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Post by butsam on Apr 1, 2004 4:54:41 GMT -8
I purchased a travel cage (fairly large considering it's for travel) that is totally enclosed by plastic, and has a make-shift tube connection so I can use it as a part of their regular habitat when not travelling, and just detach the travel cage part when going on trips.
My question is this. How do I give gerbils the proper tools to make tunnels? I use aspen bedding. I heard sand is great, but enough sand to fill that travel tank is kinda expensive (unless I am missing something...I heard to go with chinchilla sand, right?). I gave them lots of cardboard to chew up down there and they loved it. They also have a big wood log, and about 1 foot (0.3 meters) of bedding! They just seem to be able to dig in it though, and not make tunnels...the aspen seems to be too light to support tunnels in and of itself.
I tried adding toilet paper, but they take that up to their den (which is through a maze of tubes...very funny to watch). So toilet paper doesn't work. Any other thoughts?
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 1, 2004 5:09:48 GMT -8
I've only seen my gerbils make real tunnels when I used sand as bedding! But chinchilla sand is much too expensive to use as bedding! You can just use sand for a sandbox (for children to play in). It is not expensive at all, and you sift it a couple of times, even wash and dry! So you can recycle the sand!
But I have to tell you that it smells faster than other bedding!
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Post by butsam on Apr 1, 2004 6:26:09 GMT -8
I don't mind it smelling faster...it's easy to detach from the rest of the setup I'll use regular sand then, that will be neat! Good ideas with recycling it all, too! Thanks again, when this bedding starts stinking we'll probably switch it over Sam
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Post by j on Apr 1, 2004 7:44:04 GMT -8
LOL this is what mine does. It was most funny when she was like 3 weeks pregnant and couldn't fit and jump. Also they happened to pick the small travel cage full of sand that I attached as their sand bath.. they slept in sand and crap.
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Tunnels
Apr 17, 2004 7:36:44 GMT -8
Post by gerbilicious on Apr 17, 2004 7:36:44 GMT -8
I tried adding toilet paper, but they take that up to their den (which is through a maze of tubes...very funny to watch). So plain toilet paper is all right? I thought that I shouldn't give it to my gerbils, since it's dyed. Is toilet paper as good as regular old plain white paper?
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Tunnels
Apr 17, 2004 8:44:21 GMT -8
Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 17, 2004 8:44:21 GMT -8
I give toilet paper to my gerbils as nesting material and I have never had any problems! But of course there is a lot of different types of toilet paper. My gerbils get that soft one paper, I'm actually not sure how it is bleeched?
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Tunnels
Apr 17, 2004 10:13:59 GMT -8
Post by floppy on Apr 17, 2004 10:13:59 GMT -8
Hi,
The cheap toilet/kitchen paper is the best you can use. It won't contain the chemicals you would get in the more expensive stuff. I have always used this as bedding/nesting material for my gerbils and have never had problem with it.
Floppy
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Tunnels
Apr 17, 2004 13:32:15 GMT -8
Post by queenofthenile on Apr 17, 2004 13:32:15 GMT -8
My theory is that it is okay to give boxes even if they have dye on them, or tissue even though it is bleached. Gerbils do not live for a very long time and so I feel the exposure to these things is minimal (especially since they only destroy it, they don't eat it). Also, they enjoy the carboard and tissue too much for me to justify not giving it just because it is bleached or dyed. I usually give the unbleached toilet paper tubes, but they also get my cereal boxes when I am done with them (they are their favourites ;D - chewing heaven). I also do not worry about bleached products so much because even humans are exposed to these sort of things ALL the time. For example, menstrual products are almost all bleached, and some of them are used internally. There has not been a major public outcry about this, although I think there should be . I basically feel that the exposure to the gerbils to bleach/dyes is minimal and should not prevent their enjoyment of the simple things in life! (rant finished ;D)
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Tunnels
Apr 17, 2004 18:01:59 GMT -8
Post by floppy on Apr 17, 2004 18:01:59 GMT -8
My theory is that it is okay to give boxes even if they have dye on them, or tissue even though it is bleached. Gerbils do not live for a very long time and so I feel the exposure to these things is minimal (especially since they only destroy it, they don't eat it). I also do not worry about bleached products so much because even humans are exposed to these sort of things ALL the time. For example, menstrual products are almost all bleached, and some of them are used internally. There has not been a major public outcry about this, although I think there should be . I basically feel that the exposure to the gerbils to bleach/dyes is minimal and should not prevent their enjoyment of the simple things in life! (rant finished ;D) I totally disagree. Because gerbils only live for a short time don't you think you should look after them as best you can? They say gerbils live 3-5 years. The better looked after they are the more chance they have of living to 5 years. Cereal boxes are generally ok even thought they are covered in ink. Because these boxes contain food for human consumption the ink is usually non toxic. And just because you use bleached products yourself, which are for HUMANS, does not mean that they are safe for gerbils! And if you are worried about using these products then you have a choice not to use them! Don't just give your gerbils things to chew because in your 'opinion' it won't cause them much harm. I wouldn't dream of giving my gerbils anything that wasn't totally safe for them. While they are chewing, they can ingest little bits of paper/cardboard etc. and if it made them sick I'd feel so guilty. My gerbils do enjoy the simple things in life, they get plain sheets of white paper, toilet/kitchen roll tubes, cereal boxes etc. They also get cheap toilet/kitchen paper because it contains less if none of the chemicals that you get in the expensive stuff. Because it's safer for them! Floppy
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Tunnels
Apr 17, 2004 18:13:33 GMT -8
Post by queenofthenile on Apr 17, 2004 18:13:33 GMT -8
Floppy: Plain white paper, white toilet paper rolls and tissue are ALL bleached. This is what I was talking about. You use these products yourself, so why do you feel that I am being negligent ? I originally was not going to give my gerbs paper towel tubes or toilet paper rolls because of the bleaching and fear of the harm it would cause. The same goes for cereal boxes because of the dyes. But then I realized that my gerbs would be unhappy if I didn't give them cardboard to use and I don't go through enough toilet paper to give them enough unbleached rolls. So I gave in with the cereal boxes and bleached products because I figure that they are happy this way and that there is probably minimal risk. All paper products are going to contain traces of chemicals because they are not regulated for consumption. In my opinion, ANYTHING you give your gerbils will have chemicals in it. Their food has a stamp that guarantees no insects. I wonder how they do this. Obviously they are using some sort of pesticide. Likely the pesticide is in way higher levels than those regulated for human consumption . Does that mean I should stop feeding them? What choice do we have when all products made for animals will contain stuff unacceptable in products made for humans?
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Tunnels
Apr 18, 2004 5:06:19 GMT -8
Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 18, 2004 5:06:19 GMT -8
I give my gerbils all kind of cardboards boxes, most of them are printed with some advertising, etc! As long as I have had gerbils I have given these things to them, and my gerbils get very old. The oldest one I have now is 4,5! His sone is also 3,5, and still very healthy! So I think the ink on those boxes is no real problem.
All white paper is indeed bleached in some way!
The only paper that I won't give my gerbils are newspapers!
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Tunnels
Apr 18, 2004 5:43:42 GMT -8
Post by floppy on Apr 18, 2004 5:43:42 GMT -8
What I was trying to say here is that while we all give our gerbils bits of paper and card, the least we can do is try to make sure it's as safe as possible for them. Like Peter said, I wouldn't give my gerbils newspaper (or magazines) either because I know the ink is toxic to them. For someone who comes to this forum and has just got their first gerbil(s), they are coming here for advice etc. If you go saying things like you will give them any type of paper/card it's giving them the impression that it's all safe, when clearly some are not as safe as others. I'm just saying to be more clear in what you mean so someone who hasn't kept gerbils before won't get wrong impression!
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Tunnels
Apr 18, 2004 5:50:12 GMT -8
Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 18, 2004 5:50:12 GMT -8
That is true Floppy! It is always better to use paper that is safe for sure! It is indeed good to warn new gerbil owners on the possible danger of ink!
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Tunnels
Apr 18, 2004 9:31:25 GMT -8
Post by queenofthenile on Apr 18, 2004 9:31:25 GMT -8
Ah, I get it now . Sometimes I assume that people will know at least that newspaper and magazines are unfit for gerbils. I will be more clear in my views next time. In this case the poster was talking about toilet paper, and so I gave my views on toilet paper and the dyes/bleaching involved. I didn't realize in your reply to me that you were referring to products such as newspaper and magazines. I thought you were talking all bleached or dyed papers, which I think we must admit would be virtually impossible. Perhaps we can all be a bit more clear in what we say. Other than the newspaper and magazines, what other paper products do you avoid? I can't think of anything else at the moment, except boxes that contained potentially harmful stuff (oils, salt, toiletries).
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Tunnels
Apr 18, 2004 11:37:57 GMT -8
Post by floppy on Apr 18, 2004 11:37:57 GMT -8
Sorry if I offended you Queen, I just wouldn't want people who are not as knowledgeable as us to get the wrong idea!
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