Soil is not one of the best materials for gerbils in a caged environment. It is a LOT of work to maintain and can also harbor molds and germs. Yes, it is indeed what the gerbils have in the wild, but gerbils average life span in the wild is around 1 year or less, so we may not want to mimic their natural surroundings too closely. In other words, caged gerbils can tend to be a bit spoiled, but for their own good. Plus in the wild they have unlimited space in which to build and rebuild burrows. In a tank the burrows can become much more "soiled" (no pun intended)than in the wild.
If you do still choose to use soil be sure there is no kind of fertilizer or pesticides in the soil you use. Do not use soil you go and dig up yourself. It can have all sorts of vermin in it and things not good for the gerbils. I have also read that peat moss is bad for gerbils, and in some places I have read that it is ok. I don't know. I also do not know about organic compost, but doesen't it have some sort of gas it puts of? Here are some instructions I read somewhere on this: Mix a little clay, a good amount of planting soil and a small amount of hay with enough water to moisten the mixture but not get it "wet". Fill the tank deep enough for the gerbils to dig their burrow. This dirt must be kept moist for the gerbils to be able to keep their burrows from collapsing and minimize the amount of dust. Use some sort of spray bottle once or twice daily to "rain" on the dirt. If you want to prevent your gerbils from getting wet or muddy while this soaks in take them out when you do it. Be careful not to get the soil too wet, or allow it to become too dry. Burrowing mixture may need to be changed as often as other bedding materials. Other disadvantages besides the difficult maintenance are that your gerbils may become less social in a tunnel/ soil environment since they have such a safe place to escape being picked up. Although gerbils that are already well tamed might still come out to be held. When a gerbil is ill or injured he may be harder to get to to give him medical treatment. And gerbils may suffer the normal illnesses they could in the wild from living in a dirt environment. I have done this far in the past for about two months so my son, then 6 years old, could see how gerbils live in the wild, then we returned to the normal, safer and more convenient methods of housing. As for dividing a tank, I will see if I can find some instructions someone else wrote on that and then post it in another letter. Jade __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com
