I have found that odor in the tank varies with the type of bedding used.
I now use lightweight cardboard exclusively. My gerbs make their bedding
themselves and seem to be very happy with the arrangement. My neighbor
saves their toilet paper and paper towel tubes, cereal boxes, and any other
lightweight cardboard they would normally discard, and give it to me. I
sort out what is appropriate for the gerbs and compost the rest.
I clean the tank every 6-8 weeks with a mild dish detergent and water and
dry it thoroughly.
My gerbs tend to use one area of the tank for a potty area so I place a
sheet of paper on the glass there. They don't chew the paper if they have
lightweight cardboard. (I replace this sheet of paper weekly or as needed.
This helps immensely with the odor control.)
I replace their "den" when I wash their tank (actually a 3 liter wine box)
with a new one. I place it a little over the paper so that they have a
potty area about 4-5" at one side of their tank. Then I fill the other side
of their sturdy box "den" with an assortment of cardboard tubes, perhaps
tucked into a cereal box or a couple on top of the box.
As soon as I replace them back into their nice clean enclosure, they
literally attack the assortment of tubes and boxes. A tube usually last
10-20 minutes, depending on their mood. A cereal box lasts only a day.
Their tank sits on the end of our kitchen counter, above the trash. People
are surprised that we have rodents in the kitchen and many actually go to
their tank and smell it, but there is never a rodent odor with this system.
Every morning when their food is changed out, we give them a new box or
tubes as needed. (I think they look forward more to the cardboard then they
do to the fresh food!) During the day we put in anything that would be safe
to chew instead of throwing it in the trash, lightly soiled paper napkins (a
rare treat because we usually use cloth, but when they get it, they pull
into their den right away), a pasta box after removing the cellophane
window, etc...
Their food dish stays nicely on top of their den box, where it is easy to
exchange daily and it is up above the accumulating bedding material.
It usually takes about 2 weeks for the bedding to reach the top of their den
box, as well as the amount that they pack into the den. At this point I
have to remove some of the bedding or there is no room for the new
cardboard. (I put the shredded cardboard in the worm bin where they recycle
it into wonderful rich castings.)
The gerbs are active and healthy. They make trails in and through their
bedding. They rearrange the more manageable pieces of cardboard and just
seem to have fun. They are much more active then when I used a commercial
bedding.
Juanita
