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Have they settled down now? And did you transfer some of their old bedding into their new enclosure?

@PetConnectionInternational I didn't get any old bedding with me, but they are doing better, but they are still working out who is the alpha.

@@tyscha6102 okay, keep a close eye on them, if they start fighting or relentlessly chasing each other they may need separated. I'd suggest lowering the bedding for now to keep an eye on them, and slowly increase it every few days once they settle

And also, how often should i clean the Cage?

Yes they do, they can jump 30cm or more, you should always have a lid on the enclosure to prevent escapes. In the minimum size enclosure (100x50x50cm) with a bare minimum of 25cm (40cm+ much better) of good absorbent bedding, they should only need a full clean every 2-3 months, keeping around a third of the old (cleanest) bedding to put back in. They should be spot cleaned daily, cleaning their wheel, cleaning any poos & pees on their platforms, scooping the pees & poos out of their sand bath and changing their water, and their sand bath should be fully changed weekly

I got it from Amazon I believe. But I should point out, they're not suitable as permanent homes due to the chew out risk and not meeting the minimum 100x50x50cm, I only used mine as a temporary home until I upgraded to a glass tank 🙂

Don't beat yourself up too much, there's a lot of misinformation about bonding gerbils, many people think they're just like rats & mice and can live in large groups, but that's just not the case at all. Once a clan is formed the gerbils tend to treat any newcomer as an outsider and attack them (as you've unfortunately witnessed first hand), that's why 2-1 bondings aren't recommended, except where the pair are babies (less than 8 weeks old). I recommend stopping the bonding, leaving the pair on their own, and if you're able to find a single friend for your solo, or re-home him to someone with another single boy so they can be bonded. It's very obvious how much you care about them, this is a very common mistake due to all of the misinformation about gerbils, please try not to be too hard on yourself ❤️

Yes, or a bonded pair, but they can sometimes require more management to make sure they stay bonded (although siblings sometimes require extra management too)

It doesn't really make much difference 🙂 I recently adopted a couple of 1.5 year olds and have worked to tame them successfully. The main difference is going to be with really shy/anxious gerbs, they take a bit more work to tame (like Luna). Most are reasonably confident to start with, some require no taming at all and just hop right on your hands (like my sandy & pearl)

I'm sorry for your loss ❤️

@@PetConnectionInternational ❤️

Yes you're right, glass is best. However, this video was about the pros and cons of keeping gerbils, not about enclosures. Whenever I have talked about enclosures I have said that glass is best, but hard plastic tubs can work as temporary enclosures, but they're not suitable as permanent homes. I've so far never had any gerbil chew out of the plastic tubs, although it is definitely a risk, and they now have a glass tank 🙂 Yes cutting extra holes in hides is a good idea, I always recommend making sure hides have at least 2 exits, especially for bonded pairs

As long as it's meadow or Timothy hay it should be fine, I personally get my meadow hay from b&m as it's much cheaper. You could use that mix, but it's likely to get smelly very quickly, I'd recommend using hemp instead of paper 🙂

@@PetConnectionInternational thank you! Also when I said paper I meant care-fresh because I couldn’t remember what it was called, is that still fine?

Yes it's fine, but I do find it gets smelly very quickly, and is also super dusty, especially when they shred it

@@PetConnectionInternational thanks, I’ll probably switch it for hemp when I clean out the cage then

The bin cages aren't suitable as permanent homes due to the chew out risk and not meeting the minimum 100x50x50cm (for hamsters or gerbils). If you're planning to get a hamster, definitely look into getting a large tank, I got my 120x40x50cm one on Facebook marketplace for only £20! ☺️

The cage part is just the topper, they have a 240l tank underneath, unfortunately the whole cage isn't suitable as a permanent home as it's much too small, the ethical minimum is 100x50x50cm (not including any topper). You can often find second hand tanks on resale sites like Facebook marketplace for cheap, that's where I got my tank for only £20! ☺️

@@PetConnectionInternational thanks ❤🎉

In the minimum size tank (100x50x50cm) with 25-40cm+ of good absorbent bedding like hemp, you should only need to change it every 2-3 months, keeping around a third of the old (cleanest) bedding to put back in 🙂

They're from semi-desserts with Sandy soil, they don't bathe in dust (like chinchillas who bathe in volcanic ash), that's why I recommend regular sand like they'd have in the wild 🙂 but for this there isn't solid research into it, it's just trying to piece it together with some commonly shared views and what they would experience in the wild

@@PetConnectionInternational thank you so much!

You can't force them to run on the wheel if they don't want to. You can let them out for more free roam time in a playpen to give them more exercise, but if they're gaining weight I'd suggest reducing their food a little

@@PetConnectionInternational thx 👍

Why can't you just get a pair of siblings?

How old are they? As long as they're healthy, yes it's worth it, I recently bonded my 3 year old girl and I know someone that's bonded a 4 year old gerbil successfully

@@PetConnectionInternational 3 years old and when my gerbil died would I have to get another gerbil for the one that is still alive?

It's gerbil pellets & mashed banana for the cake, then 100% peanut butter & mashed strawberry for the icing, and some mealworms for the candles ☺️

@@PetConnectionInternational thanks 😊 it’s my gerbils’ birthday soon so I want to try it out 🎂🐹

Yeah, it's great to see the progress they're making! Still have some improvements to make but it's so good to know that they're not selling those tiny horrendous things anymore!

Glad I could help! Please note that bin cages like this are only suitable as temporary homes, there is a chew out risk with them being made from plastic and they don't meet the minimum 100x50x50cm required for gerbils. It's definitely worth keeping an eye on resale sites like Facebook Marketplace, you can often find old fish tanks for sale there, I was able to get my 120x40x50cm glass tank for only £20! 😊

I'm so sorry for your loss, it's never easy losing these little guys ❤️ I would definitely get your remaining one a friend, they are social animals and need the company of other gerbils, even adults can bond successfully, I recently bonded my 3 year old girl and I know someone that's successfully bonded a 4 year old gerbil too

It is a risk, that's why the disclaimer at 0:14 said they're not suitable as permanent homes. However with all the gerbils I've housed in temporary bin cages, none of them have chewed them

They often use their poos as scent trails 🙂

Gerbils that were in the same litter as have never been separated won't need bonding, you only need to bond gerbils that don't know each other or have been separated. I should also point out that pet stores usually get their gerbils from rodent mills and are treated very poorly, by buying animals from stores we are effectively telling them that we love what they're doing and want them to make more, which encourages them to keep up these awful practices. Many people make this mistake, I did at first, but it's best to never buy animals from stores and instead look to re-home them from ethical rescues instead 🙂

In the minimum size tank (100x50x50cm+) with 25-40cm+ of good absorbent bedding like hemp, every 2-3 months, keeping around a third of the old cleanest bedding to put back in 🙂

@@PetConnectionInternational 😊

Have you looked into bin cages? They're not suitable as permanent homes, but if funds are tight they can be great for giving them more space. It's also worth looking into seeing if you could foster another gerbil from a rescue, not only will it help to make your single gerbil feel less alone by setting them up as neighbours, you also get to help out a local rescue 🙂

@@PetConnectionInternational I’ll ask my parents and I’ll alone look into the websites and see which one I think my would like I’ve had a bunch of space so I could get another one anyways thank you so much especially for responding to all of my comments most pet channels when I ask questions don’t respond😭

I may do another review video at some point. The minimums that gerbils need are an enclosure that's 100x50x50cm or bigger (not including any topper), 25cm of bedding depth at bare minimum (40cm+ is much better), 28/30cm+ wheel and lots of things to chew like cardboard and toys, and you can also add some hides and tunnels in the bedding, even cardboard boxes can work as a low cost option. They also need access to a sand bath ideally 24/7, but if they're prone to infections (many albinos are), you can give it to them for 20 minutes per day to allow them to clean themselves 🙂

@@PetConnectionInternational thanks so much! I am making new card board hides and also two ceramic hides and if you ever plan on making a new review vid please let me know so I can find out how to send photos❤️

@ieatbugs22222 keep an eye out on my community tab and Instagram, if I do another enclosure review I'll post about it there 🙂

You're welcome, glad it could help 😊