In this article, you’ll discover how to care for your Gerbils, and whether or not it’s safe to use Chinchilla’s dust?
How often should I give my Gerbil a dust bath?
If you are in the process of buying a pet for your home or at your local animal shelter, you need to ask the question how often should I give my gerbil a dust bath.
They will most likely respond that they do not have a good answer to this question, but some owners will be glad to tell you. It’s all about what they’re used to.
Gerbils, in general, like to groom themselves. This is very important for their immune system. It is also good for them to relieve stress, so if your gerbil wants to scratch himself, he’s free to do so.
If you’ve never given a gerbil a dust bath before, you may feel uncomfortable doing it. But as a matter of fact, giving your gerbil a bath is not such a big deal.
To start with, make sure you know where you want to keep your gerbils.
Make sure the area has been painted in black to prevent flea eggs from breeding.
Then, remove any toys they may have inside and vacuum all the areas around them. After that, lay out the food dishes and water dishes and the cage.
After that, your gerbil will need some time to rest up. If you are going to give him a bath, remember that it is a bit messy, so you might want to have a shower available.
You might even want to have him stand in the shower for a few minutes so he gets used to it.
Be sure to have your towels on hand as well. This way, if something happens to the dishes while you are taking him out, he’ll still have a place to wash them.
You might even want to put down the tray for him to sit on and put some towels underneath to catch any mess that may come out during his bath.
Once you’re done, just be careful not to throw away the dish towels so they can become flea bait.
Now, once your gerbil is done bathing, put him back in his cage. Remember to check up on him at least once a day.
Also, it is a good idea to have a food dish on each side of the cage for him to eat from. The food dish can either be plastic or cardboard.
If he decides to eat his food, the food dish should be placed next to the tub. The tub can have a lid or it can be attached to the floor so he’ll have something to lie down on.
Once the time comes for feeding time, you should only feed him on the same schedule.
And when he refuses to eat, take him to his food dish and tell him no, but instead of hitting him, just turn on the water for a minute or two.