How to Feed a Gerbil

With all of the food products available for gerbils, it can be overwhelming and confusing to decide which products are best for your pet. You want to be sure that it is healthy, that your gerbil will like it and that it is not expensive. With a little guidance, you can pick the best products easily.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Food
• Treats
• Food bowls
• Water bottles

Select the Right Food

1. Use "pet block," a large brown pellet, as the base of all meals. This should be available at most pet stores.

2. Fill the bowl about a fourth of the way with pet block. (Should be about 2-6 pellets, depending on the size of the bowl.)

3. Use a mix with grains, vegetables and seeds over the pet block. The seeds should come no higher than the pet block.

Bowls and Water Bottles

4. Search for bowls that are ceramic or metal. Plastic bowls will be chewed up quickly.

5. Buy food bowls that keep the food from getting dirty if your gerbil is soiling his food.

6. Attach water bottles to the side of the cage instead of using water bowls. This reduces spills and keeps the water from getting dirty.

7. Check to be certain the water bottle has ball bearings in it.

The Best Treats

8. Provide wood gnaws or other chewing toys for your gerbil. They need to chew to keep their teeth from growing too long.

9. Buy salt or mineral blocks for your gerbil only if they are not eating the foods designed to give them the right nutrients. Some gerbils are so meticulous that they deprive themselves of needed foods. Otherwise, they are not needed.

10. Add vitamin drops to your gerbil's water to give them extra nutrients.

11. Start feeding vegetables and fruits once a week at first. These can be increased to once a day as long as the gerbil does not get diarrhea.

12. Chop up and give your gerbil apples without the seeds, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber or parsley. They can have lettuce in small amounts, but large amounts could cause liver damage.

13. Research safe plants to be given to gerbils before attempting to feed them plants, as some plants are poisonous to gerbils.

14. Feed your gerbil other foods only as treats. Some safe examples include: biscuits, boiled potatoes, bread, low fat breakfast cereals, small amounts of cheese used to fatten your gerbil, currents, dog biscuits, scrambled or boiled eggs, mealworms, raisins, sultanas or toast.

Tips & Warnings

• When giving your gerbil fruits and vegetables, give them only what they can eat. After 3 to 4 hours, you should remove all uneaten fruits and vegetables to remove the risk of making them sick.
• Do not use foods designed for other animals. These may not be safe for your gerbil and definitely will not fill their nutritional needs.
• Never give your gerbil raw kidney beans, onions, raw potatoes, potato tops (peels), raw rhubarb, rhubarb leaves, tomato leaves, chocolate, garlic, sweets or toffee. These could be dangerous for your gerbil and are definitely not healthy for them.