Anyone else own gerbils?

[SaddlepadHoarder]

Not sure if I am the only crazy person here that owns what my family calls a rat cross a mouse. As they can be quite skittish and constantly needs more enrichment than the 100 things you have already given them, I was wondering what others use to enrich their gerbils.

Any DIYs would be spectacular!

Also what cages do you have?
I have two omlet cages that have been modified so the plastic bases are one and a tube connects the top floors for my 2 gerbils.

Pic of what a single omlet looks like below

 

[Chinchilla]

I don't own gerbils myself but have had other rodents and have looked after a neighbor's whilst they were away.
I have a roborovski hamster in a 120x60x48 cm wooden cage from hamster-homes.com (although I got it second hand off preloved). For enrichment for my chinchillas I boil and bake fruit wood and put the prepped branches in the cage which might work for a gerbil. My robo also gets a sand bath and lots of cardboard tunnels, both of which gerbils can have too. The chinchillas have a play pen and I know someone who made a theme park out of dolls House furniture in a wire pen for her Russian dwarf hybrid hamster.
The neighbors gerbils lived in a cage called a Europe skyline rodent cage iirc. But they were super skittish so lived in their own room which they were allowed to run around in at least once every day.

 

[SaddlepadHoarder]

I don't own gerbils myself but have had other rodents and have looked after a neighbor's whilst they were away.
I have a roborovski hamster in a 120x60x48 cm wooden cage from hamster-homes.com (although I got it second hand off preloved). For enrichment for my chinchillas I boil and bake fruit wood and put the prepped branches in the cage which might work for a gerbil. My robo also gets a sand bath and lots of cardboard tunnels, both of which gerbils can have too. The chinchillas have a play pen and I know someone who made a theme park out of dolls House furniture in a wire pen for her Russian dwarf hybrid hamster.
The neighbors gerbils lived in a cage called a Europe skyline rodent cage iirc. But they were super skittish so lived in their own room which they were allowed to run around in at least once every day.

Thank you. The boys get their sand bath and cardboard tubes but I'll see if I can get some fruit tree branches.
My guys are really laid back and not really skittish at all. They too have a playpen with toys I have bought online that are too big for the cage and they run wild!

 

[Chinchilla]

If they're not skittish then get multiple play pens big enough to lie down in and lie on your back wearing some baggy snuggly clothes. I used to do this when I kept Syrian hamsters (robos are a bit small) and it's awesome.

 

[SaddlepadHoarder]

If they're not skittish then get multiple play pens big enough to lie down in and lie on your back wearing some baggy snuggly clothes. I used to do this when I kept Syrian hamsters (robos are a bit small) and it's awesome.

That sounds like a great idea. I'll see if they like that.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I used to keep gerbils in a massive fishtank with a mesh lid that was high enough that they couldn't reach it. They enjoyed having fruit wood to chew.

 

[Rosie'smum]

I used to have them. Always loved watching them make their tunnels. I had a 4ft fish tank with a gerbilarium topper on to keep water, food and wheel away from bedding. That was until I got an annoying sod who used to chew the bars so ended up getting rid of the topper.


So this was after my girls had a declan so right side was the annoying sod that chewed bars so she didnt have the topper
.
This was after whispa died so cut a hole through the divide and caramel had the whole lot.
Pictures of them both:
Caramel


Whispa

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I've got gerbils. Their favourite thing is to burrow so a deep glass tank with a peat/shavings mix to hold the structure of their tunnels works really well