My Gerbil eats his cage

Question
What does it mean when my gerbil eats all the plastic accessories in his cage? He has a plastic wheel attached to his cage that has been obviously chewed and chunks of it are missing so i can only believe that he is eating it. What should I do?

Answer
Dear Kelley,
thank you for your question.
Gerbils chew a lot, they need to keep their teeth short and it's typical behaviour for them. This is why plastic toys and plastic cages are not suitable for gerbils (or other rodents): plastic can be harmful or even deadly when chewed and swallowed. Please remove all plastic from the cage before something happenes. If it is a plastic cage, I recommend getting a tank (with a mesh wire lid and no higher than wide for good ventilation) for him, tanks are also better for filling in a high layer of substrate the gerbil can dig in, they love that.
Offer your gerbil cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, hay and twigs from hazel, beech, birch, willow, poplar, oak, apple and pear trees if yu have access to untreated trees. The twigs are a good source for minerals, too.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer