Pet Habitat South Africa

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21 Feb 2015

Gerbils Love To Live It Up In Style

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Pet Care | Gerbils

Gone are the days when you could pick up a simple cage for your gerbils and call it home. Indeed, those homes were never fit for your pets. Your pets deserve a gerbilarium, which is a lot closer to penthouse living than a simple cage could ever be.

A gerbilarium consists of a wire cage-like structure on top of a plastic tub filled with wood shavings. So, it may look ordinary until you factor in the different internal levels and areas in this home. Gerbils love to dig, so the lower layer can (and should) be quite deep, and filled with shavings. On top of that, a couple of different levels, joined with fun climbing ramps and ladders and some snuggly areas to hang out make a gerbilarium home. Finally, gerbils are super fast. Make sure you can secure your pets’ home, or they’ll make a dash to discover what else you’ve got hiding in your house.

What Else Makes a Gerbilarium Home?

Having a gerbilarium is just the first step to health and happiness. Now, you’ll need to consider where your gerbilarium should be within your home. Avoid any area that receives direct sunlight, such as just underneath a window. A sunny room is okay; direct sunlight can negatively affect your pets. Also, you’ll want to make sure there are no draughts as this will make your pets sick.

Gerbils love to bathe. For them, a relaxing (and cleansing) bath consists of a pool of sand. Yep, gerbils wash themselves in sand, not water. But, it works to keep their coats shiny and clean. Special sand is available at pet stores, and you’ll want to invest in this; don’t use sand from your garden – or from garden supply stores. We recommend Lixit Blue Cloud bath dust.

A food bowl and a water bottle are a must in any gerbilarium. And, it’s a good idea to keep these in one place, even though you may rearrange the rest of your pets’ home from time to time. A water bottle is always preferred to a bowl because gerbils are so busy that you’d need to change the water several times a day.

Don’t forget about toys to play with and places to hide. Your gerbils will get bored if they have nothing to do. Enrichment doesn’t need to be costly. Old toilet paper rolls are a great start – and you can always rotate toys to keep your pets entertained.