Well, that is an interesting question for sure – and the answer is mainly yes – but can be no?
Confusing answer I know – but Exoterra-style enclosures are amazing – they are front-opening with a front lip for safety. They are clear glass and come in a wide range of shapes and sizes – AND are usually very reasonably priced – so what is not to like?
Here is a direct link to this product if you want more information at it.
Can Duprasi Gerbils Live in Glass Tanks?
The most important question is can our lovely little doops live in a glass tank like Mongolian gerbils – or are there other things to consider?
Well, it is one of those ‘detail’ answers – yes duprasi can easily – and rather suit – living in a long tank that is reasonably wide and deep enough for a decent 20cm+ wheel – but it HAS to be well ventilated; can’t be in direct sunlight or near a large heat source; and can’t have open-ended high ledges or ramps.
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A 95cm long 45cm deep and high Exoterra would be perfect though. But shall we look at those details – just to be sure?
A Duprasi Tank Needs To Be Well Ventilated:
Just like Mongolian gerbils – they love to dig – dig, dig, dig. So they create a lot of ‘dust’.
Just like many other glass enclosures, Exoterras have a mesh lid only – they don’t have vents in the sides or backs (unlike other tanks and vivariums). This is good of course – as gerbils could chew their way out – which we certainly don’t want.
However, having only the top with the mesh or wire, means that they can’t be slipped in to a tight-fitting shelving unit without compromising on that air-flow. If the shelf above an Exoterra is too close to the tank itself, you may need air movement across it to help ventilate the internal space.
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Having the front opening doors is a huge advantage, as everytime you open these nice wide doors, you are sucking new air into the enclosure’s heart and creating that draught.
Having the front opening doors also means you can access your doops more easily without having to move the entire enclosure forwards each time – increasing the interaction time between you and your favourite pancake.
A Duprasi Tank Can’t Be In Direct Sunlight:
So, needless to say – any enclosure shouldn’t be in direct sunlight – but with a tank the problems of overheating are amplified.
Just like sitting in a car on a sunny day – sitting in a tank through a sunny window can increase the temperature inside the enclosure dramatically.
This by itself isn’t a huge issue – and the doop can often avoid those warmer areas short term – but of course, hot glass can often mean sweaty inside. It is quite common for moist food, water, or toilet areas will start to condense, creating excess moisture. This can often be seen as damp patches on the inside of the glass itself – which can lead to mould.
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These patches of damp aren’t the worst of it though – quite often any plastic or airtight houses will get too hot when being slept in – and the exhaling of your doop all day asleep will create moisture too. Often, this will result in damp or even wet nesting materials in the doops only safe spot. And unless you lift the top off their nest every day – you won’t see this until it is already quite bad.
Direct sunlight can also increase the amounts of shadows falling across the tank – which is usually a trigger for a flight response (as it looks like a hawk or other predator) – so window living for rodents isn’t usually that fun anyway!
A Duprasi Tank Can’t Have High Ledges:
If you haven’t already read it elsewhere – doops don’t have a head for heights. Well, more of no head for falling from a height?
Strangely, they tend to just walk off the edges of things no matter the height?
They are like battery powered little robots – and can go up and up all day long, but they don’t think to come back down the same way they went up. They just change direction and ‘go that way’ – quite often straight off the edge of a platform or ledge.
Not too good if your enclosure has a ledge too high up – or a ledge – even a modest ledge – over a harder fall – like onto sand or your naturalistic-looking rocks!
They don’t seem to learn about it either – or it takes longer than most people are prepared to wait. Best to just assume they will fall off everything, and keep it all low and padded!
Branches again are a good thing appearance-wise – and although doops don’t have gripping hands and feet – they can sometimes make good work of getting up them. Then they fall off. They can barely hold the branches on the way up – so turning around and coming back down was never going to be easy anyway – but they don’t even try – they just walk into thin air.
It is almost like they know they can’t do this ‘down’ part – so are just designed to fall and bounce if they can? They do have a nice padded body I suppose?
What Size Exoterra Is Best For A Duprasi?
Duprasi do best in a tank that is longer and wider – as opposed to a taller, thinner one – mainly because of the whole falling thing. No point having something massively tall if you can’t have more than one ledge in there. They are totally rubbish on ladders too.
So, any of the Exoterra tanks that are wider than their height are the best ones to look at for starters. The range called ‘low’ are the ones to look out for – and these tanks come in standard sizes – so they will usually all be 45cm high and 45cm deep* – just the width varies.
Exoterra Medium Low – is 60cm wide (45cm deep x 30cm high)
Exoterra Large Low – is 95cm wide (45cm deep x 30cm high)
You can go for the 60cm tall versions (Large Tall) if you want to make the enclosure look super special and/or can insert an underground level that you can view into – therefore raising the ground level artificially.
This would be great to view into if it could be safely lit – as there is a supported front viewing panel built in to these enclosures. That means your doops underground lair would be clearly seen (if set up artifically of course). If you let them dig it themselves – you just probably wouldn’t ever see them…
You could also decide on the Exoterra Medium Tall (60cm wide x 45cm deep x 60cm high) to save space – but this would HAVE to have the homemade built-in underground layer otherwise it wouldn’t be able to fit in everything needed for a doop to really enjoy themselves.
Doops love running – so you want to create straight stretches – usually best to be around the perimeter (never have doop houses and things right up against the sides). So, if you made a deep unground layer, with 2 entrance/exit points with ramps on opposite sides, and then a slightly raised level across half the back with ramps, then they could run full circle until they ran out of steam – up and down like a spiral car park! Basement – ground floor and mezzanine!
You could have the wheel (they need a wheel) suspended up above the mezzanine ledge to increase their running space even further – perfect.
Your Doops are just going to LOVE LOVE LOVE you for sure!
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*Just be aware that the 45cm deep measurement is usually ‘just’ deeper than most standard shelving units, and as the Exoterras are supported on 4 feet (to raise them up enough if underground heating is required with a non-contact heat mat) so this will often hang over the edge causing ‘tension’ stress on the tank itself. This over time could impact on the gapping around the doors and apply pressure in the corners. Best measure or reinforce your supporting shelf if needed and keep as flat as possible.
Tanks are already quite heavy too – so if you are filling with a sandy substrate or extra layers – to take this extra weight into account – as the base is just a sheet of glass. The base of these enclosures isn’t directly on the ground – it is supported by its feet only.