Post by solitairedaxel on Nov 5, 2006 14:00:24 GMT -8
Some time ago I figured letting the gerbils run loose wasn't a good idea, but I was afraid they weren't getting enough exercise. I let them run around on the shelf and the chest of drawers for a few hours daily a month or so, generally leaving the viv door open so they could get back in when they wanted to. They managed to demolish the corner of a book, part of a cardboard box I put in to stop them getting to the books, the box the chinchilla sand was in and the front of a speaker.
I decided to get them a nice large box to play in. Unfortunately, box number one, while being nice and big, didn't actually fit in my room...
Box number one went back and I wound up going to a speciality shop to get box number two, which has nice wheels at the bottom and fits neatly in the wardrobe when stood up on end. It was reduced because it had a crack in the lid (the handle is cracked so the corners at that end tilt up a little; all the better for ventilation. lol)
Then I had fun poking a ton of holes in the lid with a pair of sharp scissors. ;D
It's 71.5 x 40 x 33.5 cm (length x width x depth). Anyone have a clue what that is in gallons? lol. I'm guessing around 15 or slightly larger; my viv is about 15 gallons and although it's taller than the box, it's narrower and not as long.
I filled it to around 2 inches from the top with ospen, put in all the toys that weren't in their tank and then put them in.
They became very interested in the edge and climbing out, ran around a bit, and came back to the edge. Not a good start. So I put the lid on. lol
The lid took their attention for a while, then the ever-bright Mesieth started trying to dig his way out - upwards, through the lid. I said he was bright. lol
I had to leave the room for supper, but I checked they'd found the Chube and they seemed to be trying a bit of digging, so I left them. I came back maybe three-quarters of an hour later to find an aspen pile leading to a corner and only Rheane visible. Oops.
I figured the other two had managed to prise up the corner of the lid by piling up the aspen and then climbing on it, but although I listened, I couldn't hear them, and they always make noise when they're loose in the room.
Rheane then vanished while I was looking. Then it occurred to me to turn the box round, and I discovered a nice tunnel going all the way to the bottom of the box. I didn't find exactly where the other two were, but after Rheane had given up trying to dig through the coconut, I noticed Mesieth on top of the aspen and Kaole showed up a minute or so later. I assumed at the time that they'd been in the house (which was buried) but I later discovered a tunnel running from near the coconut, under the house, and coming up near the other corner of the tank.
They carried on digging tunnels for quite a while after that. There was a roof-fall at one point but Kaole (who was in the tunnel at the time) just turned around and dug himself a new exit. lol
If I get the space to fit a proper tank in the room, I think I will - they love digging.
I'm wondering if the box itself would do for a gerbil tank...as it is, I think it would do nicely as a spare cage in the event of a declanning. They don't seem able to dig or chew through the plastic. ;D
I decided to get them a nice large box to play in. Unfortunately, box number one, while being nice and big, didn't actually fit in my room...
Box number one went back and I wound up going to a speciality shop to get box number two, which has nice wheels at the bottom and fits neatly in the wardrobe when stood up on end. It was reduced because it had a crack in the lid (the handle is cracked so the corners at that end tilt up a little; all the better for ventilation. lol)
Then I had fun poking a ton of holes in the lid with a pair of sharp scissors. ;D
It's 71.5 x 40 x 33.5 cm (length x width x depth). Anyone have a clue what that is in gallons? lol. I'm guessing around 15 or slightly larger; my viv is about 15 gallons and although it's taller than the box, it's narrower and not as long.
I filled it to around 2 inches from the top with ospen, put in all the toys that weren't in their tank and then put them in.
They became very interested in the edge and climbing out, ran around a bit, and came back to the edge. Not a good start. So I put the lid on. lol
The lid took their attention for a while, then the ever-bright Mesieth started trying to dig his way out - upwards, through the lid. I said he was bright. lol
I had to leave the room for supper, but I checked they'd found the Chube and they seemed to be trying a bit of digging, so I left them. I came back maybe three-quarters of an hour later to find an aspen pile leading to a corner and only Rheane visible. Oops.
I figured the other two had managed to prise up the corner of the lid by piling up the aspen and then climbing on it, but although I listened, I couldn't hear them, and they always make noise when they're loose in the room.
Rheane then vanished while I was looking. Then it occurred to me to turn the box round, and I discovered a nice tunnel going all the way to the bottom of the box. I didn't find exactly where the other two were, but after Rheane had given up trying to dig through the coconut, I noticed Mesieth on top of the aspen and Kaole showed up a minute or so later. I assumed at the time that they'd been in the house (which was buried) but I later discovered a tunnel running from near the coconut, under the house, and coming up near the other corner of the tank.
They carried on digging tunnels for quite a while after that. There was a roof-fall at one point but Kaole (who was in the tunnel at the time) just turned around and dug himself a new exit. lol
If I get the space to fit a proper tank in the room, I think I will - they love digging.
I'm wondering if the box itself would do for a gerbil tank...as it is, I think it would do nicely as a spare cage in the event of a declanning. They don't seem able to dig or chew through the plastic. ;D