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Post by rennmaus on Aug 10, 2014 10:16:45 GMT -8
We've just bought a big tub of live mealworms for Tillda and Graham. They love them!
I'm now wondering how many worms I can feed my gerbils per day/week?
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Post by fluffy501 on Aug 17, 2014 7:40:21 GMT -8
Yuck live ones lol...I've given mine dried ones which they seem to love. I don't know, I'd think of it as a treat like 2 each every couple of days but I don't know, you wouldn't think they'd be bad for them.
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Post by rennmaus on Aug 17, 2014 10:34:10 GMT -8
Thanks fluffy501! 2 worms each every couple of days as a treat is roughly what I've been doing. It's just that I read somewhere that too much protein may lead to health problems in gerbils (with their kidneys?). So I don't want to over-do it... how much is too much?
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Post by fluffy501 on Aug 17, 2014 14:17:51 GMT -8
I don't know, all I could find is a web page that says protein should be roughly 12% of their diet in a day and this website lists them as being given "occasionally" exoticpets.about.com/od/gerbils/a/gerbilsfeeding.htmProbably 2 every couple of days is about right but maybe someone else knows
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Post by Nightingale on Aug 18, 2014 14:14:21 GMT -8
This page goes into protein levels: gerbilgerbil.tumblr.com/dietreqBasically their protein requirements differ as they age, but only get to dangerous levels at 20% and above. Not sure how much is too much in terms of mealworms, though! I don't feed my 3+ year-old mealworms and I keep the seeds and nuts I give her as 'occasional and in small quantities', which for me means not even once a week, because as much as she'd love that stuff every day, she just doesn't need all that extra protein and fat in her old age.
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Post by rennmaus on Aug 19, 2014 1:45:49 GMT -8
Thank you, Nightingale! I'm finding it really difficult to determine how much protein the diet my gerbils eat contains. Their food (beaphar+ gerbil) has 16% protein, which for 8 months old gerbs is fine, I think. But in addition, I do feed them seeds on a daily basis at the moment. And now they've discovered the joys of mealworms! (Although they're not getting those every day!) Oh, dear! Reading your post inspires me to concentrate more on veggie/berry treats for them... taking into account that mealworms/seeds plus regular food probably bumps up their protein intake to somewhere near 20&??
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Post by Nightingale on Aug 19, 2014 9:41:21 GMT -8
You're welcome! Nutrition is a tricky thing that I'm only just starting to learn about myself. =) Yeah, the Gerri Gerbil food I give has about that amount, though I reduce it by adding plain rolled oats. Eight month old gerbs should be just fine with those levels, from what I know. Seeds on a daily basis will definitely add protein and fat to their diets, though, but I don't know how much. Hmm. If you're concerned, I don't know if you saw this method that kim wrote about in this thread? "the best way to work out the percentage is to weigh each food (the amount you put in to the mix) and look at the packet to see what the percent is of fat/protein is (its usually written in g out of 100g but this is the same as the percent) then work out the percent in the amount you put in (so like if you put in 50g of pasta and the pasta was 10% protein then that would be 5g added into the mix) then once you got that for all ingredients add up all the numbers (so 5+...+...) then work out the weight of the whole mix, then make the total protein amount a percent of the total weight and that would be the % amount. "Hope that makes sense "I find it easiest to use google to do the mathes (like type 10% of 50g into google and it gives you the answer " ? If that would work for you, then you could maybe figure out how much protein, fat and so on the seeds contribute to diet? Since, if you are feeding them the seeds every day, that is rather like if the seeds were in the food bowl, as opposed to just being an occasional thing you give them.
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Post by daisy on Aug 19, 2014 10:59:39 GMT -8
I just got some freeze dried meal worms. My gerbils showed no interest. Their love of pumpkin seeds continues.
Daisy
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Post by rennmaus on Aug 20, 2014 1:31:05 GMT -8
Nightingale: Thank you so much for your detailed advice. I'll start calculating this weekend! Only hope the gerbs won't feel too deprived when I'm done - cause I they are getting a wee bit spoiled just now. Oh, well! daisy: I get quite excited whenever I get some new treats for the boys to try...and if they then don't like them it's always a bit of a let-down. But hey, you have to try! (Pumpkin seeds are seriously delicious though, Tillda and Graham agree )
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Post by Nightingale on Aug 20, 2014 13:23:20 GMT -8
Even I think pumpkin seeds are delicious, it's understandable that gerbils love them. =) Best of luck with the calculating, rennmaus, and please let us know how it goes.
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Post by Shooting Star on Aug 22, 2014 2:46:34 GMT -8
I'm on my phone so can't link it, but there's a sticky in this board with my nutrition calculator. If you know the protein and fat percentages of each ingredient, and how much you're using of each, just plug all that in the spreadsheet and it will crunch the numbers for you.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using proboards
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Post by ninestone on Aug 22, 2014 7:16:43 GMT -8
I give ours a mealworm no more than twice a week, just to be cautious about too much protein.
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