The Best Gerbil Toy: A Toilet Paper Tube!
TP tubes are fun!
Almost any gerbil owner can tell you that the one gift a gerbil likes better than almost anything else is a toilet paper tube. Drop a TP tube in your gerbils' tank and watch them go nuts! They'll probably run through the center of the tube a few times and then latch onto it and start gnawing on it. No, gerbils don't eat cardboard. They are actually shredding the cardboard tube into soft bedding for their nests. Full-grown gerbils can completely demolish a toilet paper tube in less than 5 minutes.
Where To Find Tubes
You can't go through toilet paper fast enough to provide your gerbils with enough toilet paper tubes. Ask friends, family, neighbors, or coworkers to save toilet paper tubes and paper towel tubes for you. Perhaps you can trade cardboard tubes for freshly-baked cookies. If you share photos of your gerbils with friends, they are often so charmed that they want to help out. Most people will gladly save their toilet paper tubes for you even if you offer nothing in return but friendship.
Great Uses For Cardboard Tubes
If you need a way to distract your gerbils, a toilet paper tube will almost always grab their attention right away. Gerbils can rarely resist the temptation to gnaw a toilet paper tube to shreds. It's a great idea to provide gerbils with a toilet paper tube to chew while you clean their tank. It will keep them busy until their tank is done and they can return home. It's also a good idea to give your gerbils a toilet paper tube or two when you take them to see the vet. Again, it gives them something to do and makes the trip less stressful.
When you watch your gerbils chew TP tubes, you'll notice that different gerbils have different chewing methods. Some gerbils chew from one end to the other. Other gerbils will chew the top half of the tube off and leave the bottom half for later. Some gerbils, such as Phoebe of Knolls Gerbils, even chew a tube in artistic patterns. Which chewing method do your gerbils use?
You can make your own cardboard tubes from manila file folders. Gerbils love these, too!
A Substitute For TP Tubes: File Folders!
Okay, let's say your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers can't keep you stocked with enough toilet paper tubes to keep your gerbils entertained. What now?
At Twin Squeaks, we've found a neat trick: Tear a manila file folder in half along the crease. Then tear each of the resulting halves in half. You should now have four small sheets of thick paper. Roll each sheet as tightly as you can. When you let it go, it will unroll just a little bit and hold the approximate size and shape of a toilet paper tube! Gerbils love them!
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