gerbils

onetomany

just got 2 cute gerbils yesterday i put a toliet roll in tonight the really enjoyed it how often would you do this?

londonsurrey

As many as they can chew through.

Valli

ours get toilet rolls as often as we generate them and other unprinted cardboard.
Also have wooden logs in their cages
I give a white napkin and let the make their own bed
carrot trimmings raisins grapes other bits of fruit

enjoy them!

krlyr

I had colleagues saving them up, taking the empty inners from the work loos, etc. so I had a constant stash when I had gerbils. Kitchen roll tube inners are a bit tougher too. Also if you get people to save postage tubes or the long ones from posters, they're a bit more of a challenge. Ask your local carpet shop if they can have inner rolls and saw them down too.
Also cardboard boxes, e.g. cereal boxes.
I never used woodshavings for gerbils as the phenols from them can cause respiratory issues as well as potential liver problems so they had a mix of Carefresh type bedding, a little hay, and then all the chewed down cardboard. Seemed to make a good bedding for them to tunnel in!

Froom2

Definitely give em as many as you can give them! It helps to keep their teeth in check - rodent teeth don't stop growing!

(Also, they make good shredders... hehe you try matching up the shavings left after a gerbil's been at a bit of paper!)

Gerbils are awesome, if you have a tank you can house them in and give them loads of stuff to dig in, if it is stuff that packs well they'll tunnel into it and it's amazing to see their tunnels and watch them running around and stashing their food at the end of them and all that.

PollyOnAMission

When I had gerbils they used to get through so many toilet roll tubes! I too had friends saving them for me. The best tubes are those from cling film/tin foil because they are really tough. Mine also used to love to gnaw on twigs of apple wood, so you could try that if you have an apple tree nearby

SmallL

I got ours a 'mini pet bed' for small animals, within two days the bed had turned into a giant pile of fluff!!!!!
it now covers a quarter of the cage and they sleep in all the fluff and are very happy!
Though its being removed when they are next cleaned as they also poo and wee in it

There_Goes_Trouble

As a special treat I used to leave a bit of the paper of the roll when it was almost finished, my gerbils loved that!

deedeeliz

My gerbils are litter trained I have a small bowl I fill with Chinchilla dust and they do their business in there, I just change that out every day or every other day

krlyr

A big glass coffee jar works well as a toilet area too - put in a corner, I used chinchilla sand too, and just emptied it out every so often.

PollyOnAMission

I used to allow mine a weekly dust bath in Chinchilla sand, but I remember reading somewhere that leaving it in there permanently could cause respiratory problems. I guess because the particles are so fine? Does anyone know if this is true?