How to house your gerbils

How to build your own gerbil tank

Use a large fish tank or a glass display cabinet like the Ikea Detolf, laid on its back (see above for recommended sizings depending on gerbil group size). Both need a homemade, mesh lid to make sure your gerbils get plenty of fresh air. A standard fish tank lid is not suitable.

To make the lid, start by building a wooden frame, a bit like a picture frame. This will either sit on the inside ledges of the tank or fit snugly over the top edge of the enclosure. Make sure it’s securely built using proper wood screws and not tied or loosely fixed together. For larger glass cabinets, you may need to build the lid in two sections to avoid it becoming weak in the middle.

Once the frame is ready, use a staple gun to fix 1cm by 1cm welded mesh to the lid. If possible, attach the mesh on the inside of the lid to help prevent your gerbils chewing the wood.

Ideal tank location

When choosing where to place your gerbil enclosure, make sure it’s:

• Away from windows and draughts
• Away from heat sources such as radiators or ensure they are switched off
• Away from direct/constant sunlight, although the room will need a natural daylight source
• Safe from other pets such as cats and dogs
• Safe from young, unsupervised children – avoid placing the enclosure in a used bedroom as gerbils can be active overnight and can disturb your sleep
• Away from constant loud noise such as TVs or music systems

Enrichment ideas for gerbils

Unlike most rodents, providing toys and activities for gerbils can be tricky. Many items aren’t suitable and could injure them. Plastic items should be avoided as they can quickly be chewed into sharp edges. However, there are still plenty of safe options to help keep them active, healthy and engaged.

Your gerbils will enjoy:

• Kitchen rolls and cardboard tubes. Gerbils love these and will often chew them down and use the remains to line their nests.
• Cardboard boxes such shoe and cereal boxes. These are great for chewing and nesting in. You’ll often see your gerbils dragging these down into their bedding and covering them over. You can even make a gerbil hotel for them!
• Wooden houses and bendy bridges make great, cosy nesting spaces for sleeping and hiding.
• Apple or willow tree branches and twigs. Gerbils can spend hours clambering over and gnawing on these. This type of wood also keeps your gerbils’ teeth healthy and the fresh bark can support their digestive system.
• Piles of forage or meadow hay. Gerbils love to build nests from this once they’ve chewed it into smaller pieces. Add a large handful every other day and watch them pull it down through their tunnels.
• Sand bath – use a large glass or ceramic bowl filled with gerbil-safe sand for dust baths. The sand should be dust-free and free from calcium.
• Granite or ceramic tile – to help them keep cooler in the summer months.
• Dig tray or box filled with organic compost or coco soil.
• 12” upright, solid wheel (not plastic).

Top tip – place a roll of unscented toilet paper into their enclosure. They’ll have great fun ripping it up and taking it down into their burrows to make a cosy nest!

Bedding depth and type for digging

It’s important to use the correct bedding for your gerbils, as the wrong type can affect their health. Wood shavings or sawdust can be harmful to your gerbils’ skin and airways, and may also cause an allergic reaction in people too! Click here to find out more.

In the wild, gerbils spend a lot of time underground digging burrows. For pet gerbils, it’s important to support this natural behaviour too. To do this, they should have at least 8-10 inches (20-25cms) of bedding throughout their enclosure, allowing them to build larger burrows and nests. Make sure there is enough space at the surface for them to reach up on their hind legs without touching the lid.

Digging

Use two or more of the options mixed together for absorbency and stability.

• Cross cut shredded paper
• Greenmile – shredded card material
• Cardboard squares around 1cm square e.g. Ecobale
• Hemp bedding such as Aubiose (non-fragranced) or Aspen Bed
• Soft paper bedding e.g. CareFresh, Kaytee Clean & Cozy, Small Pet Select paper bedding
• White, soft tissue paper bedding such as tea bag bedding*
• Soft, green hay
• Organic soil – needs careful monitoring to prevent it from drying out and becoming dusty, which could affect your gerbils’ lungs.

Options for nesting spaces

• Soft paper bedding e.g. CareFresh, Kaytee Clean & Cozy
• White, soft tissue paper bedding such as tea bag bedding*
• Soft, green hay

*Avoid cotton-wool type bedding and ‘seed pod’ bedding as this can be very dangerous to your pets – it can become tightly wound around their body and legs, causing severe injury.

Daily and weekly cleaning

Keeping your gerbil enclosure clean is key to preventing serious health conditions.

Daily – spot clean

1. Remove any wet/dirty areas of bedding.
2. Replace dirty bedding.
3. Top-up any nesting materials they need such as hay or soft tissue bedding.
4. Remove any fresh food (e.g. veg) they have not eaten from the previous day.

Every three weeks – full clean

This may need to be done more often depending on how many gerbils you have:

1. Place gerbils in a secure carrier with plenty of bedding from their enclosure. Place the carrier in a safe, quiet space away from where you are cleaning.
2. Remove toys, enrichment, bowls, bottles and clean them with pet-friendly disinfectant.
3. Remove a few large handfuls of clean bedding from the enclosure and put to one side for later.
4. Fully sweep out their enclosure and wipe down with pet-friendly disinfectant, allow to dry fully.
5. Set up enclosure with fresh bedding and place different toys in for interest.*
6. Spread the handfuls of clean bedding you put aside, into their enclosure. This will help your gerbils settle.

*Place any heavy toys into the enclosure first, before the bedding. This will help to prevent them moving or falling and potentially harming your gerbils as they dig.