Beki Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>Hi All
>
>Looking for some advice please.
>
>I actually managed to catch Pet Rescue on Friday (UK TV show on, well,
>rescuing of pet LOL), and the appeal at the end was looking for a home for
>two female gerbils. They were offering these girls with a large acquarium
>which they said was filled with Peat (called it a peatarium) which they said
>was the best thing to keep gerbils in. I want to do this with my two
>acquariums. so:
>
>do you just buy a bag of peat from the garden centre and chuck it in?
>
>or do you have to add other stuff like hay etc?
>
>What about bacteria in the peat? Do you need to steralise it somehow?
>
>Is this the set up I remember reading about where you have to water the
>acquarium every couple of days?
>
>I would really appreciate any advice on this, especially if someones tried
>it themselves. I just feel it might give my girls a more interesting set
>up.
>
>Thanks in advance
>
>
>Beki
>Mom to Milly, Molly and Mandy
>
You are summarising many of the issues that make keeping gerbils on peat
such hard work. Bear in mind it is much heavier than other materials,
the water spray will tend to make uneaten food go mouldy or sprout, and
gerbils on peat will tend to spend a lot of time underground and can
become more timid and less tame. Further, some people have found that
the peat is so heavy it can collapse and injure gerbils.
I am not saying you can't use peat, but it is a lot of work to keep it
safe.
--
Julian
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
National Gerbil Society
http://www.gerbils.co.uk/
