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Post by snowballandnugget on Apr 13, 2014 16:27:21 GMT -8
I've been giving our gerbils Gerri gerbil but also include Living World's extrusion pellets because that was what they were being fed at the pet store. I leave it up to them to choose what they want to eat. I've been thinking of adding mealtimes to their diet. Do most owners on here provide their gerbils with meal worms? Are they a regular part of their diet or are they more of a treat?
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Post by gerbillover9612 on Apr 14, 2014 1:22:18 GMT -8
Ooo, okaay. Thankyou so much ill try fin Gerri Gerbil, i havnt seen it and my local pet shop yet but ill carry on looking at other places ;D
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rhianna
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Post by rhianna on Apr 14, 2014 8:08:26 GMT -8
Do most owners on here provide their gerbils with meal worms? Are they a regular part of their diet or are they more of a treat? I add a small amount to their food mix. They're more of a treat than a necessary part of their diet. Since they're full of protein, it's best not to feed them very often. 1-2 whole mealworms per week for each gerbil is usually fine.
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Post by sarahobw on Apr 15, 2014 12:27:16 GMT -8
I use Beaphar Xtravital (muesli) and Beaphar Care+ (pellet) mixed 50/50. I didn't want to take the joy out of feeding for them by using pellet mix alone, but they actually love the stuff and often pick it out first. I bowl feed them but tend to scatter the leftovers before I top it up so they get the opportunity to forage too. They get sunflower and pumpkin seeds as treats - Olly gets raisins and dried mealworms sparingly too but the others won't touch them.
Now obviously the Beaphar mix is advertised as tailored to gerbils, low fat etc, but I don't know much about which additives are harmful? Are there any specifically dangerous ones to look out for?
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Post by soullonely on Apr 16, 2014 6:46:23 GMT -8
I feed Oxbow essentials, and also give them treats, seed mixes, and mealworms, hay a couple times per week. I find with most gerbil mixes, they didn't eat the alfalfa pieces, so they were always wasted, and they were always a good chunk of the mixes I was feeding it seemed.
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keldamouse
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rest in peace my dear lovely Leela youre in our hearts
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Post by keldamouse on Apr 16, 2014 11:01:18 GMT -8
I use Beaphar Xtravital (muesli) and Beaphar Care+ (pellet) mixed 50/50. I didn't want to take the joy out of feeding for them by using pellet mix alone, but they actually love the stuff and often pick it out first. I bowl feed them but tend to scatter the leftovers before I top it up so they get the opportunity to forage too. They get sunflower and pumpkin seeds as treats - Olly gets raisins and dried mealworms sparingly too but the others won't touch them. Now obviously the Beaphar mix is advertised as tailored to gerbils, low fat etc, but I don't know much about which additives are harmful? Are there any specifically dangerous ones to look out for? Sarah you might want to look at egerbil.com or talk to rhianna about additives. Here is a thread where it was discussed: gerbilforum.proboards.com/thread/28932/petmountain-online-store-sells-gerbilRhianna also has a great tumblr site...http://gerbilgerbil.tumblr.com/foodmasterlist Don't you love how gerbils have food preferences just like humans or dogs? It is so adorable. I also like to feed pellets with a good mix. All of my gerbils were pet shop gerbils and raised on it so they like to be offered it as part of the mix.
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rhianna
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Post by rhianna on Apr 16, 2014 11:19:06 GMT -8
sarahobw Honestly I haven't heard much of anything about the Beaphar brand. I did a quick search on Google and couldn't find the ingredients... could you type them up? I do have a blog page that talks briefly about additives: gerbilgerbil.tumblr.com/foodmasterlistI've found that the UK food brands are usually better about not using so many harmful ingredients, so you're in luck there. BHT is pretty common in the US but is in fact banned in the UK. Many artificial colors and additives are also banned there as well. I don't have a lot of knowledge on the products that are sold over there, but I think that you're likely safe with that brand of food.
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Post by chakotay on Apr 22, 2014 8:20:24 GMT -8
My girls are really enjoying the Brown's Tropical Carnival Gourmet Food for Hamsters & Gerbils. It smells really good and they clean their bowls.
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Post by cantrelax on Apr 22, 2014 10:56:05 GMT -8
We use Gerri Gerbil with a bit of Oxbow mixed in because the Oxbow was what they had before we got them. I honestly feel that the Gerri Gerbil is worth the price because ALL the food gets eaten. We have tried other brands and the boys will eat some and then there is a bunch of "filler" left over that I just end up throwing away. We have very little waste with the Gerri Gerbil. I order it from Amazon.
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Post by witchy on Apr 24, 2014 7:05:15 GMT -8
I am new to the world of gerbils but so far I have noticed that my three girls love Tropical Carnival. They were being fed Oxbow at the store but I read on here that TC was better so I switched them over. I am thinking about adding Oxbow back into their diet though for some variety, maybe 25% Oxbow to 75% TC? I will absolutely try mealworms, I'm very interested to see how they react because they've never had them before. I have a new bottle of mealworms from a previous rescue, are these okay to use? They are Fluker's. Or would live mealworms be better? Also, this may seem like a silly question but like I said I'm new to this... I have their food in a large deep dish right now, an extra from my guinea pigs. Is this okay or should I get a shallower dish? I know some bird species are surface feeders; they won't dig for their food. However I know rats will dig right to the bottom and pick out their favorite pieces. Will they dig to the bottom or should I switch to a shallower dish? Finally, what is the best dish for gerbils: ceramic, plastic, bamboo, etc? They have a ceramic one right now. I've always used ceramic for my other small animals because they're so easy to clean and hard to tip. Is this okay? I'm sorry for asking so many questions on this thread, I thought it was pretty close to what I needed to know so there was no use starting another one :-P
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rhianna
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Post by rhianna on Apr 24, 2014 8:35:22 GMT -8
I am new to the world of gerbils but so far I have noticed that my three girls love Tropical Carnival. They were being fed Oxbow at the store but I read on here that TC was better so I switched them over. I am thinking about adding Oxbow back into their diet though for some variety, maybe 25% Oxbow to 75% TC? I will absolutely try mealworms, I'm very interested to see how they react because they've never had them before. I have a new bottle of mealworms from a previous rescue, are these okay to use? They are Fluker's. Or would live mealworms be better? Also, this may seem like a silly question but like I said I'm new to this... I have their food in a large deep dish right now, an extra from my guinea pigs. Is this okay or should I get a shallower dish? I know some bird species are surface feeders; they won't dig for their food. However I know rats will dig right to the bottom and pick out their favorite pieces. Will they dig to the bottom or should I switch to a shallower dish? Finally, what is the best dish for gerbils: ceramic, plastic, bamboo, etc? They have a ceramic one right now. I've always used ceramic for my other small animals because they're so easy to clean and hard to tip. Is this okay? I'm sorry for asking so many questions on this thread, I thought it was pretty close to what I needed to know so there was no use starting another one :-P TC is the best seed mix brand; definitely stick with it. Mixing in Oxbow is a great idea as it's very healthy when used as a supplement. When feeding mealworms, you shouldn't give them too many. Gerbils are sensetive to high amounts of protein and shouldn't have a huge amount in their diet. Since mealworms are pure protein, you should give them each no more than 2 whole mealworms per week. Dried is the best option, and the ones you have should be great. Never give them live mealworms; if you purchase them live, then you should always kill them before feeding to your gerbils. Live mealworms could bite your gerbils or could hide in the bedding and later emerge as beetles. That type of dish is fine. Gerbils are extreme diggers and will certainly dig for their food. Ceramic is also the best kind of dish for them, because they can't chew it or soil it.
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Post by witchy on Apr 24, 2014 11:19:35 GMT -8
Thank you so much!! I will absolutely limit the mealworms and look into supplementing Oxbow :-)
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Post by snowballandnugget on Apr 26, 2014 6:31:14 GMT -8
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rhianna
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Post by rhianna on Apr 26, 2014 8:07:19 GMT -8
That's weird. I think the second one might be a newly reformulated version... which sucks, because now it's not completely suitable.
If your store has the original type (the first one with 12.5% protein) then get that. That's the good type. I'm not sure why they had to go and do that. I hope they're just adding another type, not replacing the old one.
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Post by snowballandnugget on Apr 26, 2014 9:11:41 GMT -8
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