To encourage their natural digging behaviour, give your gerbils lots of bedding, about 20-30cm high, so they can dig and tunnel. This is why wire cages aren’t great – you’d end up with bedding all over your floors! The best natural bedding is organic soil or peat with meadow or Timothy hay. Don’t use soil from your garden, it might contain harmful bacteria or parasites, sawdust, or fleecy-style bedding as this can tangle in their long hind legs.
Give your gerbils all the home comforts by keeping them indoors. Keep their gerbilarium somewhere warm, the best temperature is anywhere between 20 – 24 degrees. To keep the temperature stable, avoid placing them near draughts or radiators. Avoid direct sunlight at all costs as gerbils can suffer from heatstroke. Like other small animals, gerbils can find loud noises and vibrations stressful. Make sure they’re away from any loud noises, like TVs, loudspeakers or household appliances.
Gerbils like to nest, so pop a nest box in their housing. Avoid plastic or wooden nest boxes as they’ll probably gnaw straight through these. Instead, a clay flowerpot cut in half is a good option. Along with plenty of bedding for them to burrow right down into, your gerbils will have a great sleep!
The essentials you need to make the perfect set up for your gerbils are:
Lots of bedding Food bowl Excel nuggets Excel hay Water bottle Toys Cardboard tubes Platforms Fruit tree branches (non-sprayed) Dust bath Gerbil-safe cleaning products
