Well, yes they do – and they may just use them as a potty or bury them under substrate – but they LOVE them for sure. You just have to clean them out a lot – we use a little tea-leaf sieve – or get a real deep-sided jar – or only use them in the play zone. They can have them in there all the time or just every so often – they will love them whatever.
However, it isn’t whether gerbils USE a dust bath or not that seems to be the main talking point – but it is certainly a contentious issue online if you choose the wrong words to talk about it!
Many rodent people use the phrase ‘dust bath’ to mean any type of fine earth or natural material (usually clay or volcanic ash) used in a dish or bowl to freshen up and degrease the coat of a rodent. Seems quite straight forward and has been used for decades – especially in the gerbil and chinchilla world.
However, ‘dust’ is a technical description of the action of a particle – not a thing itself. Anything below a certain size that can become medium or long-term airborne is called a dust. So anything tiny and light can class as a dust – including pollen, viruses, fungi and engine fumes.
And it is the fact that they are airborne that can be the issue with these particles; as – when disturbed – they are more easily inhaled or ingested by living things and so therefore can lead to illness or tissue damage. And we already know that gerbils are more prone to respiratory illness than most rodents – so anything we can do to reduce that risk would be advantageous.
However, to add to the confusion – a lot of early earth-based rodent bathing products were called ‘dust’ even if they actually weren’t specifically ‘dust’.
What is the difference between a dust bath and a sand bath then?
Well, in common parlance (i.e. on forums and FB groups) – nothing specifically.
Although when commented on, a ‘sand bath’ will nearly always just specifically mean a silica-based play sand – whereas when someone says ‘dust bath’ in a comment or sentence they could mean either dust or sand (just like people still say ‘what’s the best gerbil cage’ when they mean ‘what is the best gerbil enclosure (cage or not).
However, the key thing here is that sand is definitely larger and heavier than any type of ‘dust’ sold for gerbils and so does not become long-term airborne – basically when you throw sand in the air it falls straight back to earth. This massively reduces the risk of your gerbils inhaling it in their enclosure. But, of course, while they are flicking it around themselves in their sand bath – it is airborne and has the chance of being inhaled.
A true dust bath (in the technical sense) is something that involves a very fine clay or volcanic ash powder being used to absorb the grease from a gerbil’s coat. The clay most commonly used is called sepiolite – and usually pale gray in color. It runs through your fingers easily and just about sticks to your hand – but not really. It is also cold to touch and will clump and go darker if it gets damp (so a wee creates a sticky ball of damp clay). This is why it is a popular cat litter substrate also.
Sand by comparison is a dry gritty substance, usually orange or pale brown (but can be white) and although it also runs through your fingers – it will never stick to your hand. When wet though, it gets heavier and might stick in lumps on your hand (i.e. it won’t be free-flowing) but doesn’t form noticable clumps within itself.
What clay is used for a gerbil dust bath?
Gerbil and chinchilla dust bath products are 100% sepiolite clay – a type of soft, white clay (which some manufacturers have started labelling as ‘sand’ online) that is known chemically as Magnesium Silicate.
Found mainly across the mediterranean (although also in the US and Africa), this light fine clay has been used for dust baths for chinchillas for over 100 years, and gerbils less than 20 really – and also was used for making carved clay pipes for even longer! (beautiful things worth seaching for online).
Many, many gerbil breeders have been using this type of clay for decades with their gerbils and haven’t seen any health effects of it on the gerbils themselves – otherwise I am sure they would be the first to spot a pattern. Also, many gerbils using these products lived over the 4 years old mark passing of other seemingly unrelated issues. Almost all of these kennels also had no respiratory infections in adult gerbils while using these products either.
However, just because a type of product has always been used without any issues by most regular users – doesn’t mean that something else can’t be more effective, safer or cheaper these days. It also doesn’t mean that no animals have ever suffered ill health through using it – or that a comon health issue that doesn’t look related (such as broken teeth or Scent Gland Tumours) couldn’t be something triggered by the use or ingestion/inhalation of these clays.
Additionally – sepiolite is a fibrous clay – laid down through the action of ancient rivers and lakes. Due to it’s clay nature it can sometimes be found underground close to seams of asbestos – but is easily distinguishable from it commercially so it would never get into this specific product (but means don’t go using any old clay for yourself).
Which Volcanic Ash is used for gerbil dust baths?
Usually (in the US) these are naturally-mined aluminum silicates and are just as fine as the clay particles above and so are the perfect size to absorb the grease and waste from the animal’s coat.
There are other types of volcanic ash or volcanic pumice available both within and outside of the pet trade – but always be careful of looking for a lower silica percentage to ‘be safe’. Less silica in the air will certainly be good for your own lungs – but obviously if the pumice is made with less silica (something we know) what is making up the dust instead.
Volcanic ash can contain all sorts of other minerals – like flouride – so be careful you only buy commercial pet products or from a supplier recommended by a breeder.
So, what sand is best for a gerbil sand bath?
Just like ‘dust’ – sand also isn’t a specific thing – it is a description of a size of particle. Sand is defined on Wikipedia as follows:
“Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. It is defined by size.”
Therefore when picking a sand for your gerbils – you can’t just grab anything that says sand on it. You will need to check the composition of your product rather than just ‘get sand’ from any old shop.
Remember that some sands are treated differently (produced in unsafe-for-gerbil environments) and some are made in or stored in the same place as chemicals/minerals that can be harmful to gerbils – such as industrial ‘fine’ sands and any sand with grit in them – as well as sands in ‘dusty’ packaging (a sign that something else has settled on them).
Basically you can use and Silica sand (playsand) and any ‘coral’ sands (aragonite)
Can My Gerbils Have Calcium Sand?
Calcium-based sands are always advised against – with warnings that they will actually poison and even kill rodents if they get it on their coats and then ingest it while grooming themselves.
However this is only if they are eaten excessively or left in gerbil enclosures all the time where you can’t see what they are doing with them. And calcium itself isn’t poisonous in the direct sense – it is the imbalance it causes in the body that causes illness, and in worst cases – death.
Many US breeders have used Aragonite sand (a calcium carbonate sand made from coral) for decades without issues. It is still readily recommended for use by breeders even today as it is a softer sand than silica sands – however it is more expensive weight for weight – so many avoid it on that basis alone.
Calcium carbonate itself is another such material (limestone-based) that can be used for sand baths – and it is often found in gerbil foods anyway. But it isn’t always just a source of calcium for the gerbils it is also an anti-nutrient: that when ingested will bond with phosphorus and prevent it being ingested. This we can only presume is to helpfully counter the terrible Calcium:Phosphorus (Ca:P) ratio of sunflowers and mealworms that our gerbils hold so dear!
So, do gerbils take dust baths or sand baths?
Yes to both. It doesn’t matter to them which one it is – it just matters to you.
Gerbils just love to roll around in these novelty substrates because they feel different and the trigger a rolling action. Sometimes they can make gerbil popcorn too and bounce around and play boxing with each other. Great to see BTW.
They eventually cover them over with substrate if they are in the dig-zone – or they might use them as potties if they are up in the topper. Either way – they still love and want them – you just need to work on a plan to keep them fresh.
Gerbils burying some things – but it doesn’t mean they don’t want it – it just means you have put it in the wrong place for their needs!
Some people have a whole section of a gerbil or hamster enclosure for sand or other natural substrate – and this is fine as long as it isn’t the whole enclosure and it can be kept separate. Sands can be abrasive and doesn’t form good tunnels and along with other natural substrates can also be cold and feel damp in the wrong conditions.
But, however you offer your gerbils a ‘dust bath’ – they will love it – and have a cleaner coat to show for it too.
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