Yeah when I got my first gerbils the pet store told me to use pine bedding and later on it caused serious problems for my gerbils. One's nose got super red and swollen and lost it's fur around his nose. Once I figured out it was the bedding I changed the bedding to a paper brand but it still took like two weeks to heal. Poor thing was downright miserable for a while. I would suggest not using it.
I couldn't agree more. The amount of gerbils I have seen on an alfalfa based diet is quite saddening. Hay is enrichment, not food. Thank you for watching :) !
Good video. One of my 3 gerbils is alergic to Carefresh, so we end up with plain homemade schreeded kitchen paper, which along to a month treatment solved the problem :) I am also aware that other gerbils are affected by dust, but many bedding brands produce them dusty, unfortunately
Thank you ! That is so interesting, and it can be common so I'm happy you found a safe & awesome alternative to store bought bedding ! Hope your little one is doing great :) .
Hi and thank you for watching ! I do 50 % paper, 25 % aspen, and 25% hay. I also have random cardboard pieces in there to help stabilize the burrows. I also compress the bedding a bit when I place it in, although I'm not sure if that helps !
It seems like it would be. I researched the brand Fitch first, it seems like it's just compacted paper bedding advertised for guinea pigs, but I believe its fine to use with other animals like gerbils. It appears to be scent free so you're good to go :).
@@TheGerbilVine thank you for the reply! I use Fitch for my hamsters now and get it in big bags of 10 kg online so wanted to know if it would be safe for gerbils as with hamsters! They love to make burrows with it!😁
I had a bad experience with a bedding similar to Rosewood Naturals Soft 'n' Safe Bedding from pets at home. One of the babies got it’s leg tangled in it, I have no idea how, so it’s mother bit it’s front foot off. It survived and had a full life but it was a bit nasty
Hey! I l personally wouldn't use teabag bedding as sometimes the tea bags can have some plastic used to seal the bags mixed in with the bedding. If it is accidentally ingested, the gerbils may not be able to break it down, so I would avoid it. If you can confirm that the company you're using does not use a plastic sealant in their tea bags, I think it could be safe.
But aren't it the essential oils in pine wood that are toxic to rodents and if there aren't any in the bedding then it should be okay? And I don't know if this is available in Canada but there is also hemp or beechwood bedding. Those are kinda big pieces so they don't hold tunnels well but you could also mix it.
So with pine bedding it isn't so much that things are added to it, but more so that the dust is irritating for the gerbils to breathe in. I have heard of Hemp bedding in Canada, I have only seen it online on Amazon & it is very expensive. I have not come across beechwood in Canada, so I can't speak on that one. Thanks for watching the video:) !
@@TheGerbilVine i meant the essential oils from the pine trees themselves and dustiness varies greatly in different brands. I have bedding that is originally for horses and there is much less dust than in the one I used for my guinea pigs years ago. I also tried the hemp but it was very very dusty although it is generally referred to as one of the less dusty beddings.
@@crith4805 I agree with you that it does depend on the brand, but there is a general consensus in the gerbil community that pine bedding is toxic. I just avoid it all together, solid pine or pine bedding, its not worth the risk to me.
@@TheGerbilVine i haven't experienced this consensus, just different people with different opinions. For me it's worth the risk because i don't see any symptoms in my gerbils and it's the most dust free bedding I've tried. (i really need it to be dust free because they're in my bedroom)
Yeah when I got my first gerbils the pet store told me to use pine bedding and later on it caused serious problems for my gerbils. One's nose got super red and swollen and lost it's fur around his nose. Once I figured out it was the bedding I changed the bedding to a paper brand but it still took like two weeks to heal. Poor thing was downright miserable for a while. I would suggest not using it.
I just need to say your gerbils are so So SO SOSOSOSOSOSOOOOOOOOOOO CUTEEE!!!
Awwww, they say thank you !
I'm so happy you talked about how they can't eat high fibre diets. It's not spoken about enough and to many people feed them incorrect diets
I couldn't agree more. The amount of gerbils I have seen on an alfalfa based diet is quite saddening. Hay is enrichment, not food. Thank you for watching :) !
Another good video. Lots of information, I had no idea about the dust being an issue for gerbils.
Thank you so much ! They are very sensitive little creatures, I'm happy you learned something from this video :) !
Good video. One of my 3 gerbils is alergic to Carefresh, so we end up with plain homemade schreeded kitchen paper, which along to a month treatment solved the problem :) I am also aware that other gerbils are affected by dust, but many bedding brands produce them dusty, unfortunately
Thank you ! That is so interesting, and it can be common so I'm happy you found a safe & awesome alternative to store bought bedding ! Hope your little one is doing great :) .
What percentage of each should I use, I'm having trouble with the burrows not holding
Hi and thank you for watching ! I do 50 % paper, 25 % aspen, and 25% hay. I also have random cardboard pieces in there to help stabilize the burrows. I also compress the bedding a bit when I place it in, although I'm not sure if that helps !
Hey I know this is quite an old video but I was wondering if Fitch bedding would be suitable to use for gerbil😄 please tell me if you can:)
It seems like it would be. I researched the brand Fitch first, it seems like it's just compacted paper bedding advertised for guinea pigs, but I believe its fine to use with other animals like gerbils. It appears to be scent free so you're good to go :).
@@TheGerbilVine thank you for the reply! I use Fitch for my hamsters now and get it in big bags of 10 kg online so wanted to know if it would be safe for gerbils as with hamsters! They love to make burrows with it!😁
I had a bad experience with a bedding similar to Rosewood Naturals Soft 'n' Safe Bedding from pets at home. One of the babies got it’s leg tangled in it, I have no idea how, so it’s mother bit it’s front foot off. It survived and had a full life but it was a bit nasty
Omg! That is absolutely traumatizing. Poor gerbils.
Is teabag bedding OK for gerbils
Hey! I l personally wouldn't use teabag bedding as sometimes the tea bags can have some plastic used to seal the bags mixed in with the bedding. If it is accidentally ingested, the gerbils may not be able to break it down, so I would avoid it. If you can confirm that the company you're using does not use a plastic sealant in their tea bags, I think it could be safe.
But aren't it the essential oils in pine wood that are toxic to rodents and if there aren't any in the bedding then it should be okay?
And I don't know if this is available in Canada but there is also hemp or beechwood bedding. Those are kinda big pieces so they don't hold tunnels well but you could also mix it.
So with pine bedding it isn't so much that things are added to it, but more so that the dust is irritating for the gerbils to breathe in. I have heard of Hemp bedding in Canada, I have only seen it online on Amazon & it is very expensive. I have not come across beechwood in Canada, so I can't speak on that one. Thanks for watching the video:) !
@@TheGerbilVine i meant the essential oils from the pine trees themselves and dustiness varies greatly in different brands. I have bedding that is originally for horses and there is much less dust than in the one I used for my guinea pigs years ago. I also tried the hemp but it was very very dusty although it is generally referred to as one of the less dusty beddings.
@@crith4805 I agree with you that it does depend on the brand, but there is a general consensus in the gerbil community that pine bedding is toxic. I just avoid it all together, solid pine or pine bedding, its not worth the risk to me.
@@TheGerbilVine i haven't experienced this consensus, just different people with different opinions. For me it's worth the risk because i don't see any symptoms in my gerbils and it's the most dust free bedding I've tried. (i really need it to be dust free because they're in my bedroom)
This is halp me so much
Yay!