h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The best way to house Gerbils is in an old aquarium, filled with peat. This way they can dig their own tunnels, and genarally do what they want. I had a small colony of gerbils living like this. It means that you don't have to clean them out for about 6 months, although it is a big job when it needs doing. It is a more natural way for them to live.
Also make sure they are sexed right, because I bought 3 gerbils, all female, and two of them became pregnant! I separated one as they kept fighting, and she had babies, at the same time as the one still with the male. The one on her own ate the feet off her babies as she was on her own, and I had to have them out down. The other family I kept together in the gerbilarium, and had them neutered so they couldn't breed any more.

Wow!! You sure must have had a lot of gerbils!! I used to keep both my two gerbils in an old aquarium with some sand about one third or half of the way up, and kept it damp and squished tight so they could burrow in it, but it got really smelly so my friend bought me a new cage for them which is really good.

i think the flaw in that was the keeping it damp... i dont think gerbils like much water. i keep mine in a fish tank too, but its filled about a third full of sawdust, which they enjoy digging in, and manage to make it stay in tunnels... which is quite clever cos its not packed together or damp...