Potty litter training a Gerbil

I just got a Gerbil, and I bought a litter container, and those little litter beads made for mice/rats/gerbils, etc. It told me to put some of the Gerbil's poop into the container and that eventually it'd figure out that this was where it was supposed to go. My rat just gets into the container, and flings the beads EVERYWHERE including the poop. I can't get him to stop doing that! Will I ever be able to "potty" train him?

You are going to need to clean the cage completely every week or couple of weeks anyway so it isnt really essential but it can be fun to try to train rodents.

give your gerbil a week to settle in. Then clean the cage and take note of where your gerbil is choosing to potty. take some soiled bedding from that area and place it in the litter along with the litter beads. Place the litter in the exact same place your gerbil was choosing to potty when you reassemble the cage. Then see what happens. if you continue to do this every week soon your gerbil should get the hang of it. They are creatures of habit and organisation so they will pick one place to go and stick with it. Sometimes they pick two if you have more than one gerbil. Punishment or anything like that for getting it wrong would not be benificial...rodents are not like cats and dogs and do not learn through being told off. If anything they learn through praise and treats. If he begins to get it right, watch him/her and give a treat when he goes in to the litter. He'll soon catch on.