Gerbils, or desert mice, are small rodents like hamsters and are widely kept as pets. In keeping gerbils, it is important that you clean the cage often so that your gerbil does not have problems with his health. By cleaning your gerbil's cage regularly, the cage will not produce unpleasant odors. The cleaning process includes replacing the cage mat, washing the cage with soap and hot water, and placing nesting materials (materials for making nests, especially for pregnant animals), fresh food, and gerbil toys into the cage.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparation To Clean The Cage
Step 1. Keep your gerbil in a safe place during the cleaning process
Carefully take your gerbil out of their cage and place them in a safe place where they cannot escape. Running balls (a kind of clear ball that small animals can enter) or small cages can be good choices for securing your gerbil. In addition, you can also put it in the bath tub, as long as you can make sure that the drain hole is properly closed and the bath tub is dry.
- As long as your gerbil is not in its crate, make sure that no cats or dogs enter the room where you are guarding your gerbil. Keep your gerbil out of harm's way for an hour or, at least, as long as you clean the cage.
- You can purchase a special container called a critter keeper. Critter keeper is a kind of small cage specially designed to keep gerbils and other small rodents when they are not in their cage. Critter keepers are often also used as cages for small turtles, and even small aquariums. If you don't have an alternative place to keep your gerbil, a critter keeper can be a great choice.
Step 2. Cover the floor with several sheets of newsprint
This can protect the floor in the room where you are cleaning the cage from dirt and dirty cage equipment that may fall during the cleaning process. If newsprint is not available, you can use an old towel or tarp to cover your floor.
Step 3. Remove food containers, water bottles and toys from the cage
Place these items on newsprint. These items will be cleaned after you finish cleaning and drying the gerbil cage. Keep in mind that it's important that you clean your gerbil's feeding and water bottles frequently, just as you clean his cage.
Step 4. Keep a handful of old cage mats
Before you clean the entire cage, take a handful of the old cage mat and save it for later use after you've finished cleaning the cage. The old cage mat will be mixed with the new cage mat. The smell that clings to the old bedding can help your gerbil adapt back to his new cage conditions. This is especially important if your gerbil is an adult, as adult gerbils' behavior is largely influenced by the smells they smell.
- Choose a cage mat that is not too dirty. If the bottom of the cage is lumpy or has a lot of dirt, you should throw it away.
- Store the old bedding you took in a plastic container.
Step 5. Dispose of the remaining soiled cage mat
Most people throw soiled litter in the trash right away (and this can be a good disposal option). Alternatively, you can save the old bedding and compost it, or mix it with mulch (a type of organic compost) or fertilizer for your plants. Also throw away toys and nesting materials that have been damaged by your gerbil chewing or biting too often.
Part 2 of 3: Cleaning the Cages and Equipment
Step 1. Clean the cage with warm water mixed with soap
Rinse the cage until no more dirt remains on the walls or bars of the cage. You can use liquid dish soap, a mixture of water and vinegar or a cage cleaner that is safe for your pet. Never use harsh cleaning fluids (such as chlorinated liquids) as any remaining liquid residue can cause the gerbil to get sick.
- You can dry your gerbil cage by airing it or using a paper towel.
- If you need to do a deep cleaning, use a bleach solution for sometime cleaning. Make sure you rinse twice with hot water to remove any remaining bleach.
Step 2. Clean the rest of the enclosure equipment
Empty your gerbil's food container and clean it with warm water mixed with soap. Rinse thoroughly and dry. Also empty your gerbil water bottle and clean it with a mixture of warm water and soap. If the drain (straw pipe) on the water bottle is clogged, use a cotton swab to clean the drain. After cleaning, refill the drinking bottle with clean and fresh water. Finally, clean your gerbil spinning wheel toy or other plastic fixture attached to the cage.
Step 3. Line the cage with new cage mats and nesting material
Provide clean bedding such as Carefresh, corncob powder or aspen sawdust. Also include nesting material for your gerbil, such as a few sheets of unscented tissue. In addition to tissue, you can use pieces of cardboard, used tissue boxes, and toilet paper tubes or paper towel tubes to make nesting materials and toys for your gerbil to chew on. smells familiar to your gerbil.
- If you gave your gerbil a wheeled toy, put it back in the cage after cleaning. Make sure the toys are completely dry so that no water droplets fall and make the cage base wet.
- Put the water bottle back in the cage and place a small amount of fresh food in the bottom of the cage so your gerbil has something to dig for. This can put your gerbil at ease.
Step 4. Put your gerbil back in its cage
Carefully lower them and put them back in their cage, and let them observe their now clean living environment for a while. Make sure you give them a toy to chew on so that they feel comfortable when they return to their cage.
Part 3 of 3: Knowing Some Useful Rules of Practice
Step 1. Clean your gerbil's cage weekly or midweek
Gerbils live, feed and rest on the same bedding, so it's important that you replace them weekly or midweek. If you're diligent about changing your gerbil's bedding and cleaning the cage, it won't produce any unpleasant odors. Also, it's a good idea to mark the date on your calendar so you remember to clean your gerbil's cage regularly.
- Don't wait until the bottom of the cage starts to smell bad. An unpleasant odor coming from the bottom of the cage is a sign that the cage has not been cleaned in a long time, since the last time it was cleaned. If the bottom of the cage starts to smell bad, this means that you need to clean the cage more often.
- Cages made of plastic smell faster than cages made of glass. Therefore, instead of buying a plastic cage, it's a good idea to buy a glass cage that is around 37.9 liters (or larger, especially if you have more than two gerbils). Besides not smelling fast, you also don't need to clean the cage often.
Step 2. Change the bottom of the cage if it starts to get wet or gets dirty
During the cleaning process, check the base of the cage to make sure it feels dry and comfortable enough for your gerbil. If the base of the cage is spilled by drinking water or something else happens that causes the bottom of the cage to become wet or dirty, replace the bottom of the cage. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to clean the entire cage if the bottom of the cage is dirty; All you have to do is replace the soiled cage with a clean and dry cage.
Step 3. Make sure you leave a little bit of old nesting material to put back into the cage later
The mistake in the cleaning process for gerbil cages that many people make is that they clean the entire cage and remove all the old bedding and nesting material, then put in a completely new cage and toys. When you put your gerbil back in the cage you cleaned, your gerbil won't know where it is because it relies on their sense of smell. If you have more than one gerbil, removing familiar odors can actually encourage them to fight and ignore each other. That's why it's important that you keep some of the old bedding (especially the bedding) and put it back in after you've cleaned the cage.
You can also re-insert some gerbil toys that may have been chewed up or bitten a bit (as long as they haven't been completely damaged), as well as any other less-dirty cage equipment. As much as possible re-enter the items that can make the gerbil feel more comfortable
Step 4. Be careful with the materials you put in the cage
Make sure the bedding and nesting materials you provide are safe for your gerbil to use. Do not use paper that contains chemicals, pine sawdust, or other materials that are not recommended for gerbils because they can be harmful to your gerbil's health.
- Avoid using other tree sawdust, other than aspen tree sawdust. For example, pine or cedar sawdust contains oils that can be harmful to your gerbil's internal organs.
- You should also ensure that all wire surfaces are shielded with a material that prevents the gerbil's tail or legs from getting caught in the wire gaps. For example, if the cage has a spinning wheel toy, make sure you apply adhesive tape or duct tape to the surface of the wheel.
Tips
- Generally, gerbils like paper towel tubes or toilet paper tubes, as well as cardboard boxes of tissue.
- Gerbils love to run around in a spinning wheel toy, but use a mesh toy or full (no spokes) wheel toy. Wheel toys with bared surfaces can get your gerbil's legs and tail stuck in the crevices of the bars.
- Thoroughly clean your gerbil's cage every two weeks.
- There are cage products on the market. Some of the good quality products are: Wheat Scoop, Citra-max Critter Comfort, aspen sawdust, straw mat and Care-Fresh.
Warning
- Soap residue stuck to the cage can be harmful to your gerbil. Make sure you rinse thoroughly any soap residue on the cage.
- Do not use any other sawdust as a base for the cage other than aspen sawdust because the oil contained in the powder can be dangerous.
