Building homemade gerbil toys and furnishings can be fun for both you and your gerbils. First, it's fun for you (or your children) to design your own gerbil-tank furnishings. Second, it's good for your gerbils to have new things to crawl on, wander through, and explore.

Make sure you use only gerbil-safe materials. Do not use cedar woods, plastic, or wood glue. Safe materials include Elmer's All-Purpose Non-Toxic Glue, untreated aspen, untreated pine, and small pet-shop-bought gerbil houses and toys (again, made from untreated wood).

Gerbils enjoy crawling over, under, and through things. Avoid using plastic parts or tubes, which can splinter and damage a gerbil's intestinal tract.

There are only a few rules when building gerbil toys. First, use only non-toxic glue. Believe it or not, plain Elmer's All-Purpose Glue (the same type children use in school) will hold wood, as long as you let it dry completely.

Of course, you need to let the glue dry completely anyway. Although non-toxic glue is safe when it is dry, it is not safe when it is still wet or gooey.

After pressing pieces of wood together, use a damp cloth to wipe any excess glue from the outside of the gerbil toy. Then allow it to dry completely before giving it to your gerbils.

Pine is dangerous as a bedding because of its oils and chemicals. So while pine shavings can kill a gerbil, plain, untreated pine wood used for building toys is safe. The toy above was built with untreated aspen, though, just to play it safe.

Finally, remember that your new toy will not last forever. The gerbils will likely use some part of the toy as a toilet. Wood can also harbor growing bacteria. Of course, wooden toys are safe. Just plan to build your gerbils a new toy every few weeks and throw out the old one. Your gerbils will appreciate having new toys to explore.

You can get some more ideas for gerbil toys at Gary's Web site. Make sure that any ideas you adapt are gerbil-safe.

Remember, too, that empty cereal boxes, paper-towel tubes, and similar items make fun toys for gerbils to explore and require no assembly.

Let your imagination be your guide. If your children have gerbils, remember that building gerbils toys is good for your kids' imaginations as well as for their gerbils' sense of curiosity and exploration.

In the photo below, Pippi and Annika explore a new toy. This one was extremely easy to build. the only necessary items were a large Timber Hideaway nesting box, a small Timber Hideaway nesting box, and non-toxic glue. The wire ladder was an extra add-on.