- Staple food. A good staple food will form most of your gerbils’ diet and contain all nutrients your gerbils need.
- Vegetables and herbs. Vegetables can be fed to gerbils but should not be the main diet of pet gerbils. ...
- Fruit. Some gerbil owners will occasionally give their gerbils fruit. However, your gerbil won’t need to be fed fruit to stay healthy, and giving fruit can sometimes cause health issues.
- Vitamins and supplements. Gerbils can develop their own vitamin c and don’t necessarily need it in their diet. ...
- Gerbil treats. Everybody loves to get some treats from time to time and gerbils are no exception to this. ...
- Harmful foods. Animals usually lose the enzymes that are required to digest milk after weaning. ...
What fruits and veggies can I Feed my gerbils?
You can safely give your gerbil the following veggies daily:
- Timothy hay
- Kale
- Romaine lettuce
- Beet greens
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Peas
- Cooked sweet potatoes
- Carrots
What kind of food do gerbils like as a treat?
You can safely give your gerbil a bite-sized amount of these fruits every other day:
- Pears
- Melon
- Apples
- Oranges
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
What can gerbils eat besides gerbil food?
What Can Gerbils Eat Besides Gerbil Feed?
- Apples. Honestly, who doesn’t like apples? ...
- Blueberries. ...
- Green Peas. ...
- Sunflower Seeds. ...
- Peanuts (unsalted) Like sunflower seeds, peanuts too should only be fed as a treat to gerbils because an excess of any human food can go rather south.
- Other Food Items You Can Serve Your Gerbil. ...
How much should gerbils eat?
Tips to Keep Gerbils From Eating too Much
- Eating More Than Just Their Favorite Parts. When gerbils only pick out their favorite pieces from their food mix, they may only be selecting the unhealthy parts.
- Limit Refilling Their Food too Early. ...
- Cut Back on the Treats. ...
- Try Different Feeding Strategies. ...
- Keep a Good Exercise to Feeding Ratio. ...
What is a gerbils favorite food?
Gerbils will enjoy small amounts of dried banana, pumpkin seeds, nuts, millet (the kind sold for budgies and other birds), crispy vegetables such as raw broccoli and carrot, small amounts of fruit, such as apples and grapes (but break the skin so the gerbil can easily see the moist interior), alfalfa, and hay.
What food kills gerbils?
Nuts that are cooked, salted, or flavored are often toxic and sometimes deadly to gerbils. Cooked nuts are the least offending of the above, but they are still unhealthy for pet gerbils. Salted is the next worst on the list. Flavored nuts take the lead as the worst type of nut to give to a gerbil.
Do you feed gerbils everyday?
Gerbils need to be fed daily to keep them sustained. You should, however, be wary of feeding them foods with high fat or sugar contents (such as fruit, nuts and seeds) every day, Gerbils can swiftly become obese. You might also find that your gerbils like to hoard their food.
What should gerbils be fed?
Gerbils are omnivores who enjoy a wide variety of seeds, fruits, vegetables, and insects. Commercial pellet mixes provide your gerbils with the nutrients they need. A proper selection of natural produce can be a healthy alternative to store-bought mixes, a tasty treat, or a supplement to their conventional diet.
Can gerbils have bananas?
Gerbils can eat fresh bananas and both green (under-ripe) and black (over-ripe) bananas. But they're high in carbs and low in protein and fat. The minerals found in bananas include magnesium, copper, and manganese.
Can gerbils eat cheerios?
Plain cheerios are fine for gerbils to eat. They arent likely to make your gerbil fat. Cheerios are part of my gerbils staple diet, and they always eat their cheerios.
Is lettuce poisonous to gerbils?
Lettuce is safe for gerbils to eat. It contains nutrients such as folate, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins K and A. Red and green leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce, and romaine lettuce are good choices. Gerbils shouldn't eat iceberg lettuce as its water content is too high.
Do gerbils need hay?
Gerbils need hay to keep their teeth healthy. That's because gerbils have incisors that don't stop growing. The tooth grows from the bottom, and gerbils naturally grind it from the top as they eat.
What meat can gerbils eat?
They are high in fat and protein like other kinds of meat. But gerbils can also eat other kinds of meat. They can eat chicken, pork, and beef. They can eat any meat, provided that it's fed in moderation and that you understand your pet's nutritional needs.
How often should gerbils have vegetables?
twice weeklyGerbils should be offered one teaspoon of fresh fruit and vegetables (apples or carrots) twice weekly. Don't overfeed these fresh foods, they contain a lot of moisture and too much can cause an upset stomach.
Can gerbils eat peas?
Peas contain vitamins A, B1, and K, plus copper, zinc, manganese, and iron, so they are a healthy snack. You can feed peas to gerbils once or twice a week at most. The rest of your pet's diet should be a gerbil food mix.
Can gerbils eat raw broccoli?
Raw broccoli is safe for gerbils to eat without prior preparation. It's also the healthiest way to serve the vegetable.
What is the best diet for gerbils?
Treats. Chewing and Gnawing. Foods to Avoid. Water. Feeding Routine. Gerbils are omnivores who enjoy a wide variety of seeds, fruits, vegetables, and insects. Commercial pellet mixes provide your gerbils with the nutrients they need.
How to keep gerbils healthy?
Rather than keeping a specific food dish in your gerbil's habitat, you can instead sprinkle the food onto the floor of their cage and let them hunt for it. They'll be more engaged and will be more likely to eat a larger variety of food, letting them get all the nutrients they need to stay healthy. Pagination. 1. 2.
How long does a gerbil need to be in water?
An alternative to a filtration system is to use bottled drinking water or tap water that has sat in an open container for at least 24 hours. Like any other pet, your gerbil should have a feeding routine. The specific mix you feed them will have serving instructions and proper portion sizes.
What can gerbils not process?
Cardboard from food packaging. Coconut shells. Untreated softwood. Hay cubes. Foods to Avoid. As with many animals, gerbils cannot process certain types of food. Avoid feeding these foods to your gerbil, as they are dangerous or toxic: Rhubarb.
How much protein is in a gerbil mix?
It’s recommended that the mix contains around 14% protein. Anything less than that will likely need to be supplemented with other sources of protein, such as insects. Some sources recommend more or less protein. If you’re unsure, consult your vet about your gerbil’s needs.
What is the fat content of a gerbil?
Seed mixes, while a good source of protein, can also be high in fat. Make sure your mix has a fat content between 6% and 8% so your gerbil doesn’t put on excess weight. Certain seeds, like sunflower seeds, are high in fat content but are also tasty, so your gerbil may pick these out first.
Do gerbils bury food?
Your gerbil will hoard food for later. They often bury food in the nooks and crannies of their cage or under the shredded paper on the floor, but they won't remember where it is after a few hours. The food will rot after a period of time if you don't realize it was hidden.
What is a good diet for gerbils?
A good quality, balanced diet especially for gerbils, containing all the nutrients and minerals they need. This may be a compound pelleted ration or a mixture of different seeds; commercial rations are formulated to meet their biological needs.
What do gerbils need?
Gerbils need: Fresh, clean drinking water constantly available, in a drinking bottle with a metal sipper tube. Check the water bottle daily for leaks and/or blockages. Gerbils must always have access to clean fresh water. Their water changed regularly and the bottle and nozzle cleaned properly. A good quality, balanced diet especially ...
How much grain do gerbils hoard?
Gerbils love to hoard food in large stores. In the wild, gerbils may hoard up to 1.5kg of grain in one store! To avoid sudden dietary changes, or food that has been allowed to become stale, as they can upset their stomachs. Monitoring daily to see how much they eat and drink.
What is the best food for gerbils?
The best food for gerbils is a specially formulated gerbil mix. It contains nuts, seeds, corn flakes, and dried vegetables. Healthy gerbil foods also include fruit and vegetables, but only as a treat. There are foods to avoid that may poison gerbils, like grapes and rhubarb.
What is gerbil food?
Far better than a general seed mix intended for ‘rodents’ is one that’s tailored to the needs of gerbils. Gerbil food mix should be the majority of your gerbil’s diet. It’s designed to contain everything a gerbil needs. These mixes don’t just contain seeds, but seeds, beans, grains, dried vegetables, and general fiber.
How long does gerbil food last?
If you are feeding your gerbils food mix, this will stay fresh for longer than two days. But feed them fruit and vegetables this way and they may go bad. So, remove stale gerbil food from your pet’s gerbilarium regularly.
How much fat do gerbils need?
What’s easier to get wrong is the amount of protein and fat a gerbil eats. Gerbils require somewhere between 2 and 20 percent fat in their diet. Not enough research has been done to determine exactly how much is required. However, studies indicate that gerbils can survive when fed as little as 2% fat.
Why do gerbils need carbohydrates?
They need carbohydrates for energy, protein for muscle growth, and fat for their fat stores. But if fed these things in the wrong amounts, that’s bad for them. The majority of a gerbil’s diet should be made up of carbohydrates. What’s easier to get wrong is the amount of protein and fat a gerbil eats.
Do gerbils eat fresh food?
Given that you want to feed your gerbil healthy gerbil foods, this is likely your first idea. However, there’s no need for a gerbil to eat lots of fresh food.
Can gerbils eat the same food?
Gerbils require a high-quality and balanced diet. They can’t eat the same food day in, day out unless you buy a specially formulated and gerbil-specific food mix. This balanced diet should be fed consistently and without significant changes. If you change your gerbil’s diet, you risk giving them upset stomachs.
What to feed a gerbil?
Fruits and dried fruits are usually a great treat to give your gerbil. They should be cut up in slices that are big enough for them to hold. They should also be fresh aside from dried fruits. Banana chips should be broken into smaller chips so they don’t become choking hazards.
Do gerbils need hay?
Gerbils don’t need hay to survive since they are getting most of their energy from pellet food and other items you feed them. That’s not to say they don’t use hay to chew on since their teeth continually grow. This is why other items in their habitat are also meant for chewing including cardboard.
What is the best food for gerbils?
For a good staple food, most gerbil owners will choose between: lab blocks or pellet food. commercial or homemade seed mixes.
What supplements are good for gerbils?
Other vitamins and minerals aren’t nutritional but help to keep your gerbils healthy. Vitamin and mineral supplements are available in different forms, such as powder, but are in most cases, already available in sufficient amounts in the special gerbil mixes.
What percentage of gerbils need protein?
A balanced gerbil diet should contain: protein: a percentage between 12 and 16 percent is required for gerbils.
What do Mongolian gerbils eat?
Mongolian gerbils, the most common pet gerbil, are no exception. Gerbils feed on the seeds of grasses, roots, bulbs, and leaves in the wild. In captivity, a high-quality and well-balanced gerbil mix should be given. Occasionally treats such as sunflower seeds, fruit, and vegetables can be given.
How much water should I give my gerbils?
But in captivity, it’s advised to give your gerbils access to fresh water at all times. A single gerbil will drink up to 150 ml per month (around 5 ml daily) depending on the age, temperature and exercise levels. You have two options to give water to your gerbils: a water bottle or a water dish.
How much protein should gerbils eat?
You need to consider that gerbils will need to be fed a main diet that is low in fiber content, contains between 12 and 16 percent protein, and between 6 and 9 percent fat. Older gerbils will need a diet with less protein and fat.
Where can I give gerbils snacks?
As I already mentioned, you can give healthy snacks to your gerbils found in nature or supermarkets. If you’re looking for ready-to-go snacks for your gerbils, I would recommend the following snacks:
