Living arrangements for gerbils?

Question

Due to going to uni I have to look after my son's Gerbils , Do i have to buy Peat for them to live in or can i get a peat substitute?
some thing from the garden center perhaps

Answer 1

Here is my humble opinion (as an animal behaviourist). The ideal is a peat-type substitute in a very deep, purpose made digging tank (but a large aquarium is ok.) Remember these creatures dig burrows several miles long in the wild, so the more space you can give them the better for their wellbeing.
Soil needs to be sterilised if from garden centre, ie. by heating trays of it in oven. Since their principle activity is digging tunnels, soil supports these far better than shavings of any sort. When gerbils burrow in the shavings what they want to be doing is tunnelling, burrowing a few cms down is just a frustrating substitute. If you cannot give them space to create the complex burrows of their natural environment then they need a complex system of tubes to mimic that space, definitely not a "simple cage" setup, that is just lazy.
Though this may all seem like very hard work to set up, I do think it behoves us to give creatures a habitat that as closely as possible mimics that which they would create in the wild, since we have given them no choice at all about whether to spend their lives captive for our entertainment.
Hamsters and Gerbils do not need the same conditions, they are different creatures with differing environmental backgrounds and social needs. Hope that helps (the gerbils). :-)

Answer 2

Like some of the people above me said, I've never heard of peat being used and I doubt sawdust would be any good for them. I've always used aspen or other small wood shavings.

It's not expensive and you can buy large bags full at almost any store that sells pet stuff- walmart, local pet store, petco, etc.

Make sure their water and food is full all the time and make sure they have something tough to chew on since their teeth never stop growing. A little wooden house is good for that. Also, if you want to you can throw in a gerbil treat once in awhile- those are sold at at stores too, but you can also toss in a chunk of carrot or celery.

Good luck! :)

Answer 3

You normally put sawdust on the bottom of the cage. This can be purchased from any petshop (make sure you get the one especially for small pets as normal sawdust could have sharp pieces in it). It should come in a clear pack and shouldn't be too expensive. You will need to change it approx - once a week.

I don't know if the cage has a sleeping area or not, but if so, you can also buy special bedding for that from the pet shop. This could be shredded paper or a special soft bedding.

Good luck!

Answer 4

if it is 2 gerbils, a 10 gallon tank with lid will work . Get aspen or carefresh for them. No pine or cedar. Water bottle, wooden toys and house. Food, Lots of cardboard to chew. Check the American Gerbil Society website. They have lots of good care information

Answer 5

I have heard of peat being used. But I'd use wood shavings (from a pet store, unexpensive as well) and buy some bedding as well.

Also, make sure they have something to chew on, like a wooden toy (that can be bought from pet stores) and they like to chew on cardboard to.

Answer 6

Gerbils have the same living conditions as hamsters. Use carefresh or aspen for bedding. Found in your pet supply store or grocery store. Do not use pine as it has bad effect on breathing.

Change water everyday and feed 1 tbs of food each day depending on how many he has....

Good Luck

Answer 7

Not peat. Not sawdust. Just a thick layer of carefresh or aspen so they can burrow. Any petstore or Walmart will have these. They don't drink a lot of water, so you only have to change it once every week or two.

Answer 8

never heard of gerbils having peat, ours have sawdust.

Answer 9

Get your gerbils nice soft bedding something like Super Shavins, you can get it from petsmart or something. They just need a simple cage with food, water, bedding, and a nice place to hide. They like to chew on stuff its best to put toilet paper roles in their cage because they can chew on it and make more bedding or they can run through it and use it like a toy. they need lots of stuff to chew on to keep their teeth healthy. keep them out of too much sun and out of windy areas. get more than one gerbil they love to have a buddy.

Answer 10

If Pete knows so much about gerbils, let him look after them