Oct 26 2006, 10:31 PM
1. How to DIY a water bottle hanger
One of the popular problems faced by gerbil owners is the issue of how to provide a source of water for gerbils. Although a dish can be used, but most of the time the gerbil will bury the dish in shavings, making the bedding wet. It is important for a gerbil to have water especially if it is pregnant or nursing. Gerbils have been known to reabsorb fetuses or even eat a pup to get the water it needs if water is not provided.
There are many types of bottles available on the market. If you are able to find a bottle with those suckers or those that stick to the tank wall then it is good, however sometimes the gerbils will chew the suckers or the water bottle itself.
If you have the type of bottle that points downwards, you can hang it from the tank cover, however if you have the normal type of bottle, the kind without a small hole at the top for you to hang wire through..you might have to make a bottle holder yourself.
Example:
Water bottle with no hole at the top provided.
Water bottle with hole provided at the top
2. How to make a split cage
Why need a split cage? Note that gerbils have very short memories and can forget their friends in 3 days or even less. If you have to seperate your gerbils because of breeding but wish to reintroduce them at a later date, you should use a split cage so that they can still see and smell each other. New gerbils can also be introduced in this way for a few days, so that there is less chance of fighting when you finally put them together. Remember that gerbils can fight to the death, dont think that they look so loving and tame to their friends, once they see an unknown gerbil they can fight viciously and cause very serious wounds. I'm speaking from experience here.
This is the simplest split cage you can make for a plastic tank. The sides are rubber hose split into half, the purpose is so that you can wedge the whole thing into the tank, and it wont move or slip. Remember that plastic tanks are wider at the top than at the bottom, so you have to take that into account when cutting and bending the wire mesh. Try to use metal wire mesh with small holes, with big holes the gerbils will keep on chewing at it, and hurt their noses. Make sure it is tall enough, gerbils can climb up the split and crawl through any small spaces at the top.
3. Alternative to tanks
Gerbils given birth and you want to seperate the dad from the mum? Or perhaps your gerbil has fallen sick and you want to seperate it from the other healthy ones temporarily. If you can't get a tank at short notice, you can use a storage box
This is just to give a general idea. Note that the top should be securely fastened, else the gerbil will escape. Usually I put the storage box lid on top covering half the wire, and something heavy on top, but more pegs should do the trick as well.
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