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My Gerbil Mansion!

Lady Logamorph

Lady Logamorph

Mama Doe
So my gerbils Susan and Sandra seemed to hate everything I put them in...they were far too small and they got bored.

So S decided to get an old chest of drawers and pull all the drawer fronts off. I then got some perspex from B&Q and slot it down the front (luckily it was a perfect fit) this preotects from the cats as well. They don't need ladders or anything gerbils are great at jumping up and down the levels. Unfortunately Susan went to the bridge last year but we still have Sandra (who has put on a lot of weight since her sister died...bless her)

Anyway just thought I would post it to give people ideas of home made houses.

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While it's good in theory it's not really suited to the Gerbils needs (sorry). They need a large tank or something similar with deep substrate of at least 10 inches - more if possible to be able to dig. I'm also wondering if the Gerbils can stretch out to their full height in those levels? From the way it looks it doesn't seem to be the case. I'd also be worried about ventilation here - is there wire mesh on the top of it?
 
Yes there is ventilation holes in the side and top plus it isn't air tight....I have had them in a tank at some point as well but they just seem happier in this house they like having the extra room. The top level is high the wooden bar is only at the front and to be fair the top level is probably the same size as a normal gerbil house/tank so the other levels are play/bed areas. I do actually fill up the bottom level with sawdust and hay when i clean her out but after Sandra digs about in it and chews it all up it she ends up moving half of it to two levels above. I have never seen a hamster cage/gerbil cage thats big enough in a pet shop.
 
Hi, I think that looks really good :thumb:

You're exactly right, it's so much better making a homemade cage, and much cheaper too! My degu girls are in an old display cabinet that we meshed and put shelves in, so much more room now. Plus we're hoping to extend it again once they move to have even more space.

eta: I know nothing about gerbils so cannot comment on it's suitability for them
 
Lady Logamorph said:
Yes there is ventilation holes in the side and top plus it isn't air tight....I have had them in a tank at some point as well but they just seem happier in this house they like having the extra room. The top level is high the wooden bar is only at the front and to be fair the top level is probably the same size as a normal gerbil house/tank so the other levels are play/bed areas. I do actually fill up the bottom level with sawdust and hay when i clean her out but after Sandra digs about in it and chews it all up it she ends up moving half of it to two levels above. I have never seen a hamster cage/gerbil cage thats big enough in a pet shop.
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I'd say that you'd probably be best to mesh some part of it as some holes in the side and top might not be enough. I realise it's not air tight, but especially if you are using woodshavings you need to have more room for air to flow due to the phenols in it. Just wondering why you think they are happier than having deep substrate in a tank? Even if you filled the bottom level it's still not going to be very deep really and deep substrate really should be an essential, not a luxury when it comes to Gerbils. I agree with you that there aren't any Gerbil cages big enough in the pet shops which is why we advocate using tanks or converted storage tubs to allow the Gerbils to dig the way they should. I'm not having a go at you, I'm just letting you know what is in their best interests. If you took out a couple of the shelves at the bottom it would give a much deeper area in which to fill with substrate so your Gerbil can have the top part for fun too.
 
Wow!
That's a great idea!
I have two gerbils, also sisters, and I think they would love to have more space!

I've heard that if a pair of gerbils have too much space, though, they can become aggressive to one another and quite territorial. Anyone know if this is so?
 
lolabun said:
Wow!
That's a great idea!
I have two gerbils, also sisters, and I think they would love to have more space!

I've heard that if a pair of gerbils have too much space, though, they can become aggressive to one another and quite territorial. Anyone know if this is so?
Click to expand...

It's a myth.
 
Yes thats a good idea I could remove the second level up and make the sawdust/hay much deeper in the bottom :thumb:

I was worried about having the top mesh in case the cats got on the top but i'm sure i could get some heavy duty wire with wooden edges.

alot of people have been making hamster/gerbil homes out of ikea units...they look really great and more stylish than the horrible brightly coloured plastic ones.

I think the worst homes are the rotastak...my gerbils hated them they are so small and flimsy and my gerbils basically chewed all the tubes to pieces :(
 
Lady Logamorph said:
Yes thats a good idea I could remove the second level up and make the sawdust/hay much deeper in the bottom :thumb:

I was worried about having the top mesh in case the cats got on the top but i'm sure i could get some heavy duty wire with wooden edges.

alot of people have been making hamster/gerbil homes out of ikea units...they look really great and more stylish than the horrible brightly coloured plastic ones.

I think the worst homes are the rotastak...my gerbils hated them they are so small and flimsy and my gerbils basically chewed all the tubes to pieces :(
Click to expand...


Ah yes I see how the cats could pose a problem there! Rotastak I totally agree with you - I too hate them :evil: The ones made out of the ikea detolf are really good. To make sure that it's deep enough I know a few people have made a wooden topper to attach to it and not only do they look lovely they are great for the Gerbils too. I think if you do manage to get a deep burrowing part in the bottom section it's going to be fantastic :)
 
I think it's great you've put some imagination into their accomodation - love the names too! A friend of mine had a gerbil when we were at school. I was very fond of him ... gerbil care has certainly come on a lot since the mid 1980s!
 
I agree with the lack of suitable pet shop homes for gerbils.. I spend ages looking online, although I don't think the tank they have is avaliable anymore.

I love the tunnels they are able to dig, and wonder how they do it sometimes.. Any houses or tunnels I give them seem to just form the roofs of tunnels, seemingly just suspended over them!
 
This is aimed at mini mallow or anyone else knowlegable on gerbils but I have created a new gerbil house with large area at the bottom for tunnelling. I have filled it with a mix of wood shavings, hay and straw. Is this ok or should I use something else. In the past I have always used hay and shavings mixed but wondered of there is anything else people use nowadays? Also is there anything I should avoid?
 
When we had gerbils, some years ago, we used Irish peat moss, which was recommended in some book or other that I read!

Don't know if this is still the line of thinking or not, has been a long time since we had gerbils!
 
I bet the house looks great now there's a nice deep burrowing section. :thumb::D

We used to use a mix of megazorb & hay, then chuck in lots of loo roll tubes for the boys to shred up & this seemed to hold tunnels pretty well. I'm not 100% sure about shavings - I think Minimallow uses some kind of woodchip horse bedding though. Peat used to be the recommendation, as Lily mentioned, but it can cause problems with damp/mould while it's moist & dust when it dries out so people prefer other substrates.
 
KarenM said:
I bet the house looks great now there's a nice deep burrowing section. :thumb::D

We used to use a mix of megazorb & hay, then chuck in lots of loo roll tubes for the boys to shred up & this seemed to hold tunnels pretty well. I'm not 100% sure about shavings - I think Minimallow uses some kind of woodchip horse bedding though. Peat used to be the recommendation, as Lily mentioned, but it can cause problems with damp/mould while it's moist & dust when it dries out so people prefer other substrates.
Click to expand...

I certainly remember the dust :shock: They were in a tank in Daughters bedroom and there was a thin layer of peat over every single surface in her room :roll:
 
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