I did something like this for my 8th grade science project. I set up two
tanks; one with toys, wheels, ect. and one with just food and water, and
monitered how the gerbils did. This was before I was educated about gerbils
so my "pairs" were actually two boys each; Gillian and Piper and Lilly and
Taya. (Yeah, they were supposed to be girls...heh. Dumb petstore) We ended
up placing first, it was really fun. In addition to the cage enviornment,
we also weighed the gerbils and ran them through a maze, timing them. It
was a lot of fun for both me and the gerbils! :) I don't know where you're
located, but if you're anywhere near Eau Claire, you're welcome to take my
maze. Otherwise, it's super easy to make your own...let me know if you want
more info.
Good luck! :)
*Tasha*
>From: Jocelyn Kessinger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: Jocelyn Kessinger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Natural Housing
>Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 18:58:42 -0600
>
>Hi,
> Every year for school I have to do a science fair project. I always
>seem to wait till the last minute and just barely get done in time. I also
>always tend to do the project on things that I don't really care about, so
>therefore I don't care about the project. Well this year I decided to
>change all that. I wanted to do something with gerbils (nothing that would
>hurt them), so it would be something I enjoy. I also decided to start as
>soon as I got the idea so I would not have to rush anything. Oh and this
>project will actually be next years I already have one started (before I
>got breeding gerbs) for this year. Anyway........
> I was reading this gerbil book I got for x-mas (I wrote a message on
>it earlier), and I came up on the section about housing. The book talked
>about how some more experienced gerb owners use a method called Natural
>Group Housing. In which the cage is filled with clean dirt and natural
>things and the gerbs are allowed to build their own tunnels, etc. I thought
>this would be a really cool and interesting science project.
> I would set up one 20 gallon tank using this method, and one 20 gallon
>tank using the "traditional" synthetic method. I would monitor the tanks
>till this time next year and keep a detailed log of everything that
>happens. I could watch the death rate, birth rate, activeness, how long
>they live. That was all I could think of can anyone else thing of anything
>else? And what do you all think of this in general? Also any info on this
>type of housing or anything else you think I need to know is greatly
>appreciated. Thanx.
>
>Jocie Kessinger
>The Titan Clan
>
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