u/PurpleCarrot76

We are about to be new gerbil owners. I feel secure their new terrarium set up, our food and supplies. However, the pair of gerbils we found to adopt will be an 8 hour drive with a night in a hotel in the middle. I was planning to use an 18 gallon Rubbermaid tub with lots of nail holes in the lid, a couple inches of fresh bedding to mix with some they come with, a water dish to keep filled and pelleted food in a dish. I thought some cardboard tubes to play and hide in.
I imagine keep them cool but out of drafts, keep noise down but talk calmly to them lots, avoid opening up the tub too often (just to check dishes when moved) and try not to handle them until they are home and ready to move in. I plan to put the bedding from the tub into the terrarium— to help transfer some scent.

What else should I consider? What tips do you all have?

I want to create a tank divider to give the gerbils one area of their tank with even deeper bedding and separate the sand area. I would like to make that section 10-12 inches deep. What material should I use. On YouTube people have shown dividers made of, what appears to be plywood and others made of acrylic. However, plywood is typically glue and pine and acrylic is plastic? What do people recommend to use? Thanks in advance!!

We will be getting gerbils this summer. We are
Doing our research. We travel infrequently, but do spend time away. How do we set the gerbils if we are gone two nights? How do we set them up when we are gone 5-8 nights (only once or twice a year around the holidays)? What should we prep and what instructions do we give a sitter. Do we need a sitter for 2 nights?

We do not have air conditioning and use fans and a window swamp cooler at one end of the house. We are used to it and can wear light clothing. How would you help keep your gerbils cool. Can I put metal water bottles with frozen water on the floor? Aim a fan at the side of the glass? Put frozen ceramic hides in each morning? Ice packs under the floor of the enclosure? Any tips? It will be a hot summer!

i will be a new gerbil parent to a pair of gerbils. I ordered a glass gerbil/hamster terrarium (picture A) with a 7” deep bottom section and sliding doors. I received a glass reptile terrarium(picture B)with 3” deep bottom, swing open doors and a plastics cord port in the upper right corner. We were planning to have one half of the area be 10 inch deep bedding (and just not slide that side open). but now we have to tape that side closed so it won’t swing open when we unlock the doors. But my biggest concern is the plastic port access on the side that is at about 17 inches high. I don’t plan on putting anything near that port but the top of the 11 diameter whee may be close to it. Is this a deal breaker? I live in a very rural location and we do not have front door delivery. This was a big investment and the vendor says they do not have another “gerbil” enclosure in stock to replace this with. Can I replace the port with a metal mesh square taped securely to the outside of the glass? Will the shallow bottom be a problem? Thanks for any input for this nervous, excited, soon to be gerbil person.

edited to add: photos in comments.

edit to add I had a typo with “wrong gerbil“ in my question— meant “correct”