# What is the matter with my gerbils?



## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

What substrate are you using?


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

The substrate would be my guess - if it's too tightly packed they could have problems digging into it.


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## HazelandDan (Apr 22, 2012)

I bury boxes and tubes and bits of cardboard etc in the substrate to encourage them to dig down - hide food and treats in there that they can smell. once they've explored my artificial tunnels they start making their own.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Mine have always dug down into any substrate I use.I don't think gerbils forget how to dig. Maybe it's packed down too tightly?What are you using?How deep is it exactly?When I used to keep gerbils many years ago before I knew about how to look after them properly I used to put hardly any bedding in, and they were in barred cages with shallow trays, but they used to dig up all the paper and newspaper off the floor and dig in that,so I think it's very unusual if they don't dig at all. Do they look lively or are they a bit lethargic?


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Wobbles said:


> Sorry forgot to put, their kept on either Megazorb or aubiose. They are plenty lively enough, run around, shred cardboard to bits in seconds and are bright eyed and bushy tailed. They just won't or don't dig. They are at the moment in a big glass tank with lots of bedding, but my brother is in the middle of making them a much better 'gerbil tower'. But no matter how deep the stuff is, they don't seem to know how to burrow through it. If I dropped them in the whole aubiose sack they'd just sit on the top!


Ive never heard of this, it might be worth breaking the bedding up to loosen it up, theres no way it could have got damp is there?


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

What about putting some tubes and wooden toys under the aubiose to see if they get curious about them, and bored with no toys on the surface. What kind of cage do you have? Im asking because I had a gerbil in a gerbilarium for a short time and all he did was sit at the top chewing the bars, they really are happiest in a deep tank.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Guest (Nov 26, 2012)

Wobbles said:


> Their in a big glass tank atm. I will try that as they love chewing card so maybe they'll climb down to it!:cornut:


How big is big tho?
The size of the tank could be having an impact, what is the actual size?


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## LittlePaws AnimalRescue (Sep 11, 2012)

Have you tried putting a tube half way into the substrate with the top bit sticking out (but having it at an angle so they can climb in and out)
That way they can run down the tube into the substrate and hopefully start to dig to go further when they get to the end of the tube.

I've never had gerbils that didn't dig, that's very odd of your 3! Especially with it being all 3 of them. If 1 gerbil didn't like to dig that could be seen as a quirky gerbil but all 3 is kinda odd, bless them.
I hope they start to dig soon.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Have you tried them with a sandbath to see if they dig in that?Have they always had aubiose or were they on a different bedding before?Maybe they don't like the bedding?Mine has a mix of finacard,straw,kitchen roll,megazorb and shavings and digs a lot.I've not tried the aubiose, so don't know what it's like but is it possible it's too dense for them?


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

What did they have before when they did dig?


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## Guest (Nov 27, 2012)

Wobbles said:


> By dense, do you mean too tightly compacted? As if so, then no, this particular bag is actually really loose for aubiose. And Megazorb is very loosely packed, but they wouldn't dig in that either. I don't give hay incase they get tiny mites out of it. Kitchen paper they make a nest of and rip up, but always on top of the substrate.


Never had a case of mites here ever and I feed hay all the time. If you are worried about your supplier then freeze the hay first.

Gerbils need hay..


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

I forgot to add mine has hay too-I put a handful on top of the substrate and by morning it's all mixed in with the rest as are all the toilet rolls etc


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## Guest (Nov 27, 2012)

polishrose said:


> I forgot to add mine has hay too-I put a handful on top of the substrate and by morning it's all mixed in with the rest as are all the toilet rolls etc


The hay is needed to support the tunnels, that is most likely the reason why these gerbils don't dig. If you think about it there isn't much point if the tunnels just collapse on themselves lol.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Guest (Nov 27, 2012)

Wobbles said:


> Same stuff, either aubiose or megazorb. That's why I can't understand it.
> 
> Hang on a minute, I think I've mixed up here, by 'hay' do you mean the stuff that looks like grass, or the spikey yellow stuff off the farm? I always get the 2 mixed up:lol:


Same stuff you should be feeding your rabbits, the stuff that looks like grass is readigrass not hay.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Guest (Nov 27, 2012)

Wobbles said:


> Oh that stuff? Yes they do get that, they either eat it or make it into a bed on top of the bedding. If you mean the thicker yellow hay stuff, no I don't give that, in case there's mites in it which would spread round everyone in the rodent shed. It's also rather sharp and one gerb has already lost one eye.


Get better quality hay then, as I said if you freeze the hay then mites won't be an issue.

What you are describing (thicker yellow hay stuff) sounds like straw not hay.

Can you take a picture of it to clear it up?


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Guest (Nov 28, 2012)

Wobbles said:


> I cant remember the make, but this looks like what I feed the buns on and give the gerbils:
> 
> hay - Google Search
> 
> ...


Those just bring up the google results for many types of hay, as I said grab a picture and that will help.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Guest (Nov 28, 2012)

Wobbles said:


> Right, I've now managed to get some pics>
> 
> This is the one the rabbits eat. The gerbils get this one, and they either eat it or make a nest with it.
> 
> ...


You could try mixing shavings, megazorb and hay (shavings are fine to use for gerbils so long as they are good quality) so it encourages them to dig down for the hay and the tunnels might hold more structure with the mixture than it does with megazorb alone.

Just an idea.


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

I had gerbils that never dug as a kid, I think they were raised on very little substrate as you see in the pet shops and they just never got it. 

They would make lovely nests in a corner of their zoo zone though


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Guest (Nov 29, 2012)

Wobbles said:


> I will try that, see if it works. *Am I right in thinking the straw is no good for them?* Or can I actually use it?
> 
> See, that's why I'm puzzled. I've had these since they were 6-8 weeks old, and they've always had plenty of bedding to burrow in, which they did. I could understand if they'd never had much bedding, but as it is its like they've either forgotten what to do or simply just stopped.:sosp:


yes you are right, straw is too rigid and course so could easily cause an eye injury.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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