Housing Setup for a Pair or Large Clan
home
10 gallon tank, heavy wire mesh cover and clips
4 oz. water bottle and guard
Wheel hung on the side covered with masking tape
Ceramic bowl (optional)
Sturdy cardboard (or wooden) nest box w/unscented toilet tissue
Carefresh 3-4 inches deep
Lighter cardboad to gnaw and tubes to tunnel
My basic Setup for a gerbil pair
20 Gallon long can house 4-5 males
Deep Carefresh litter
Levels to climb and explore
Only one box to nest/sleep in
* This is a nice Setup for a large clan (of more than two gerbils).  Alex, Alan, and Tequila are shown here.  A same sex pair can have much more elaborate housing with tubes and tunnels. 
* Note that: a breeding pair must have a very simple setup for the safety of the pups.
* The setup above is a 20 gallon tank with a wire mesh screen cover.
* It has the bottom of a plastic critter cage in the back left filled with sand.  It starts out as a sandbox and is later a potty to keep waste to one area of the tank. 
* The left side is corn cob to dig in (the water bottle is on the side since the litter is not deep). 
* There are kitchen shelving "steps" in the middle.
* Ceramic food bowl (on steps) is optional; the gerbils will quickly bury their food.  Sometimes I put it directly on the bedding.
* A couple of boxes that are open ended are for climbing and gnawing in the middle.
* The right side has carefresh for tunneling and a next box with unscented toilet tissue underneath.
* This setup is interesting for my larger clan, but *important* only has one logical place for them to nest.  This keeps them all sleeping in one pile so that they do not create territories and stay bonded as a clan.