The problem with this is that they have a tendency to escape. Offering your gerbil the occasional cricket can enrich its diet and provide that all-important mental stimulation they crave. Cucumber is a good treat for gerbils. It contains the fat, protein, and carbohydrates your gerbil needs to stay healthy. Gerbils also enjoy chewing through the tough skin, which keeps their teeth filed to a comfortable length. Fiber is another essential nutrient found in cucumber, which helps the digestive system work properly.
However, because cucumber is mostly water, too much will give your gerbil diarrhea. It also lacks a few minerals and vitamins, so cucumber is mostly a tasty treat. Boiled or scrambled eggs make a tasty weekly snack. They contain plenty of vitamins and nutrients, including fat, iron, and B-vitamins.
While we throw eggshells in the bin, gerbils can eat them. As a result, consider leaving the eggshell attached whenever you feed your gerbil egg. In the wild, gerbils live off grass, including mugwort, bristle grass, and lyme grass. They also eat the bulbs and seeds underground.
You can recreate this diet by offering your gerbil hay. Your pet will love gnawing on the tough strands to keep its teeth filed down. Lettuce is one of the most commonly-given snack foods to gerbils. Romaine, leaf, and butterhead lettuce are safe the most nutritious kind. These varieties are less likely to cause digestive problems. Similarly, lettuce is prone to carrying pesticides, so you must wash it thoroughly before feeding it to your gerbil.
Not all gerbils enjoy lettuce as it has a bland flavor. Mealworms are one of the most popular animal protein sources for gerbils.
Most are roughly 1 inch or smaller and contain around the same amount of protein as chicken gram-for-gram. Nuts are a highly nutrient-dense food, making them a safe snack for gerbils to eat. Gerbils happily eat them in the wild whenever they can find them, although there are few trees in their natural habitat. Safe nuts for gerbils include:. These nuts contain plenty of carbohydrates for basic energy, which keeps your gerbil fuelled throughout the day.
However, they are also high in fat and calories, which is why you must restrict nuts to an occasional treat. Gerbils can eat either raw, fresh peas or cooked ones. Similarly, frozen peas are as nutritionally beneficial as the fresh type, according to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Raw peas are crispier, while cooked peas have a softer, easier-to-eat texture. While both are healthy, gerbils tend to prefer the raw, crunchier kind.
Feed peas to your gerbil once or twice a week alongside a healthy gerbil food mix and other fruits and vegetables. Although, popcorn is high in fiber and antioxidants, which can benefit your gerbil.
It also has low levels of macronutrients, including:. Gerbils nibble on the popcorn before eating it, minimizing the risk of choking. Not only is the flesh edible, but gerbils can also eat the seeds. Pumpkins are high in calcium, phosphorus, and carbohydrates, which are all essential nutrients gerbils need. There is a fair bit of sugar and acidity in a pumpkin, but small amounts are unlikely to affect your gerbil too significantly.
Give them enough that they can hold comfortably in their hands — this is the right amount for a treat. Raisins are sweet and chewy, making them the perfect delicious snack.
Dried fruits and vegetables are often found in gerbil food mixes, where vegetables are slightly more common than fruits. However, this alone suggests that raisins are safe for gerbils to eat. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Featured Video. Read More. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for TheSprucePets. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.
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You can read more about the safe kinds of fruits and veg to feed your gerbil here. Healthy treats like boiled or scrambled egg, mealworms, lean meat, lentils, beans, peas or chickpeas. How can I make feeding time fun for my gerbils? Things to gnaw and chew Gerbils love to chew things. Our guide Download our guide to food and fitness for small pets. Gerbil health Some simple steps you can take to help keep your gerbils healthy. Buy food online Buy gerbil food, hay and supplements on our online pet store.
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. Check the water level of your gerbil's water bottle daily and be sure that it is freshened every few days. This will help you to notice if your gerbil is not drinking its normal amount of water.
Check your gerbil's food daily. In order to make sure that your gerbil is getting enough to eat, you should check its dishes every day. You should also look around the animal's cage to make sure that the gerbil has not stashed a lot of food in its bedding.
This is a chance for you to remove any spoiled food as well, such as the pieces of vegetable you are giving your gerbil. Clean food and water dishes weekly. While you don't have to scrub the food and water dishes every day, it is important to keep them clean.
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