Feeding your gerbils the right food is essential to keeping them happy and healthy. Heres what your gerbils need for a good diet.
Gerbils naturally eat seeds of various grasses, bulbs and a range of leaves and herbs. Kept as pets, your gerbils need a good quality, balanced diet specifically for gerbils, and it should contain all the nutrients and minerals they need. This may be in the form of compound pellets or a mixture of different seeds, but if you go for commercial gerbil food youll know its formulated to meet their biological needs. Remember:
Beware! Dont give your pets grapes or rhubarb, as these are poisonous to rodents. Avoid excessive amounts of certain seeds (such as sunflower), as theyre fatty and can cause obesity.
Your gerbils should have fresh, clean drinking water constantly available, in a drinking bottle with a metal sipper tube. Check the water bottle daily for leaks or blockages, and change the water regularly. Be sure to clean the bottle and nozzle well each time.
Is Bird Seed Good For Gerbils To Eat?
Bird food isnt all bad for gerbils. Although it might not seem like a natural food choice for them, there are certain advantages. Therefore, before giving it to your gerbil, you might want to think about the following, particularly if you only have bird seed on hand:
To keep birds healthy, some bird seeds are enhanced with additional calcium. Additionally, some brands include sesame seeds, which have a high calcium content, in their mixes.
If you’ve run out of your rodent’s usual food, bird food works well in its place even though the majority of gerbil mixes contain calcium. But we must emphasize that you should not give your gerbil only bird seed to provide calcium.
Gerbils need calcium for strong bones and healthy teeth, just like the majority of other mammals. Without it, theyre at risk of developing soft, brittle bones. Thus, when your gerbil most needs a healthy calcium boost, bird food can deliver it.
Gerbils get bored of eating the same foods every day. Even though regular gerbil pellets give your rodent all the nutrition they require, treating them with treats like seeds and nuts is a great way to give their diet some flavor and enjoyment.
Certain gerbils are fond of seeds and nuts, especially sunflower and monkey nuts. Although it’s not advisable to frequently alter your gerbil’s diet, you can satisfy them with treat foods without upsetting their nutritional balance.
Keeps Teeth Filed Down
Gerbils have teeth that continuously grow. To avoid tooth overgrowth, they must therefore keep them filed down to a suitable length. The gerbil grinds its teeth from the top down, while the tooth grows from the bottom.
Most gerbils nibble on tough foods to keep their teeth neatly trimmed. Nuts and seeds found in bird food enable gerbils to perform this function. It also deters them from using the breakable plastic toys and bars of their cage as a teeth file.
In a similar vein, stereotypes are displayed by gerbils who are unable to keep their teeth trimmed. The gerbil’s repeated actions indicate that it is not happy in its current surroundings. Good-quality bird food can help prevent this.
Whats In Bird Seed Mix?
Not all bird seed mixes are created equal. Some contain foods that aren’t as good for gerbils as others, like seeds, nuts, and other items. Certain seeds and nuts are more nutrient-dense than others, but none are toxic or poisonous to gerbils.
Thus, keep an eye out for bird food that includes the following foods. The best advice is to buy a regular bird seed mix and remove all the foods that are inappropriate.
Sunflower seeds are a favorite with gerbils. Additionally, they are a major component of the majority of commercial bird seed mixes.
Sunflower seeds are high in fat and low in calcium. Despite this, they’re a great source of protein and important fat. But remember that half of a sunflower seed is made up of oil. Too much can cause problems for gerbils.
Gerbils adore sunflower seeds so much that they will prioritize them over other seeds and nuts until only those remain.
Pumpkin seeds are even more nutritious than pumpkin flesh. Since only about one-third of a pumpkin seed’s weight is made up of oil, they are less fatty than other seeds, such as sunflower seeds. They also contain good levels of carbohydrates and protein.
Additionally, gerbils require a lot of fiber to maintain regular toilet habits. Fortunately, pumpkin seeds contain a lot of fiber, which keeps a gerbil’s digestive system working well. Pumpkin seeds also contain:
Pumpkin seeds have a fibrous, solid outer shell that gives gerbils plenty of opportunity to grind down their teeth in addition to the nutrients they contain.
Bird food is bulked out by wheat. This fills birds up and makes them feel less hungry. Since flaked wheat is a common ingredient in gerbil mixes, it is reasonable to assume that gerbils can safely consume wheat.
Similarly, gerbils eat grains in the wild. They provide them with enough energy to exercise and dig large underground tunnels because they are a good source of carbohydrates.
Gerbils love fruits, whether fresh or dry. The concentrated taste makes it sweeter and satisfies a gerbil’s craving for something more appetizing than their dry food.
Most gerbil mixes include dried veggies, which implies that dried fruits are also safe for your gerbil to eat. Even though some animals find dried raisins toxic, they are still okay.
But too much dried fruit will cause your gerbil to gain weight because it’s high in sugar. As a result, your gerbil cant have too much.
Many bird mixes contain cracked corn. The texture of cracked corn is perfect for keeping teeth sharp. Gerbils enjoy playing with cracked corn in addition to eating it.
FAQ
Can I feed gerbils bird food?
Can gerbils eat sunflower seeds?
Can gerbils eat mealworms for birds?