Best Gerbil Cages For Comfort & Safety

When people think of a gerbil, most of the time they picture a small animal that sits in a small cage and runs on a wheel every once in a while. That couldn’t be further from the truth! Gerbils are so energetic, curious, and full of life, making for amazing pets for nearly everyone.

However, in order to have a fun and healthy gerbil, one of the most important things to consider is their cage. Since gerbils spend most of the day in their cage, it’s important to get one that meets all of their specific needs. While they may be small creatures, that doesn’t mean they don’t take any effort to take care of!

Luckily, we’ve made it easy to find the best one for you and your gerbils. We’ve compiled a list of the best gerbil cages as well as a comprehensive buying guide to understand what your gerbil needs.

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OUR #1 RATED

Prevue​528 Small Animal Home

An all-around excellent cage that has tight bar spacing to prevent escapes, a solid platform, and a deep bedding pan.

Ferplast​Hamster Cage

This cage is styled like a gerbilarium that diversifies the living space and contains bedding very well.

Aqueon​​10 Gallon Aquarium

A great bottom half of a gerbilarium, this tank is an excellent value that’s escape/chew proof and provides lots of digging room.

Perfecto​20 Gallon Aquarium

Essentially the same as the aquarium above, this aquarium is more spacious and provides more room for digging.

Kaytee​My First Home Habitat

This cage provides gerbils with tons of space and different elevations with a large, deep base and great security.

What Do Gerbils Need In A Cage?

Gerbils are animals that were born and created to jump, chew, and dig like crazy. Therefore, they are in desperate need of housing that meets these requirements. Here are some of gerbils’ most prominent characteristics so that you can understand what to look for in a cage:

• Digging – Gerbils absolutely love digging. In the wild, gerbils create intricate underground tunnels where they sleep, hide food, stay away from predators, and raise their young. Therefore, your gerbil cage must be deep enough to allow your gerbil to dig to their little heart’s content. Cages that are too shallow will limit their digging abilities and also result in a lot of spilled bedding over the sides.
• Chewing – Gerbils chew a lot, almost as if their lives depend on it! While their lives don’t necessarily depend on it, their health does. Their teeth must be ground down regularly due to their continuous growth, and this happens naturally in the wild through normal eating. However, your gerbil’s food may not be enough for them, so they may result to gnawing. It’s important to get a cage that doesn’t provide many opportunities for unhealthy gnawing on plastic platforms or bars.
• Escaping – Even if your gerbil’s cage is filled with bedding and toys, they’ll still want to escape. Gerbils are curious creatures that will easily use their jumping and digging abilities to escape their cage if given the chance. A cage must have secure walls that are either solid (an aquarium) or very close together (wire cage) in addition to a secure roof.

Can Gerbils Use Hamster Cages?

Gerbils can live in cages that are meant for hamsters, but only a certain few will really be appropriate. This is due to the animals looking similar but behaving very different. In short, gerbils are wilder and messier versions of hamsters.

While hamsters mostly sleep and eat leisurely, gerbils burrow and chew everything in sight.

Hamsters are primarily solitary creatures, while gerbils live in groups of at least 2.

Hamsters sleep and walk on bedding, while gerbils require massive amounts of it to burrow into.

Hamsters are neat and orderly, while gerbils will rearrange everything within their cage as soon as they get the chance.

Looking at these differences, it’s very clear that gerbils require different amenities than hamsters in order to live a comfortable and happy life. Fortunately, some hamster cages exist that fit the needs of gerbils as you’ll see below in our list of the best gerbil cages. However, just going to the store and picking up the first hamster cage that you see for your gerbil is asking for disaster.

Are Gerbil Cages With Tubes Good?

While cages with colorful and bendy tubes may look fun and entertaining for a gerbil, it’s generally not a good idea to get a cage with tubes. These tubes can actually be a way for your gerbil to escape their cage, either through chewing through a weak plastic joint or by the tubes simply not being connected well and failing.

What was just discussed was in reference to external tubes. Internal tubes are a different story, though, and can actually be beneficial in some cases. Internal tubes that lead from one platform to another could provide a fun way for your gerbil to navigate their cage. These tubes should be angled low, though, as gerbils aren’t meant to climb steep or vertical tubes like some hamsters can.

Also, consider the material of the tubes. Plastic tubes inside of a gerbil’s cage provide a great thing to chew on, and plastic can make gerbils very very sick. Many gerbil owners opt to provide wood (bamboo is very common) tubes that are safe to chew on and very durable.

What Is A Gerbilarium?

Gerbilarium is a combination of the words “gerbil” and “aquarium”. In short, these are aquariums that have an upper cage attached to provide a diverse living experience for your gerbil. Aquariums are chosen as the bottom half largely due to the fact that they are simply incredible for gerbils. The high glass walls and flat surfaces make for an excellent environment for gerbils to dig and not get themselves into trouble.

The added cage on top of the aquarium provides added space to keep a gerbil’s water bottle, food bowl (if you opt to have one), and any other cage additions. This combination of digging basin and solid living space is a great choice for a lot of people, and it’s deserving of its own post.

If you don’t want to provide your gerbil with a gerbilarium, that’s no problem! You can still give your gerbil everything it needs with either an aquarium or a cage if you select a good one. Gerbilariums simply provide a different living experience.

What Defines The Best Gerbil Cages?

All gerbil cages are unfortunately not created equal. We’ve already discussed how gerbils have very specific needs, and their cage needs to cater to all of those needs or else their health and happiness may suffer. So, here is what defines the best gerbil cages:

• Size – Gerbils are very active creatures, meaning that they need more space than one may assume – much more than a mouse or a hamster. For cages, there should be more than enough room for your hamsters to be able to dig freely and also have free platforms. 4-4.5 square feet is appropriate for one or two gerbils. If you’re opting for an aquarium, 2 gerbils can fit in a 10 gallon tank, with 3 requiring 15 gallons and 4-5 requiring 20 gallons. This sizing is the bare minimum, though, and you should always aim to give your gerbils as much space as possible.
• Digging space – In addition to standard length and width dimensions, your gerbil needs a cage that’s deep. This depth will allow them to dig and burrow freely without feeling constrained. 5-6 inches of bedding is recommended, so ensuring that the walls are high enough to contain this bedding is essential. The deeper you can have your gerbil’s cage, the better.
• Accessibility – You should make sure that your gerbil’s cage is accessible. Accessibility is important because it allows you to easily reach your gerbils in case of emergency and also clean the cage thoroughly. Gerbils are very messy creatures and require a good amount of housekeeping, so a cage that gives you adequate access will make your job a lot easier.
• Good materials – Remember, gerbils love and need to gnaw on things, and one of those things may be their cage. Ensuring that their cage doesn’t have many exposed pieces to chew on it essential, as constant gnawing can damage their nose or make them ill. Simple cages with bars that are close together and solid glass aquariums help to nearly eliminate this problem.
• Safety – A cage is absolutely worthless if it isn’t safe and secure. The best gerbil cages are impossible to escape from, made with either close-together bars or solid glass walls. A breathable yet secure top should be present on every cage no matter how tall it is. If doors are present, they should be very secure with no gaps that a gerbil can slip through.

What Are The Best Gerbil Cages?

While it can be a bit overwhelming to learn about the needs of your gerbil and then try and find a cage that meets those needs, it’s not a very complicated process when making sure that a cage aligns with the guide given above. By going off of that guide, we’ve found five of the best gerbil cages available that would provide your gerbil with a fantastic home.

Remember, a higher quantity of gerbils would require a larger habitat, so take that into account when choosing a cage.

our #1 rated

OUR TOP PICK

Prevue

528 Small Animal Home

Quality​

Value​

Our Rating

While aquariums are commonly seen as the best enclosure choice for gerbils, this cage has all of them beat. Prevue’s 528 small animal home still has a cage structure but meets all of a gerbil’s specific requirements. First of all, the bar spacing on this cage is very tight, meaning that gerbils can’t squeeze through or nibble on them as they would on other cages. Additionally, the base of this cage is huge with several-inch-high walls. This ensures that you can provide your gerbils with plenty of bedding without it spilling out the sides. The thing that this cage has that aquariums don’t is a solid platform and ramp to allow for some diversity in the cage and a place to put food and water. On top of all of this, the cage has two large doors on the front and top, and is lightweight for easy handling.We made sure that gerbil owners specifically loved this cage, and our research shows that they really do. Owners say that this cage is big enough for two gerbils comfortably, and provides plenty of space for their gerbils to dig and burrow. The bar spacing has resulted in no escaped gerbils, and the included platform is enjoyed and appreciated by all gerbils. An extra benefit of this cage is that owners find it very easy to clean thoroughly, which is important for gerbils.In order to give a fair comparison, we always try to include some cons of a cage. This cage does not really come with any. One owner stated that the doors aren’t as secure as they could be, with the possibility for gerbils to climb upside down and push them out and open, but nobody has reported on that problem. Overall, this cage seems to fit gerbils’ needs perfectly.

PROS​

• Large deep basin
• Bars are close together
• Added platform and ramp
• Two large access doors

CONS

• Doors have one lock

our #2 rated

Ferplast

Hamster Cage

Quality​

Value​

Our Rating

Although this cage by Ferplast was originally designed for hamsters, it’s one of the few hamster cages that serves as a great cage for gerbils as well. This cage takes on the gerbilarium style that was discussed earlier, with a cage sitting on top of an aquarium structure. This makes for an awesome way to give your gerbils several inches of bedding to dig around in that doesn’t even have a chance to spill over the sides. The two layer design also gives gerbils a lot of room, as there’s essentially two equal layers on a cage with large dimensions. The bars on the cage are sturdy and close together, and the plastic within the cage is very sturdy to fight against chewers.Owners of this cage love it for their gerbils, but tend to make a few alterations to it to make it even better. The wheel is frequently removed to make space for more bedding, and the included accessories are swapped out for something a little more gerbil friendly (wooden / glass / safe to chew). With these changes, owners state that their gerbils have more than enough space to live and burrow, and they don’t fear for their safety.This cage can be slightly difficult to clean, as there’s only one door. Many owners simply get their gerbils into the bottom bedding pan and then remove the top layer to clean it, but some people struggle with this. Additionally, there is a good amount of plastic on this cage which can be a problem for chewers. A way to combat this is to provide your gerbils with plenty of other chewable things such as wooden toys to turn their attention away from the plastic.

PROS​

• Gerbilarium structure
• Contained bedding pan
• Very spacious

CONS

• Difficult to clean
• Plastic platform is chewable

our #3 rated

Aqueon

10 Gallon Aquarium

Quality​

Value​

Our Rating

While the cages listed above would make for a great gerbil home, so would this simple aquarium. This Aqueon 10 gallon aquarium is big enough to give a home to 2 gerbils, and the high walls provide plenty of containment for a lot of bedding. The overall construction of this aquarium is among the best at this price point, and it’s made a great home to a wide variety of animals. In order to make this a complete and safe home, one would need to also buy a screen cover for the tank, which is very affordable and easy to install. An appropriate screen for this tank can be purchased here. Still, with the cost of the tank and the screen, this aquarium is just as affordable as dedicated gerbil cages.Owners of this aquarium state that it makes a great home for their pet, and those pets range from gerbils to hamsters to even snakes. The construction feels solid and the overall enclosure with the screen lid is very secure and escape-proof. Gerbil owners find that they can put a lot of bedding in this aquarium very easily and provide their gerbils with an extremely engaging environment.One downside to using an aquarium as a gerbil enclosure is that there’s a lack of a solid platform, so it can be hard to contain food, water, and toys in there. To combat this, lots of owners opt to add a gerbilarium to this aquarium, such as this one. Additionally, sometimes this aquarium can arrive broken, but that’s a problem that’s on the postal service, not the manufacturer.

PROS​

• Great visibility
• High, solid walls
• Excellent value for the size

CONS

• Hard to include food and water
• Can arrive broken

our #4 rated

Perfecto

20 Gallon Aquarium

Quality​

Value​

Our Rating

This 20 gallon aquarium by Perfecto provides the exact same living experience as the aquarium Aqueon aquarium listed above, but it’s twice the size. Therefore, this aquarium would be better suited for either groups of 3 or more gerbils or owners that want to provide their gerbils with more than the minimum recommended space. This enclosure would still provide gerbils with a safe and secure home, and should have a mesh screen such as this one to secure the enclosure.Owners of this aquarium have very similar experiences to the owners of the smaller one. The construction is very solid, the packaging upon arrival is great, and it provides a lot of space for gerbils to burrow. Perfecto also boasts that it is corrosion-proof, meaning that this tank should last for many years.One downside to this aquarium is that the added 10 gallons aren’t entirely added on to the length and width. This tank is substantially taller than the 10 gallon tank, which doesn’t matter too much to gerbils. However, it is still 3.75″ longer and 1.5″ wider than the 10 gallon tank, adding a good amount of extra size.

PROS​

• Corrosion-proof
• Large enough for 3 gerbils
• Bigger than the previous aquarium

CONS

• Added dimensions aren’t all in the length and width

our #5 rated

Kaytee

My First Home Habitat

Quality​

Value​

Our Rating

Kaytee is a massive manufacturer in the small animal cages space, and this My First Home Habitat is among the best gerbil cages from them. This cage features a deep base pan to contain a lot of bedding, tight wire spacing to prevent escapes, and chew proof locks and wires. The overall size of this cage is massive, making it an excellent home for 3 gerbils. The several added platforms are solid and provide lots of extra space for chew toys, food, and water bowls. The surfaces are nice and smooth (except for the ramps), which makes it easy to wipe down.Owners of this cage absolutely love how large it is, stating that several gerbils can comfortably live in it with plenty of room to dig and play. The about 6 inch base provides plenty of room for a thick layer of bedding without any spillage. Many owners find it easy to clean, and the overall layout of the cage they can put together is excellent for gerbils.A downside to this cage is that there is a good amount of plastic that can be chewed. Once again, this can be reduced by providing your gerbils with better things to chew on, but the problem still exists. The doors are also pretty small, which can make accessibility and cleaning difficult for some people.

PROS​

• Very large
• Deep, solid base pan
• Several solid platforms

CONS

• Made with chewable plastic
• Accessibility isn’t great

Our Choice

While gerbils are generally happy, engaging, energetic pets, these characteristics can be negatively influenced if they don’t have a good home to live in. Even if your gerbil isn’t in a cage for very long, choosing the correct one will ensure their physical needs are met and they’re happy and healthy even when they’re relaxing.

So, after carefully reviewing all of the gerbil cages available, we’ve determined that the best gerbil cage is the Prevue 528 Small Animal Home.

While this cage wasn’t specifically crafted for gerbils, it meets all of their specific requirements. The deep base pan with high walls allows you to give your gerbil several inches of bedding to burrow in without spillage. The tight cage helps to prevent chewing, and the added platform allows for some diversity in your gerbil’s living environment.