Have you ever noticed that your gerbil does a lot of digging? It seems like most of the time when they do this it’s in one of the corners of their cage too. So why do gerbils dig in the corner?
Gerbils dig in the corner because it’s a natural instinct that they have and it’s a habit that they can pick up from when they were young.
It’s an activity that they’ll do almost daily and usually, you shouldn’t worry too much about them doing it all the time.
However, there are some ways that you can try to get them to stop digging so much.
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Why Is My Gerbil Digging?
So when it comes to digging, gerbils have this natural urge that makes them want to burrow a lot of times throughout the day.
It’s just something that they’re usually born wanting to do. It’s also a habit that can form from when they were younger.
This habit usually forms way before they’re adopted from the store or a previous owner.
So by the time they’re older, it’ll become a routine that you’ll notice that they do almost constantly.
One misconception about gerbils that dig a lot is that the reason why they’re digging is that they’re frustrated.
Gerbils don’t generally dig out of stress or frustration though. It’s something that they enjoy doing and it can mean that they’re very comfortable with where they are.
How Normal Is It For A Gerbil To Dig?
If you have a gerbil that likes to dig you can rest assured that this is very normal behavior for them to do because it’s a natural instinct.
However, even though this behavior is normal, some gerbils will dig a lot while others might not.
All gerbils are different and have different activities that they like to do more than others.
That’s why you may notice that one of your gerbils will constantly dig around their cage and in the corner way more often than some of their cagemates.
This is something that is more noticeable when you have two or more gerbils that you take care of.
It’s even normal to see them dig around most other parts of their cage as well.
A lot of the time when gerbils dig around different parts of their cage what you’ll see them do is kick around some of their bedding.
The main reasons why they do that are because they’re trying to make some sort of path and because they just really like rearranging things in their cage.
It’s also normal for a gerbil to stop digging for a period of time. Sometimes they can become very bored with that activity so they’ll stop and go do something else for a while.
But after some time, they’ll usually come back and start digging all over again because they just can’t resist doing it.
Should You Be Concerned If Your Gerbil Is Digging All The Time?
Even though it’s normal for gerbils to dig in the corner sometimes it can seem like they’re doing it way too much.
It can look very concerning especially when they’re doing it in a frantic way.
However, this isn’t something that you should be too worried about because when gerbils dig it’s usually not for any negative reasons.
When some pet owners see their gerbil constantly digging at the corner of their cage they usually think that their gerbil is trying to do something bad like trying escape.
But that’s generally not the case with them. Digging is a healthy activity for gerbils so most of the time when you see them doing it they’re having fun.
Some owners even think that because their gerbil is digging in the corner so much they need a bigger cage. However, when they dig a lot it usually doesn’t have anything to do with the size of the cage that they’re in.
They will constantly dig in a small cage and they will constantly dig in a large cage as well.
So because they do it that often it can start to become slightly annoying as time goes on.
If that’s the case for you and your gerbils then there are a few things that you can try to get them to stop for a little while.
Getting Your Gerbil To Stop Digging In The Corner So Much
When it comes to stopping your gerbil from digging all of the time there are a few simple ways that you can do that. The first thing that you can do is to make sure that they have enough toys to play with and chew on.
When gerbils have a lot of different toys to choose from it’s more likely that they won’t spend most of their time digging as much.
What will happen instead is the toys will keep their attention for a decent amount of time.
The same can be said about chew toys as well. Gerbils love to chew on anything that they can get their hands on and they seem to like doing that more than digging.
So when you give them some safe stuff to chew on like little wooden toys, it can do a great job of distracting them from the corner.
You can also try giving them a lot of bedding as well. Gerbils naturally like to burrow and if you have a place in their cage where you can pile up some bedding, they’ll naturally gravitate towards that area and start playing.
The last and best way to get your gerbils to stop digging so much is to give them the opportunity to tunnel.
Because gerbils love to dig and tunnel, giving them some bedding that is really good at holding firm for tunnels will allow them to build their little tunnels without it all crumbling down.
So those are some of the ways that you can try that might help them stop for a while.
However in most cases, usually if a gerbil is determined to do something they won’t stop until they feel like it.
Even if they do stop for a while, they will normally go back to doing it if they’re already used to it.
So sometimes you can’t fully stop your gerbil from digging in the corner, but that’s okay because it’s a healthy activity and it’s generally not a behavior that you need to worry too much about.