Post by ignacia on Apr 13, 2014 8:42:51 GMT -8
Hi! So I've got my two girls since January, they are my firsts gerbils, so I've been reading TONS of information since, and I've come across SO many "health risks" list and tips over my infinite search, that sometimes I think I'm being really paranoid, but then, having no experience and wanting my girls to live the longest happiest lives possible, I don't know what to do (and on top of that, here in Chile (south america) where I live, they sell gerbils but almost nothing really gerbil intended, just "Hamster and *others*" stuff)
So, here are some of my questions I would really appreciate if you could tell me about:
-One (if not the most) favorite food of my girls is lettuce. I always kept an eye in their poop, it never gave them the runs. They loved to have lettuce on a daily basis, I think it was a more interesting way for them to get hydrated rather than just drinking from their water bottles... But like a week ago I read for the first time that lettuce could generate organ disease (not sure if renal or hepatic), having read lettuce on the "safe list" for months... So I haven't gave them lettuce since, and I feel sad because they really enjoyed it... So could you please tell me if this is a real health risk? Because if not, I would be relieved to make them happy with lettuce again!
-Water. Yes, water. I read somewhere that the amount of chlorine in tap water is harmful for gerbs, so we should give them mineral water instead. You can imagine that this is a bit troublesome, as it is best to change the water daily, and the drink so little but there is also a minimum fill of the bottles so they can work, so it leads to expensive mineral water wasting :/ (though I've been doing this since I read it because yes, I'm a stressed out mom, I'll admit that)
-Sand baths. Here in Chile there is only chinchilla dust, and I tried to import via Amazon chinchilla *sand* and I couldn't. The thing is my girls really love their dust bowl... Is the dust really harmful for them? They have not presented any signs of respiratory problems/irritation/allergies whatsoever
-Plastic. I have many times read that the plastic chewing can lead to plastic swallowing and then intestinal blockage and many problems... How is your experience on this? Most of my girl's toys are wooden, but they've got some tubes they chew on (leaving the plastic pieces next to them)... They enjoy those tubes, I wouldn't like to remove them
(and yes, I make sure they've got tons of cardboard and wood to chew, also when I catch one of them chewing plastic, I give her a little cardboard box right where she's at in order to "exchange" the chewung focus!)
Well, I've selected those questions so the post won't keep on getting longer... Thanks for your help!
So, here are some of my questions I would really appreciate if you could tell me about:
-One (if not the most) favorite food of my girls is lettuce. I always kept an eye in their poop, it never gave them the runs. They loved to have lettuce on a daily basis, I think it was a more interesting way for them to get hydrated rather than just drinking from their water bottles... But like a week ago I read for the first time that lettuce could generate organ disease (not sure if renal or hepatic), having read lettuce on the "safe list" for months... So I haven't gave them lettuce since, and I feel sad because they really enjoyed it... So could you please tell me if this is a real health risk? Because if not, I would be relieved to make them happy with lettuce again!
-Water. Yes, water. I read somewhere that the amount of chlorine in tap water is harmful for gerbs, so we should give them mineral water instead. You can imagine that this is a bit troublesome, as it is best to change the water daily, and the drink so little but there is also a minimum fill of the bottles so they can work, so it leads to expensive mineral water wasting :/ (though I've been doing this since I read it because yes, I'm a stressed out mom, I'll admit that)
-Sand baths. Here in Chile there is only chinchilla dust, and I tried to import via Amazon chinchilla *sand* and I couldn't. The thing is my girls really love their dust bowl... Is the dust really harmful for them? They have not presented any signs of respiratory problems/irritation/allergies whatsoever
-Plastic. I have many times read that the plastic chewing can lead to plastic swallowing and then intestinal blockage and many problems... How is your experience on this? Most of my girl's toys are wooden, but they've got some tubes they chew on (leaving the plastic pieces next to them)... They enjoy those tubes, I wouldn't like to remove them
(and yes, I make sure they've got tons of cardboard and wood to chew, also when I catch one of them chewing plastic, I give her a little cardboard box right where she's at in order to "exchange" the chewung focus!)Well, I've selected those questions so the post won't keep on getting longer... Thanks for your help!
