Burrowing Box (Gerbils or Hamsters)

Well, I once saw an image during a search under burrowing boxes that inspired me to make this today for my Gerbil boys:

It’s not as long as I had wanted originally. It is as tall though. Eventually, I will have wood cut at Home Depot to be the size I would prefer for them. Right now though to fit and keep in the large piece of driftwood  that they love to use I had to have a box of this size and no larger. As of right now they love it.

Just four pieces of wood the same size – nailed together to form a cube (no bottom piece) and nailing to the sides the two wooden steps – and that is it. The picture really shows you all it is! I got everything from Michaels because our Michaels is next to Petsmart where I was today to get more fish for my aquarium. A quick peek in their wood section got me started.

When I came over to my blog to post this entry (I will get to posting Bob’s cage as well some other photos I have to share but this was something I was excited about today) I decided to do an update to my  “Process of a Gerbilarium” page. I renamed it appropriately: Process of a Gerbilarium and Gerbil FAQ. 

It’s still a work in progress just like the hamster pages.

Latest Gerbil Set Up & Gerbil DIY Plans

Not a lot of difference in the set up style. They appear to love the burrowing box which is piled up with substrate (hemp & aspen shavings & paper to shred) and drift wood to the side for climbing. This drift wood piece (I change out four different shaped pieces to keep them from boredom) has openings on the bottom like tunnels as well a hole through another arm of it. It’s the best piece I found for them as it really mimics tree roots. And this leaves the rest of the tank a flatter surface for a varied geography type combination.

So I just change out their burrowing box when I do a clean. For now that is working but I want to expand their space and I want something more permanent.

I have plans to go to Home Depot and get the supplies to build them a nice, high, wooden cube box (no bottom) with little planks attached to the side so they can climb it like steps to hop in. I saw something just like that in image search. So clever. I’d like it to fit pretty much almost half the tank to give them a great deal more space to tunnel.

And I also intend to build my own tank topper since commercially I can only find 10 -20 gallon toppers. I need one for a 40 gallon – that would get expensive even if I found one to buy. With mesh and cage clips I can do this myself and design it how I like. And I’m sure for a fraction of the cost of one online. When I start on these projects I’ll of course post it as a DIY section along with my million other goals for this blog. Like a FAQ on Gerbils as well finish my FAQ on Hamsters.

Difficult to see but it’s not as cluttered as it seems. Behind the driftwood and under that bridge there is a lot of empty space for them. The driftwood also is raised at the bottom a bit and with a lot of tunnel like gaps.

It’s difficult to see but those dark spots on the bottom of the driftwood are gaps which are very large and the gerbils run through them to and fro with ease. They really love all the hideaways this particular piece of driftwood gives them.

My attempt to show more gaps under and behind the driftwood. But it’s really hard unless I could wedge myself behind the tank to get a shot from behind. Anyway, I think most Gerbil owners realize how you could upgrade and upgrade and upgrade and nothing would seem big enough for these busy little hellions. I wish I could have a wrap around tank in my living room. What fun that would be to watch them travel all around doing gerbil things.

Burrowing Box: a Tour of current Gerbil set up

AND this is my 50th post!

I know, I know. Gerbils would probably be happiest with a tank full of substrate to burrow in. The longer and higher the better. But I think as Gerbils also love a change up in their environment to stave off boredom that having a burrow box now and then is good fun. So, I found a sizable and sturdy, thick cardboard box (mine seem to never have an interest in chewing through thick cardboard) and filled it up all the way with substrate and put a piece of driftwood on top so they’d have the “roots” to burrow between and under like in the natural environment and then left the rest of the place low level substrate, place their sand bath in there, and some tunnels and such. On top of that is a gigantic piece of driftwood to climb and perch and use as a ladder to get in and out of their burrowing box.

Well, I wasn’t too surprised but they love it! They have been spending a great deal of time in and out of their burrow box and climbing and jumping off and onto their driftwood “tree” and running about their flat area. And the sand box was an addition a week ago when I changed out their substrate completely and did a clean. They go to the bathroom in that just like my hamsters. So, now I have litter trained Gerbils! They also (like the hamsters) enjoy to groom in the box and do their zen type meditation it seems. Gosh I love these guys!

I also placed a lot of things for them to chew up and gnaw on within their burrowing box and tossed a handful of food for them to forage about inside. Having it so contained (smaller but much deeper burrowing space is much more fun for them so far. Pretty much, I think it’s mainly the idea that Gerbils like to have change to keep it exciting and the newness of this is making them come alive again.

Making these Gerbils happy and playful is always such a high light of my day. They had such dismal beginnings and now I feel like I’m giving them so much.

Let Mercury give you the tour of the sandbox/aka litter box, the food/treat bowl (a terra cotta pot), the overlook (very top of the driftwood), and now entering the burrowing box.

I tell my husband often – if these guys are so much fun can you imagine “normal” gerbils? Meaning – gerbils who were socialized and had more humane beginnings than these guys? The type who are more tame and hop on your arm and want to explore outside the tank and get to know their people? We’ve come a long way. And I know that by the end of this year we’ll have come and even longer way. Will it get to the point they are so tame they are hitch a ride on my shoulder? I don’t know. Maybe they never will. And that’s okay. If I didn’t have children I’d spend so much free time with them that they probably would have overcome quite more in a shorter period of time. At the same time the activity of my oldest child running about has done it’s job in getting them less skittish of our movement too. Without children I’d be working somewhere else all day.