Click the photo above to see a QuickTime movie of Suzie taking a sandbath. Have you ever wondered how gerbils shower? After all, they are native desert animals. You know, then, that wild gerbils need some way to bathe other than hopping in a lake or standing outside in the rain. Instead, gerbils clean their fur by rolling in the sand. When a gerbil rolls in the sand, it is called taking a sandbath.

To give your gerbils a sandbath, you need only two things:

• a small bowl (such as a cat food dish)
• a supply of chinchilla sand (not chinchilla dust)

Give Your Gerbils A Sandbath

Get a small bowl for your gerbils' bathtub. The movie of Suzie was shot with a very large bowl so you could see her rolling in the sand. You won't need such a large bowl. A ceramic cat dish will work just fine. Pick something that is heavy enough not to be tipped over. Avoid plastic as well as anything with sharp edges.

The safest, best sand to use for sandbaths is chinchilla sand. You can find this at your local pet store. You can also order it online from stores, such as That Pet Place. Do not buy chinchilla dust. It is a fine powder rather than a sand. Not only will it make your gerbils look like they crawled out of a volcano, but it can also harm their respiratory systems. Always check that the product you buy is chinchilla sand, which is perfectly safe for gerbils.

Prepare The Sandbath

Samantha was a rescue gerbil. You can see in the photo above that her fur was a bit greasy, dirty, and separated before her first sandbath. Compare to the post-sandbath photo of Samantha below.You do not need a lot of sand in the gerbils' sand bowl. Remember that they do not need to swim in the sand. They only need enough to roll in it.

It is not uncommon for gerbils to dig in the sand or even munch on the sand. The first couple of times that they have a sandbath, they will probably stick some sand in their mouths to see what it is. Chinchilla sand is safe for this exploratory chewing. Sometimes gerbils need to encounter a sandbath a few times before they figure out what to do with it. Most do figure it out, though.

Only leave the sandbowl in your gerbils' tank for 10 minutes at a time to avoid excessive soiling of the sand. (Gerbils think sandbowls make excellent toilets.) It is best, then, to once or twice a week, set the sandbowl in your gerbils' tank and let them play and roll in it. When they are finished, take the bowl back out of the tank.

There are many reasons to give your gerbils access to a sandbath:

• Sandbaths are fun! Gerbils love rolling in the sand and digging in the sandbowl. If you haven't seen the QuickTime movie of Suzie taking a sandbath, click here.



Compare this photo to the one we showed you earlier in this tip. In this photo, Samantha had just taken her first sandbath. You can already see a difference in her fur. It is cleaner, softer, and healthier.
• It's Only Natural. Gerbils come from the desert. When you give them a sandbath, you give them access to sand, one of the elements of their natural habitat. Your gerbils will thank you!


• Healthier Fur. Imagine how your hair would look if you never took a shower. It's just as important for gerbils to get sandbaths as for you to shower. Compare the photo of Samantha before she ever had a sandbath to the photo of Samantha after her first sandbath (see the photo to the right).

Many thanks to Jo for emailing us to suggest a sandbath tip! If you have a great tip idea, email us!