Not palm wood? Is it poisonous?
-----Original Message-----
From: Gerbil Discussion List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf
Of Deb Rebel
Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2000 9:17 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: :C Questions about materials etc.
><< I've seen sites that mentioned making houses out of LEGOs, but I don't
know
> if that is really safe. >>
>
>My site has a lego house on it, LEGOs are OK to use but only for a very
short
>time while supervised. If you leave it in the tank it will get gnawed on.
In general, gerbils gnaw. A lot. They can destroy stuff in very short
order. Some small hard plastic crock dishes I have used for years
with dedicated gnawing hamsters, a gerbil can destroy totally in a
few days.
*Anything hard and sharp if it fragments or splinters is not good.
This includes most plastics. A crockery dish, if it chips, is dangerous.
(so be careful about using crockery, if it is hard fired and glazed,
and the surface is not cracked, it works)
*Anything with fibers is not good
This is anything made of cotton, poly or poly wool. Fabric is bad.
Anything looking like cotton balls or toy stuffing is bad. Any of those
'compressed' bedding blocks, are bad.
Fibers wrap around limbs and amputate, around necks and strangulate,
if ingested causes a fatal intestinal blockage. Don't say 'I use it now
and my gerbil is fine' as sooner or later it will happen and it is very
painful and you will be so sorry.
Anything of paper or cardboard (not coated) is GOOD. The fibers are
very very short and low tensile strength, and will 'dissolve' if ingested.
Try to avoid sharp edges on paper, they can cut badly (think of your
own paper cuts). Elmer's white glue is ok, it is non toxic and inert.
You can make stuff of hard plastic such as Lego blocks as long as
you allow them to use/play under supervision.
Take a large cardboard box and create a 'playbox' environment for
your gerbil; and as long as you are there to supervise and interact,
you may put other things in the box for them to climb on and through.
Do prevent chewing, by always putting a small block of wood (pine
or apple) in the cage you normally keep your gerbil in, for chewing.
Also, give a toilet tissue cardboard roll, they enjoy trashing those
and it won't hurt them. When in the playbox, give them a toilet tissue
roll also. If they feel like chewing, they can chew that.
Specialty or homemade toys of wood are ok as long as it is not exotic
wood or pressure treated. I take chunks of 4x4 pine (10cm x 10cm)
and drill a hole through from three directions. (think of a single dice,
and a hole drilled from each face through to the middle). I make the
hole about 1 1/2 in diameter (about 4 cm). This uses up scrap of
untreated and unfinished wood that I have from various projects, and
gives them something to climb on, through, and chew on. One of
these blocks lasts a long long time. You can buy them commercially;
I'm just ultra cheap and have the drill press, clamps, and extra wood
to make them myself.
Do NOT use Cedar. Do NOT use palmwood. Stick to something like
white or yellow pine; or fruit tree wood (apple or pear).
It can be great fun to make toys for your gerbils, just think of making
them safe. And some things that are not acceptable when they are
unsupervised, may be allowable as long as you are there the whole
time supervising so they don't destroy and eat some of it.
Deb
Rebel's Rodent Ranch
