Hello. I'm new to the list and can't find an archive
or FAQ to check for answers to my (pretty basic)
questions, so if anyone has advice and can reply to me
directly at [EMAIL PROTECTED], I'll appreciate it.
Sorry to clutter up the list with such basic
stuff--if I have missed an FAQ or searchable archive,
someone clue me in please and I'll look there for
answers.
My daughter has 2 female gerbils, a year and a half
old (how long will they live?). We have had a hard
time finding the right cage setup. We started with a
10 gal. aquarium with sliding wire mesh top, but one
day the exercise wheel got hung up on aspen chips and
the girls climbed up on top of it and chewed through
the mesh. My daughter walked in just in time to see
their little noses sticking out the top of the
aquarium...End of aquarium. So we ran out and bought
a large 2-level wire cage but could not find one with
a deep solid bottom. They chew A LOT on the
bars--have removed paint, which worries me that
they've ingested so much of that--and they kick out
LOTS of shavings etc. Plus I bet they miss digging
down into the deeper shavings we had in the aquarium
and I doubt the wire bars of the second level feel
good to their feet.
SO....we're about ready to go back to the aquarium
idea but had a hard time making a water bottle fit the
sliding mesh lid and obviously don't want them chewing
through annother lid, and possibly escaping this time.
Does anyone know of a really good gerbil aquarium
set-up, with good water bottle fitted in a way that it
can't be chewed up and no way to get out the mesh top?
Since our local pet store doesn't seem to have a good
option, maybe there's an online gerbil supply source?
<:-)
Final question: Wheels. We can't find a metal wheel
that seems safe for gerbil tails, and every plastic
one we try, they chew up overnight. Right now we have
the standard wire wheel anyway, and cross our fingers
that their tails won't get broken. It also squeaks,
and we have tried Pam, crisco, and safflower oil--all
wear off in a day or two. Any suggestions? We aren't
sure what lubricant is safe for them to ingest,
either...aaack.
Thanks for any advice,
Dana
(on behalf of busy gerbils Fluffy and Sarah)
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