How To Set Up Gerbils Cages

Hi, my name's Marie. I'm the deputy manager of the Small Animal Department at Wood Green Animal Shelters and I'm going to tell you how to care for gerbils. I'm going to tell you how to set up a gerbil cage.

First of all, always home your gerbils in a large glass tank. Ideally, that should be around 3 to 4 feet in length and with a secure mesh lid on the top. Gerbils naturally burrow and live underground, they'll often come to the top to forage for feeds, so it's really a good idea if you can try to mimic this and that way, you have healthy and happy gerbils.

So, we've got here a 3-foot large glass tank and we've started filling it with peats. You don't need to add in different materials because after months, this has compacted down, they are able to create really fun and deep burrows underneath. The best material is a pure organic soil.

Make sure this has got no fertilizers or chemicals in there. Obviously, these could harm your gerbils. You can get these from most garden centres, so just put these into the tank and just mix this all around.

Ideally, you want to fill the tank up around halfway and just pat it down and this way, the gerbils can really create lots of tunnels there and it's nice and deep, and again, this will mimic what they have in the wild. So then, you want to be able to add in suitable bedding for them to take down underground and make a nest. The best for this is good quality hay.

It should be really nice and green, it should smell really sweet and fresh and that way, you know it's going to be good quality. So put a nice handful of that into there, you can just pop it in the corner and they will move it all around. Then, you want to add a little bit more enrichment although they're going to burrowing, they'll also be, in the wilds, coming up against different objects as well so we want to create this.

So, we've got a few toilet rolls. What you can do is either just bury them completely underground or just stick them in different angles, and then we can also give them the natural treats as well such as fruit tree twigs or willow twigs as well. So, you can just place them in the ground and they're really in for their teeth to chew on.

You would then need to provide some food. Don't ever feed your gerbils in a bowl. It's best to scatter feed, and again, this is to encourage natural behaviour to keep them active and it will keep them healthy.

There are many different types of gerbil mixes on the market but always try and bulk this up, so add in different things as well. So, you just want a small handful of this and just scatter around in the cage. You can then purchase different products such as dried herbs, dried different plants and wild plants, and you can even add a small amount of good quality dry mixes as well and that will ensure they're getting plenty of protein in the diet.

So, just scatter these around. You could even just pop them into the part in the toilet rolls and that way, they've got to chew the toilet rolls up and find them. So, we then want to add the gerbils in.

When you are cleaning out your gerbils, it's a good idea if you can purchase a small pet carrier for them. It's going to keep them secure and comfortable whilst you're doing up the cleaning out. Do make sure you place some of their bedding into the accommodation and that way, they're going to feel far more comfortable and familiar with smells as well.

So, we're just going to add in a couple of their old toys that they have in here. This was a toilet roll which they already chewed. Gerbils should always be pets kept in groups, pairs and of the same sex.

They naturally live in small groups, so if you can mimic this, they'll be far happier kept in small groups as well. Obviously, be responsible, please don't breed from them. There are many gerbils in rescue shelters as well.

Lastly, you want to add on a secure lid. There are all sorts of gerbil ones, it's better if you can find one that