Making sure your gerbil has a suitable home will help keep them happy and healthy. While these animals are small, they need quite a bit of room to roam, and you’ll have to make sure you meet all their living requirements — including plenty of space for digging, tunnels to hide in, an exercise wheel to run on and a dust bath to keep clean.
Despite what you might think, a gerbilarium is quite different to a home for hamsters or guinea pigs. A common mistake new gerbil owners make is buying their pet cages for other small animals such as hamsters, without realising these are not suitable.
Stay away from any plastic cages or items for your gerbil, as they have sharp teeth and can easily chew through plastic. They could then ingest it or cut themselves on the discarded plastic.
To ensure you are meeting all your gerbil’s needs, read on below about how to setup a gerbil cage.
What You Will Need To House Your Gerbil
Gerbilarium
For your gerbil setup, you will need a large cage, fish tank or gerbilarium. This must have a solid (non-mesh) bottom so their feet don’t get caught.
A rule of thumb is that each gerbil requires about 5 gallons of space, so for two gerbils you should have a house at least 80 cm wide x 40 cm deep x 35 cm tall. Don’t forget — your gerbil will live their whole life in their tank, so the bigger the space you can give them, the better.
Gerbils love to dig, and this is a natural behavior for them. To encourage this, you should give them plenty of bedding, about 20-30 cm high, so they can dig and tunnel. This is another reason you won’t want a wired bottom home — the bedding will go everywhere!
Because they love to dig, we recommend you buy or construct a gerbilarium for your gerbils. The bottom half should be the tank, full of lots of bedding in which they can dig, and the top half should be a cage to store their food and water dish. If you do decide to construct your own gerbilarium, ensure it is safe before you put your gerbil inside. If there are any sharp edges or holes in the enclosure, you shouldn’t take the risk.
We do not recommend you buy a plastic cage for your gerbil. Gerbils have very sharp teeth, and can easily gnaw through plastic. Not only may they ingest the plastic, but they’ll also be able to escape!
Ensure your gerbil’s enclosure has proper ventilation. When it gets warm, they will need to be able to keep cool. Glass or plastic lids offer very little ventilation. Alongside this, you will also want to make sure the opening to your gerbilarium is adequate. It will be difficult to clean if you can’t get your arm in!
Bedding
Your gerbilarium should be filled one-third deep (at least 7 to 12 inches deep) with bedding materials to give your gerbils plenty of space to dig, tunnel, hoard their food and urinate.
There are different types of suitable bedding for your gerbil. These include aspen, recycled paper shavings, organic soil or peat with meadow or Timothy hay. Hay is a good option because it mimics what your gerbil would use in the wild, and also provides them something to chew on.
Depending on the type of bedding you use, you may need to place two different types of bedding in you gerbilarium to ensure your gerbil can tunnel properly.
Bedding that is not suitable for your gerbil include cedar shavings (which contain harmful oils), paper with ink, and newspaper. You also shouldn’t use any fleece-style or fluffy bedding that your gerbil could ingest, or soil from your garden that may contain harmful parasites.
You can find out more about the best type of bedding for your gerbil here.
If you’re using more than one type of bedding, you can either mix them or place them in layers in your gerbil’s home. Your gerbil will kick up the substrate and rearrange it how they like it, so it doesn’t matter how you place it in there.
It is, however, important that you don’t place anything heavy, such as food dishes or bowls, directly on top of the bedding. If you do, they won’t be able to chew it up and tunnel with it. Make sure there is a shelf (or cage) on top of the bedding to hold food and water dishes.
Nest Box
Gerbils like to build a nest where they can relax, sleep and feel like they are safe. To do this, you might want to provide them something extra in their home.
Some gerbils will be happy using their bedding to nest, but some may benefit from a small wood, cardboard, or ceramic box to nest in. A clay plant pot cut in half can also work. We recommend you stay away from plastic nesting boxes as your gerbil can use their sharp teeth to gnaw through these easily.
Tunnels, Toys and Platforms
Just like humans, gerbils need exercise — both physical and mental. Providing them with tunnels, toys and platforms helps to keep your gerbil active and entertained at all times.
There are many different types of toys and tunnels out there on the market for gerbils. We recommend you stay away from plastic toys and tunnels, as these can easily be chewed through. Cardboard boxes and toilet roll tubes are great toys, although will be destroyed quickly so will need to be replaced.
Wooden toys are a good option, but ensure they are sturdy and won’t splinter. Your gerbil will find any wood in their home to chew on to help wear down their ever-growing teeth, so giving them some sticks and branches is a great idea. Make sure the wood is untreated and has not been sprayed with chemicals. We recommend branches from fruit trees.
Your gerbil will appreciate different platforms to explore in their home. They may also like ladders or ramps to climb up and down. Rocks also make an excellent “lookout” point for your gerbil!
If you regularly rearrange the contents of your gerbilarium, this can help keep your gerbil mentally stimulated.
There are lots of different toys on the market for your gerbil. Read about our favorite toys for your gerbil.
Sand Bath
Gerbils like to keep clean with a dust or sand bath, which will help keep their coat in a good condition. You can create a dust bath for them using chinchilla sand.
Learn about how to set up a sand bath here.
Exercise Wheel
Gerbils are very active animals and therefore you should provide them with an exercise wheel so they can fulfil their daily exercise requirements.
However, this exercise wheel should be a solid wheel, not one with rungs like a hamster wheel. A wheel with rungs is extremely dangerous for gerbils, as their tails get caught in the gaps as the wheel is turning.
You should ensure the wheel is big enough for your gerbil to run in it comfortably — seven or eight inches in diameter is a good size. If it is too small, they will not want to use the wheel.
Many gerbil wheels on the market are made of plastic. This is because they are easy to manufacture. However, they are not really suitable for gerbils. Gerbils have very sharp teeth and can easily gnaw through plastic. We recommend you purchase a wheel made of wood.
Food and Water
Gerbils need fresh food and water every day to keep healthy. As pets, gerbils need a balanced diet specifically formulated for them, which may come in the form of pellets or a mixture of different seeds. You can also give them fruits (pear, melon, apple, oranges) and vegetables (cucumber, carrot, pumpkin and fennel).
You should follow the manufacturers guideline on how much to feed them. Sprinkle the food over the top of their bedding to avoid squabbling over food.
A gerbil can drink water from a dish or a water bottle, but a water bottle is usually the best choice. You can purchase these online or at a pet store, and they clip to the side of your gerbil’s cage.
To learn more about feeding your gerbil, read our guide.
Where Should I Put My Gerbil’s Home?
The gerbilarium should be kept indoors, as gerbils are very sensitive to changes in temperature. The best temperature is between 60°F to 70°F and relatively dry (below 50% humidity). To avoid the temperature changing too much, don’t put their home near any drafts, radiators or in direct sunlight.
You should ensure your gerbil’s home is away from any loud noises, such as the TV or speakers. They’re also sensitive to vibrations, so placing them near large household appliances is also not recommend.
Do I Need More Than One Gerbil?
Depending on the breed of gerbil you own, you may need more than one gerbil in your tank.
The Mongolian gerbil, which is the most common pet gerbil species, is not a solitary species and should not be housed alone. You should purchase two Mongolian gerbils of the same sex from the same litter, because this will reduce the chance of them fighting.
The other, less common, pet gerbil species is the fat-tailed gerbil. While these gerbils are very docile around humans, they can become very territorial and therefore should only be housed alone.
Learn more about the Mongolian gerbil and the fat-tailed gerbil.
How Often Should I Clean Out My Gerbil?
Unfortunately, cleaning out your gerbil should be a daily occurrence. It can seem like a chore, but it will ensure they are comfortable and help prevent them from getting sick.
Daily, you should remove any wet and dirty bedding and leftover food. You should also clean and replace their food and water containers.
Because gerbils are clean animals, they will only need a proper cleaning out once a week. This will include removing and replacing all their bedding. Make sure to leave a small amount of their soiled bedding in their home, so they are left with a familiar smell.
Once every couple of months, you should give your gerbil’s home a deep clean. This means removing all their bedding, and spraying down their enclosure with pet-friendly cleaning spray. You’ll then need to replace everything.
Learn more about cleaning out your gerbil here.
