Hi,
> Personally I don't like those balls. I have always thought they were
> cruel.
Yes, I agree. In Germany most associations which are interested in
animal welfare condemn them. Also you will have a hard time to find a
pet magazine that writes a good word about them. Usually they are listed
amongst other things as absolute no-nos.
Like I said many times before: Gerbils explore their environment mostly
by smell. Also they like to be able to run for cover. And they want to
investigate in all the little odds and ends they find with their teeth
and paws. All this natural behaviour is strongly impaired in the ball.
I guess a closely supervised run (only a few minutes) on the desk is
much more rewarding for a gerbil. All the little things to find and all
the books and boxes to climb. Also an hour's playtime with lots of TP
rolls in the bath tub is always appreciated.
The plastic ball looks like fun to us. But this doesn't automatically
imply that it's fun to the gerbils, too.
Eva
