What shouldn gerbils eat

You should put the food and water containers in a corner of your gerbil's cage. They should be placed away from the animal's bathroom area, as gerbils like to keep their bathroom area away from food and water. It will bury food in its bedding and then eat it later. However, keeping the food dish away from the main nesting area just increases the time it takes for your gerbil to make a mess of its cage.

Part 2. Give your gerbil food mix every day. The amount of food you feed your gerbil can vary widely, although most gerbils eat about a tablespoon every day. As you get used to feeding the gerbil you will get used to how much the animal will eat every day.

Provide your gerbil with raw vegetables. Offer your gerbil small amounts of a variety of vegetables in order to give it some variety in its diet. Giving little pieces is important so that your gerbil does not eat too much.

Gerbils tend to love a wide variety of vegetables but some popular choices include: [6] X Research source Peas Small sprigs of broccoli Chunks of carrot Small pieces of lettuce.

Give your gerbil bits of fruit. Give your gerbil a small piece or 2 of fruit every week. There are a wide variety of fruits that gerbils love to eat, so they will pick it over healthier foods, like their food mix. Because of this, it's important to only give them a little bit. Some fruits you can feed your gerbil include: [7] X Trustworthy Source Animal Humane Society Leading animal welfare nonprofit organization providing medical care, training education, and resources for animal owners Go to source Apple Blueberries Mango Pear Strawberries Kiwi Pineapple Banana.

Avoid giving your gerbil foods that are toxic. There are a few foods that you shouldn't give to your gerbil. Provide your gerbil with timothy hay. Gerbils benefit from roughage in their diet for enrichment and nutritional reasons. Provide your gerbil with plenty of fresh timothy hay, which will help keep its digestive system running well. It also gives your gerbil a nice snack to munch on throughout the day. You can also use timothy hay as part of your gerbil's bedding.

Part 3. Provide clean water at all times. It is important that your gerbil has access to water whenever it wants to drink some. This balanced diet should be fed consistently and without significant changes. Fortunately, you can feed a gerbil the same thing throughout its life. This is more similar to their natural diet, which contains all these things substituting dried vegetables for fresh. These foods usually look like tiny, dark, and dry biscuits.

Different brands differ a lot, either having other ingredients or being processed to a different extent. Having such a wide variety of beans, seeds, and grains means that your gerbil has many different kinds of food, just like in nature. It also avoids nutritional deficiency, which can arise when a pet is fed only one type of food. Also, this kind of food mix is perfect for foraging pets like gerbils. Tiny seeds and grains are difficult to find when scattered on the substrate, which will give your gerbils something to do.

Gerbils far prefer foraging in preference to eating from a bowl. Gerbil food mix is formulated to contain the right amount of nutrients of all kinds. Otherwise, you would have to feed your gerbil dozens of different things.

Not all gerbil food mixes are equal. Cheaper mixes tend to have lots of one ingredient and hardly any of the rest. This falls into the same trap as a general seed mix where your pet will be nutritionally deficient. So, for example, one mix might have lots of wheat grains and little else. Wheat grains are a cheap ingredient, so a manufacturer could save money by putting wheat in and hardly anything else.

Check the ingredients before you buy. It is possible to formulate your own gerbil diet plan. Your food should contain ingredients that are similar to those listed above. It should be high in carbohydrates, have a reasonable amount of protein, and have little fat. In the wild, gerbils eat lots of fresh food. Given that you want to feed your gerbil healthy gerbil foods, this is likely your first idea. Wild gerbils hoard their food in stores, where it can go stale but is still edible.

They will still eat it. Premade gerbil mixes are perfectly safe and healthy. That being said, fresh fruits and vegetables are suitable for snacking. Fruit is safe for gerbils to eat and is reasonably nutritious. The fruits that gerbils can eat include pears, melons, apples, and oranges. When feeding your gerbil fruit, stick to fruits that you know are safe.

It is full of sugars, with little protein or fat. They should be a supplemental food used to add variety or even be used as a treat. The main vegetables that people feed gerbils are cucumber , fennel, pumpkin, and carrot. Again, vegetables are mostly water and sugar. The same applies to leafy greens. Gerbils eat grasses and greens in the wild, but not exclusively. They need lots of seeds, roots and so on too. Gerbils drink far less than other similar animals. Your gerbil will need constant access to a water source to avoid dehydration.

This is especially the case if you feed it lots of dry or dried foods like nuts, seeds, and seed mixes. You will need to change the water inside the tube regularly. This will prevent bacterial build-up. If you leave it they will bury any uneaten food and it will start to decay causing a smell and other possible health hazards.

Although gerbils drink very little and can get most of the water they need from their diet, they should always have access to water, particularly so in the case of elderly or pregnant or nursing gerbils. It is best to use a water bottle as gerbils have a natural instinct to bury their water bowls.

They are poisonous to gerbils as well as rhubarb x. Limited availability due to high demand. Find us. Your gerbils' diet Our vets' advice on a healthy, balanced diet for your gerbils. Gerbils are omnivores. This means they eat both plants and meat. Their natural diet includes a whole range of foods such as seeds, plants and insects. Pellet type food is best.

Avoid muesli-style mixes as gerbils will leave the bits packed with fibre and will only eat the sugary parts.