You gerbil will need a periodic dust bath to keep his coat clean and shiny. Some people give their gerbils dust baths once a week or more but once a month is usually sufficient. Purchase chinchilla sand from a reputable pet supply store. You can purchase a bath as well or use a plastic bowl or container. Put some of the sand in the container and leave it in your gerbil’s cage. He will come to investigate and will roll in it on his own. If your gerbil doesn’t show interest in about 15 minutes, remove the bath and try another day. Eventually he will get the hang of it and enjoy rolling around. You can try spot clean sticky messes with a moist cloth. However, do not submerge your gerbil since this could be terribly frightening to your gerbil. Contact your South Miami, FL vet to learn more.