Elimnate Sterotype Digging?

[Kenshin]

Is there any possible way to stop sterotype digging? Thx

[queenofthenile]

My gerbils really don't dig in the corners at all (I'm assuming that's what you mean by stereotyped digging). Giving them ample shavings to dig and make tunnels in has made a huge difference. Their tanks are *full* of toys and so they don't get bored enough to dig in the corners.

[sweetie]

I agree. The reason gebils chew at the bars or dig in the corners are because they are either bored or want to get out of the "house" they are in. They are very active and curious creatures and need lots of toys and excersice.

[Ah]

I'm currently useing a 10 Gallon one... That to small for her? I also bought a wheel but I took it out after hearing all of the terrible tail storys :-\

[j]

You only have 1 single gerbil so you probably won't be able to eliminate it completely. It's common behavior in lonely and bored gerbils. =/

10 gallon is big enough. Just make it more fun for her. You can stop it somewhat byletting her make her own burrow. Fill the tank up with about half shavings, some kind of wooden house, lots of cardboard toys..oatmeal containers..cereal boxes..etc. She'll do the rest. ;D

Oh and about the wheels... Depends what kind of wheel you have. Plastic sucks, they'll chew it. Get a wire mesh one.. like this..

[lizzy]

with wire mesh wheels they can get their feet stuck and tails broken.

as for boredom you could get her a friend?

if your gerbil was born and bred in a cage where she can't dig, aka a wire cage, which would probably be the case if you got her from a petstore, unless you keep her very very entertained she'll probably always be stereotypical digging. make sure you give her plenty of bedding/shavings/whatever you use so she can dig lots of tunnels.

10 gallons is fine for her - in fact a lot of people have 10 gallon tanks for 2 gerbils

[j]

lizzy said:

with wire mesh wheels they can get their feet stuck and tails broken.

The wire mesh wheels are safe for gerbils. The mesh holes are too small for their feet to even fit in the holes. Their tail can't possibly get wrapped around them either. Even pups are fine on them. Look closer at the pic..the wheels are "mesh", which is small squares.
Wire bar type wheels are the ones that they can get hurt on.

[cinnycinnamon]

Okay you see, I make sure that my gerbs have plenty to play with so that they do keep busy. But I've found that they still get bored and dig. I've given them TP and paper towel rolls, soda boxes, cereal boxes, misc. food boxes, thick cardboard tubes, made tunnels for them from manila folders, bought them wood toys to chew on and yet, they still seem to dig in the corners. I let them out to play and when I put them back into them houses, I give them a new toy to play with. And they still dig. What gives? Any suggestions? I'm running outta ideas here.

I just posted pics of some of their homes over in the member photo area.

Thanx!
Cindy

[Kenshin]

Heh, oh well I got him a partner they at first were fighting but now they are fine with eachother they sleep together ect, I got a 30 ..or was it 25... anyway gallon tank and a igllo for there home and a lil wooden house that has a lil ladder that leads down it Also put some paper towel card board thing's in there and all that stuff since i'm pretty sure cardboard can keep their teeth right just as good as wood can, they are on PINE bedding, because I belive PINE is good unless you're gerbil has a weak system or is very young\old, they still dig but it's instint I guess

[Ritzie/Admin]

Kenshin,

Here an old topic on stereotypic digging and prevention, etc:
gerbilforum.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=behaviour&action=display&thread=1081460582

[Ritzie/Admin]

Quote from that thread:

Anyone who keeps Mongolian gerbils knows the problem: the gerbils constantly dig in the corners of their cage. This is not just normal digging behaviour, because of its characteristic it can be described as so-called stereotyped digging. There is a simple method that can prevent gerbils from developing this behaviour. Many people hypothesised that this behaviour was influenced by a too small cage size. Christoph Wiedenmayer, a Swiss psychologist, has proven with experiments that this is not the case. Stereotyped digging behaviour was not affected by cage size. The result of his further experiments is quite simple: if gerbils grow up in an environment with a "burrow" they won't develop stereotyped digging behaviour. The essential fact is that the "burrow" must have a tunnel and a chamber connected to it. When the gerbils were only given a shelter without a tunnel, stereotyped digging occurred. All gerbils in his experiments that grew up in a setting with an artificial burrow, a tunnel connected to a chamber, didn't show stereotypes. Vera Brückmann has tried this with one of her gerbil families with an large aquarium, and with 2/3 of the cage filled with wood shavings mixed with hay and some cardboard tubes, so the gerbils were able to dig tunnels and chambers that won't collapse. Her gerbils built up a nice burrow system that changed from day to day. The results of her experiment were indeed that the gerbils that were born in a burrow didn't develop stereotyped digging behaviour. When placed in a cage without a "burrow" they started digging in the corners, but after returning in a cage with a burrow they stopped digging in the corners and never showed any stereotyped digging behaviour. Gerbils that haven't grown up in a burrow will always dig in the corners, but when given a burrow they did do this less. So we can conclude that if you keep your gerbils from birth in a cage with an artificial burrow (a tunnel connected to a chamber) or when you give them the chance to dig their own burrow, your gerbils won't develop stereotyped digging behaviour.

I'm going to make one myself for my gerbils!



For more info:
www.petermaas.nl/gerbils/behaviour.htm#comp
www.gerbils.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/gerbils/burrow.htm
www.gerbilsuk.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/practical1.htm
www.forschung3r.ch/fr/publications/bu16.html
www.awionline.org/pubs/cq02/Cq-gerb.html