How to make a Homemade Gerbil Cage -As you probably know, the best cage for Mongolian gerbils is not a cage, but a terrarium! There are different ways to purchase one. You can just buy one, which is usually very expensive, a cheaper way is to take over an old person from someone else or use an old aquarium. But the best way is, of course, to make one yourself, that way you can decide for yourself what your terrarium will look like, what shape and how large. On this page, you will find an explanation of how you can make a simple terrarium.
What do you need?
5 glass plates, sandpaper, transparent silicone sealant and adhesive tape. Use 3-6 mm thick glass and with glass bins larger than 35 x 35 x 60 cm I recommend 5-6 mm thick glass. You can use 4 mm thick glass for the dimensions of the glass plates: bottom plate: 40 x 80 cm, front and back plate: 39.6 x 80 cm, and the side plates: 39.6 x 39.2 cm.
The description – how to make a homemade gerbil cage?
on the right Here you can see how to assemble the glass plates of your future terrarium. The orange stripes are the places with silicone sealant and the dark blue stripes are pieces of tape.
But before you start, you must first sand the edges of the glass plates, because they are razor sharp. So beware!
Step – 1
Always place the upright walls on the base plate. So you start with the bottom glass plate that becomes the bottom. There you put silicone sealant on two edges (see image). Then press the glass plate that becomes the left side into the silicone sealant of the bottom plate. Then you put silicone sealant on the glass plate that becomes the back. You place this back plate in the silicone kit on the bottom plate and in such a way that the left side is pressed into the silicone kit of the backplate.
Step – 2
Then stick the backplate and the left side together with adhesive tape, so that they have a little more firmness during drying. Then you put some silicone sealant on the bottom and back plate where the right side comes (see image). Then press the glass plate that becomes the right-hand side back into the applied silicone kit.
Step – 3
You can also attach the right side and the back plate to each other again with adhesive tape for more firmness during drying. Then do some silicone sealant on the remaining spot on the base plate. Then you also put silicone sealant on the remaining glass plate that becomes the front. This silicone sealant is applied where the sides touch. Then press the front back into the silicone kit on the bottom plate and then straighten it, so that the sides are also pressed into the silicone kit of the front. You can attach this again with adhesive tape for more firmness during drying. And then leave the terrarium for a while, so that the silicone kit can dry.
Step – 4
When the silicone sealant is dry and the glass plates are stuck together, you can remove the pieces of tape. Now you have a simple home-made terrarium. You can optionally protect your glass container with plastic corner profiles. This prevents damage during cleaning and looks nice. And of course, you also have to make a lid for the terrarium. You can do this from wood, metal, or simply put a piece of mesh over it. Make sure that the lid is well ventilated because the air must come through the lid.
So now you have your own home-made terrarium for your gerbils. You can, of course, make it the way you want, with floors, more spaces, pentagonal, and so on. But now it’s time to set up your terrarium! For that, you can visit the Interior & Toys page of The Mongolian Gerbil Website for information and of course the Housing page for more general information about the accommodation of gerbils.
