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Post by Guest on Nov 7, 2004 10:03:29 GMT -8
A couple days ago, I found a dried banana chip (first time) in a bag of gerbil food. I spotted it was I was feeding my gerbils, so I picked it out of the bowl and held it out for my male gerbil Bert. He's usually a picky eater, not wanting anything fruity. To my surprise, he grabbed it right away and started chowing down. He ate about a third of it (entire skinny round slice) but then started gagging. I freaked out and removed the chip. Not sure what to do, I watched him carefully and offered him a drop of water from his water bottle. He took the water and calmed down again. Is this the usual reaction from dried fruit? Should I remove these from the food when they happen into the bowl? He has never liked wet foods either, nor has my female (Ernie).
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Nov 7, 2004 10:05:38 GMT -8
My gerbil food has dried banana too, and my gerbils like it and have never had any problems with it.
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Post by Guest on Nov 7, 2004 10:06:23 GMT -8
I would make the chips smaller! I am no gerbil expert though!
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Post by Guest on Nov 7, 2004 20:48:53 GMT -8
My gerbil food has dried banana too, and my gerbils like it and have never had any problems with it. Same here. Something wrong with it's teeth maybe? |
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Post by Guest on Nov 8, 2004 12:11:49 GMT -8
Hello,
It just might be that he was eating greedily. Like humans who eat too much, he may have swallowed it wrong. Perhaps in the future, you could keep your eye on them when they eat it until you see there is no longer an issue. If it happens again, it may be the bananna and not an accident. If it does't happen, maybe it was a fluke.
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Post by Guest on Nov 8, 2004 12:22:58 GMT -8
hi. im no gerbil expert but,i have 2 possibilities: 1. maybe he was over excited about the new food, so he ate it too quickly! try givin him another piece and see what happens (just dont let him choke!) 2. The pieces were to big 4 him. good luck!  |
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Post by Guest on Nov 19, 2004 8:05:45 GMT -8
Well, the time that Bert ate it for the first time, he didn't try to shove the whole thing in his mouth at once, but just bit it off and chewed thoroughly. I wondered if perhaps it was too dry for him.
The last couple of days, he's gotten small bits of the same, or if a piece looked too big, I broke it in half. He does not seem to be having the problem anymore. Perhaps he was just too excited the first time. Thanks for all the replies.
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Post by Guest on Nov 21, 2004 19:26:00 GMT -8
Thank you for your feedback!! Experience is a great teacher.
Your shared experience will benefit us all. Thank you for sharing the ending!
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