Aspen shavings or other beddings such as corncob or carefresh.
For living environment, I like to use aquariums, atleast 10 gallons (I like bigger). Then you just make a lid from old hockey-sticks and hardware cloth (wire mesh).
I use little wooden houses and give them some shredded paper towel or toilet paper for nest building. Some people prefer not to use plastic toys or houses because the gerbs completely destroy them. If you get a wheel for the gerbil, make sure it isn't the type with bars all the way around, because a gerbils tail can get amputated between the bars. There are specific wheels for gerbils that have wire mesh where the bars are. Also make sure that the bar that holds the wheel in place (and rests on the ground) is far enough away from the wheel itself so that a tail can't get stuck there. If a pencil will fit between the bar and the wheel, you are fine.
What else? Cardboard, and lots of it! Boxes from cereal and other human foods are great. You don't want to use cardboard that has contained things not meant for human consumption because the dyes can be toxic. Stay away from newspaper and magazines. I use cardboard egg containers, but some owners stay away from them due to a minute risk of Salmonella poisoning.
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Post by paws on Jul 18, 2004 22:22:06 GMT -8
The GErbil or the People  |
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Post by paws on Jul 18, 2004 23:11:53 GMT -8
I think my tank for them is 70 litres, but what's that in Gallons? when I bought them, they came with a piece of hollow wood to sleep in. The have been chewing on it, (and made a little door ;D) do you think they will injest it?
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Post by queenofthenile on Jul 19, 2004 0:25:36 GMT -8
Oooh, about 18 gallons. That's nice! 10 gallons is the regular, small fishtank size. I wouldn't worry about them ingesting wood because shavings and many houses are wood. I've had no problems. (BTW, what do you mean by "the gerbil or the people"?)
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Post by paws on Jul 19, 2004 0:36:09 GMT -8
THe Sallmanella!
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Post by queenofthenile on Jul 19, 2004 0:37:24 GMT -8
Ahhh... to the gerbils. We aren't the ones salivating on the cardboard ;D.
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Post by paws on Jul 19, 2004 0:41:02 GMT -8
OOOOOOOH... ::)SIlly Me! How can I send a photo of the Gerbils?
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Jul 19, 2004 4:00:44 GMT -8
You need to have the pictures somewhere on the internet first! Than you have to click on  (when you're typing your message). Than you will see ![]() and [ /img]! Between those things you need to place the URL (internet address) of the picture. Oh, and maybe this is helpful to compare cage sizes, liters, gallons, cm, etc.: www.maisel.de/~eva/cagesizes.html. |
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Hey...
