Questions About My Two Gerbils?

Question

I just got my two gerbils back from my father, who has been feeding them Doritos and sunflower seeds ever since I had him look after them. I gave them some cucumber and lettuce, but they're not eating. There's a bunch of sunflower seeds [my dad put them there] on the bottom of the cage and I read that it isn't good to give them a lot. I'm afraid that since my dad has been spoiling them rotten, that they won't eat Gerbil food or anything else besides what they have been eating. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what to feed them to help them go on a healthy diet. I heard wood chips are good for their teeth, because they've been chewing on the spinning wheel that I have provided them when I first purchased them. I'm concerned and don't want to be punished for my father's lack of responsibility, fearing that they will die from poor diet. What can I do?

Answer 1

I'm afraid you are going to have to be cruel to be kind, put a bowl of basic dry Gerbil mix and do not remove it until they have eaten it. They will eventually start eating it because they will not willingly starve!

Gradually as they become less fussy with their food, start introducing treats in their diet such as;

Apple – dried or fresh

Carrot

Banana – dried or fresh

Cucumber

Dried bread

Cheese

Cooked pasta/rice

Grapes

Tomato

Cereals (low sugar, so shredded wheat is ok, all bran, porridge)

Wild birdseed

Dandelion leaves

Grass (make sure no toxins on it)

Dried Dog biscuits - for extra protein and variety in their food

Millet seeds

Walnuts

Hazelnuts

Almonds

Broccoli

I would personally lay off the Sunflower seeds for now but start at a later date.

As for chewing plastic, I would go out and buy some wooden chew toys as, if swallowed, plastic can be very dangerous. If you have any cardboard boxes around the house i.e Toilet roll tube, any empty food cartons give these to them, they will keep them occupied until you can go out and buy solid wooden toys.

Answer 2

As far as your chewing problem, they need to have something to chew on or their teeth will grow into their brain. I suggest 1 walnut per gerbil or more. It is probably the most inexpensive way to help them. As far as your food problem, they might not be hungry. I don't think that they will stop eating just because they were spoiled for a little while. Also, if your concerned with their diet, you can go to a local pet store and they should have some food special for gerbils and this should help them maintain a healthy diet. I would be concerned about the Doritos for the future. Cheese will give a gerbil a heart attack, so be careful. Good luck and enjoy.

Answer 3

no no! no wood! i dont recomened that. They could get a splinter! in petco or petsmart, they have like these mineral rocks to chew on. and yes, sunflower seeds arent very healthy. It makes them fat [trust me, ive had 12 hammys in my whole life] um try to buy food at the local pet store that doesnt have seeds in em

Answer 4

Just put some gerbil food in their cage. A healthy gerbil will not starve itself. They'll eat it eventually. Lots of sunflower seeds can lead to a fat gerbil, so it's probably best to just slowly wean them off them. Just leave a few each day in their cage until you've gotten to the point where they'll eat other stuff.

As for chewing, try cardboard items such as toilet paper and paper towel rolls, cereal boxes, fast food drink holders, etc. If the wheel is plastic, and they're chewing on it, I would recommend you take it out. If ingested, plastic could cause a blockage. Most gerbils won't swallow it, but if by chance they did, it could be risky. I haven't heard of wood chips to be used for them to chew on, but it could work I suppose, as long as the wood is aspen. Aspen is the safest wood for small animals. Cedar is a huge no-no, and pine is alright but not ideal. Try wooden toys from the pet store, also.

The best you can do is work hard on getting them back on track to being healthy. I don't think they'll suffer any long term problems.