Gerbil's aren't necessarily the dirtiest pet rodents, but they can certainly wreak havoc on a habitat. They chew up everything, throw their food in the air, topple things over, knock things down, and leave everything a mess. So cleaning their habitat can be a bit overwhelming. And that's why we've created a step by step plan to making your gerbil's cage as good as new.
Remove Your Gerbils: Place your gerbils in another secure area where they can play unsupervised without escaping or getting hurt. A large bucket with slick sides usually works well. Or if you can, place them in another cage temporarily.
Remove Food and Water Dishes: Take your food and water dishes from the habitat. Throw out any old food and water. Place the dishes in a tub of hot water and let them sit. This will help begin to clean and disinfect them.
Remove All Accessories: Take out any tunnels, tree branches, play gyms, and toys. Separate them by material. Put plastic and metal toys in one area and wooden and cardboard toys in another.
Soak Plastic and Metal Accessories: Take your plastic and metal toys and soak them in hot water. Just as with the food and water dish this will help begin to clean and disinfect them. Do not soak them with the food and water dishes. Keep them separate to prevent over-dirtying the water.
Remove Bedding: Remove all of the bedding from your gerbils habitat. Discard of it. Do not keep or reuse bedding- as it is usually damp and could rot. But it also probably has bits of fur, feces, food and other odor-ridden particles in it.
Wipe Down Terrarium Sides: Soak a cloth or sponge in hot water and fully wipe down the sides of your gerbil's terrarium. Scrape away any bits of dirt, bedding, or food that are stuck to the side. Once you have finished wiping it down, take a dry cloth and wipe up any of the access water on the sides and bottom of your terrarium to avoid making the new bedding wet.
Clean Food and Water Dish: Remove your food and water dish from their soak and wipe them down with a wash cloth. Scrub away any food particles that are stuck to the sides. Do not use soap. If you need extra help to get rid of dirt, try using very hot water with a light mixture of soap (which will help grind it away).
Clean Plastic and Metal Toys: Remove your plastic and metal toys from their soak and wipe them down with a wash cloth. Scrub in and around the objects focusing on corners where dirt can sometimes get stuck. Remove any grime or dirt that is visible. Once you are finished take a dry cloth and dry them off completely.
Wipe Down Wooden Toys: Dip a cloth in very hot boiling water and wipe down any wooden toys. This will help disinfect them and clean off any grime or dirt. Once you are finished dry them completely with a dry towel.
Replace Old Cardboard Toys: Take any cardboard toys that are wet, no longer 'stiff', worn, or chewed and throw them away. You can keep any cardboard toys that are still holding their original shape and don't have many chew marks on them.
Decide What Nests to Remove/Keep: You should keep one or two of your gerbil's nests. This keeps their comfort and avoids them feeling hurried to build a new nest after having their habitat cleaned. Pick out tunnels or huts that are still in good clean condition and set them aside. Throw away any tunnels that are wet, chewed up, or beginning to have a bit of odor to them. You only need to keep one or two of the old ones. Throw away the rest. Keep this in mind when cleaning a gerbil's habitat: Clean more than you keep.
Throw Away Old Toys: Any toys that have been overly chewed, are beginning to discolor, are old or have an odor to them should be thrown away. How do you know when to throw away a toy? Two tests. Feel it with your fingers. If it's supposed to be hard and it feels soft or mushy (as in it's gotten wet/ beginning to mold/ been chewed a lot) it's time to throw it away. The second test is with your nose. If it still smells even after being cleaned- it's time to throw it out.
Refill Tunnels: Take any new cardboard tunnels or cleaned plastic tunnels and fill a few of them up with tissue so your gerbil has more nesting material to keep busy with.
Add New Bedding: Add brand new bedding to your gerbil's terrarium. Do not use old bedding. Any old bedding should be discarded. Fill the to the adequate height and then push it down with your hand. Once it's compressed add a bit more. This will ensure there is enough bedding in your gerbil's habitat.
Recreate Tunnel Space and Play gym: Add your tunneling area and play gym back to your gerbil's cage. Switch it up and make it exciting! Remember to use mostly new tunnels and add back the one or two old tunnels that you kept with nests inside. By switching around your arrangement you'll keep your gerbil active and stimulated. It's a whole new place for them to adventure!
Add Food and Water Area: Add your food and water dishes in the same general area they were before so your gerbil's know where they can find such things when they need them. Remember to keep them in an open area where you can easily access them.
Add New Toys: Changing around your gerbil's habitat is the perfect time to add more toys. Add some fun little things. Chew toys, a new wheel, climbing toys, and entertainment toys. Find what your gerbil likes and then add more of those!