I wish I had done this with the rats I used to have.
My 30 gal tank I keep my mice in is half filled with garden soil and the mice love it. They have the traditional toys(Tunnels, running wheel, commercial small animal toy) and they are often ignored in favor of playing in the dirt.
So anyone with small animals, I suggest either filling in the bottom of a small animal's cage with soil or providing a digging box. I think you'll find they will really love it. If you have gerbils, I'd give them sand since they are desert animals.
The only downside is they are not smart enough to avoid burrying their water bottle in soil and it's amazing what dirt movers mice can be when they want to. So you have to provide a water bowl in case they bury their water bottle.
My 30 gal tank I keep my mice in is half filled with garden soil and the mice love it. They have the traditional toys(Tunnels, running wheel, commercial small animal toy) and they are often ignored in favor of playing in the dirt.
So anyone with small animals, I suggest either filling in the bottom of a small animal's cage with soil or providing a digging box. I think you'll find they will really love it. If you have gerbils, I'd give them sand since they are desert animals.
The only downside is they are not smart enough to avoid burrying their water bottle in soil and it's amazing what dirt movers mice can be when they want to. So you have to provide a water bowl in case they bury their water bottle.