When selecting toys for your gerbil, keep in mind that he'll quickly chew apart and destroy any plastic item he's given.

Gerbils enjoy running, hiding, chewing, burrowing, climbing, jumping and playing. Toys designed for gerbils cultivate these favored activities and are grouped according to the activity they promote, as follows:

• Running: Exercise wheels and balls appeal to your gerbil's desire to run. Exercise wheels come in plastic or wire, in a solid or slatted style.
• Hiding: Gerbils feel more secure if they have a place to hide. A small cube, nook or other enclosure will suit this purpose.
• Chewing: Chew toys include wood chews, fruit chews, dowels and soft wood toys of all types. These benefit your gerbil by encouraging him to chew, thus trimming his teeth.
• Burrowing: Gerbils burrow in their bedding. Be sure that your pet has plenty of bedding materials. You can also put cardboard bits or hay into his cage for him to chew up and burrow in.
• Exploring: Gerbils like to explore and there are many commercial toys that will appeal to this aspect of his nature. Enclosures and towers with numerous holes and passageways are a favorite play item.
• Climbing, jumping and playing: Place several cubes, enclosures, towers, castles or platforms in your gerbil's cage and he'll enjoy climbing and jumping from one to the next. When given a container of sand (preferably sand manufactured especially for rodents), gerbils will roll about and play in it, cleaning their coats of excess oils at the same time.