Over the years, my beautiful boys and girls have tried children's play sand, bird grit and chinchilla dust. Though rather fine, chinchilla dust seems to have the edge, despite my misgivings about respiratory problems. Mr Reardon and Miss Molly tend to get sore noses when using coarser varieties. The type of sand you'll be obliged to buy depends less on availability than the clear preferences of your gerbils, I'm afraid - bird sand may be offered as a last resort (hmm), but expect some miserable faces. Still, from their point of view, I'm sure that any sand beats no sand, so long as its poured deep and plentiful into the largest bowl that you can find. A large roasting tin - think ten pound turkey - appears to be just the right size for two temperamental male mice of middle years, filled with sand one and a half to two inches deep...but don't expect it to stay in the tin for long! Cal W on behalf of Messrs Recznik and Reardon, Miss Molly-mouse and Miss Genista-Mole.
