I’ve kept gerbils for years, with just half an inch of sawdust in their cages. A friend puts eight-inch deep bedding in his gerbil tank, with just a bit of air space at the top. Isn’t there a risk ...

Q My daughter Maisie, eight, really wants a gerbil. Are they suitable as a child's pet and do they bring problems? If not a gerbil, can you recommend anything else for a child her age? A gerbil is ...