Suitable wheel for a gerbil - Page 3

purple_x · #21 (**permalink**) 15-06-2011, 01:05 PM

The wheel has now been removed for good!
I was a little worried about everything that's been said so I have taken it out and Evie isn't bothered at all.
It was hard to keep it in anyway as it was just getting filled with substrate.

The girls are in a 3ft tank with corner shelves (only one I could get my hands on in my area) and it is filled with a mixture of megazorb and cardboard they have shredded plus boxes, tubes and wooden toys buried in there.
Evie still scratches at the sides of the tank a few times a day....why is this?
They come out for playtime every single day and have a big living space.

GerbilNik · #22 (**permalink**) 15-06-2011, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedogsmother

I havent actually heard it put like that but I do thnk Crusty was addicted to the wheel, he barely stopped to eat and lost loads of weight, I have hamsters, mice and rats who all choose to use their wheels on and off but Crusty never left his, the other two boys in the tank werent that interested but maybe thats just because they never found it empty long enough to use it. He doesnt have a wheel now as its too noisy anyway and he plays with his friends now. I find the other info far more worrying though, Bart and Homer came from far less than ideal circumstances

, they have a lovely tank and they still do the frantic corner of the tank scratching (Bart more than Homer)

This is exactly it - when they do the behaviour and it impacts on their "normal" behaviour (and health) like this it shows that what they are doing is a compulsion rather than a playtoy.
What you describe of Bart and Homer is now unfortunately fairly typical in a lot of gerbils - they wouldn't show that behaviour if they were brought up in tunnels and burrows or in the very least had a proper nestbox. Once they start the digging, even when they have deep bedding at a later date they still show the corner digging behaviour.

GerbilNik · #23 (**permalink**) 15-06-2011, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by purple_x

The wheel has now been removed for good!
I was a little worried about everything that's been said so I have taken it out and Evie isn't bothered at all.
It was hard to keep it in anyway as it was just getting filled with substrate.

The girls are in a 3ft tank with corner shelves (only one I could get my hands on in my area) and it is filled with a mixture of megazorb and cardboard they have shredded plus boxes, tubes and wooden toys buried in there.
Evie still scratches at the sides of the tank a few times a day....why is this?
They come out for playtime every single day and have a big living space.

Sounds like they have a lovely life with you

I think we posted around the same time

so the answer to your question is in what i have written in my last post!

GerbilNik · #24 (**permalink**) 15-06-2011, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B3rnie

Now that is very interesting, it sounds like they are similar to Degu's there as once a Degu learns a behaviour due to inadequate living accommodation they will tend to continue it even if the initial problem is solved

It really is quite sad as something as simple as providing a good amount of bedding when the gerbils are being brought up by mum can basically eliminate most of these sorts of behaviours. As most gerbils in petshops are supplied by commercial breeders who don't tend to give them this sort of environment you can see how this sort of thing is seen as the norm, as most pet gerbils will have originated from similar places.

purple_x · #25 (**permalink**) 15-06-2011, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GerbilNik

Sounds like they have a lovely life with you

I think we posted around the same time

so the answer to your question is in what i have written in my last post!

Thank you for the reply.
So it's nothing I'm doing that's making her do the 'digging' against the glass, that's good to know.
They didn't have the best 6 or so months of their lives at the start. Started off in a pet store in a 30cmx20cm tank, then went to someone who kept them in a wire cage then given to a rescue.
I try and give them the best life I can, I love them to bits

GerbilNik · #26 (**permalink**) 15-06-2011, 01:24 PM

No it's nothing you have done. Providing you give them as deep substrate as you can, this will at least help to alleviate the behaviour but unfortunately not stop it completely.

B3rnie · #27 (**permalink**) 15-06-2011, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GerbilNik

It really is quite sad as something as simple as providing a good amount of bedding when the gerbils are being brought up by mum can basically eliminate most of these sorts of behaviours. As most gerbils in petshops are supplied by commercial breeders who don't tend to give them this sort of environment you can see how this sort of thing is seen as the norm, as most pet gerbils will have originated from similar places.

Yes it is sad indeed, that is one reason I won't use pet shops that sell animals let alone buy one from a pet shop lol.
If people stopped buying from petshops it wouldn't be profitable to sell animals so they would stop.

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