Which of these foods that I can get locally is best?

[kim]

I currently feed my gerbils a half and half mix of Gerri Gerbils and Mr Johnsons advance www.mrjohnsons.co.uk/mr-johnsons-advance-hamster--gerbil-food.htm, but one of my pairs have started leaving particular bits of the Gerri Gerbil so I am wanting to change to a different mix to see if they eat all of that.

I've been looking at lots of different foods and my ideal mix would have been Beaphar XtraVital Gerbil www.beaphar.co.uk/ProductDetail/ProdID/325/CatID/42 but I can't get it anywhere near me so would have to buy it of the internet which would make it cost to much to buy all the time. So I've looked around and the only foods I can easily buy locally are:

Gerri Gerbil (which I want to try swapping from) www.supremepetfoods.com/products/gerri-gerbil-complete-muesli/

 Wagg (gerbils have tried it before and liked it but I personally don't like the amount of peanuts and sunflower seeds in it) www.waggfoods.com/products/UK/wagg-hamster-gerbil-mouse-munch

Asda Hamster & Gerbil Muesli (very similar to wagg have tried once again gerbils liked same view on the amount of peanuts and sunny seeds) groceries.asda.com/asda-webstore/landing/home.shtml?cmpid=ahc-_-ghs-sna1-_-asdacom-dsk-_-hp#/product/910001274023

Pets at Home Gerbil Muesli (first mix they where on so not sure what there view of it would be now as they seem to like different things now but its more planner than Gerri Gerbil and not as many ingredients) www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/small-pet/gerbil-food-and-treats/gerbil-muesli--1kg 

Which do you think would be the best out of these nutritionally for my gerbils? 
I would still mix it half and half with the Mr Johnsons Advance

Thanks for any help

[ella]

Instead of switching mixes, you could try just leaving the food in the bowl (you can't scatter for this) until they've eaten it all.
Note: It's all right if they just leave brown alfalfa pellets, those are fillers that aren't very important nutritionally.

[reesesturtles]

Gerbils will always eat their favorite parts of the mix first. Just space out your feedings by a couple days. When they get hungry they will eat the other parts of the mix. Mine get one handful of mix per gerbil every 2-3 days.

don't just discard parts of a mix thinking they aren't relevant. The whole mix is nutritionally balanced. The pellets actually are a good source of protein and fortified vitamins, so rodents should be eating at least some of the pellets to get complete nutrition (alfalfa is very protein rich). I knew a local gerbil breeder once who was removing all the pellets from her gerbils food mix, then substituting cheerios in place of the pellets but couldn't figure out why her females weren't having surviving litters. I asked her if she knew what the protein content of her mix was, she had no clue. I mentioned that her females may not be lactating due to protein deficiency and that she should keep the pellets or add in another protein source. She didn't really listen and ended up moving away, so I don't know what may have come of that situation.

Like the OP, I have combined 2 mixes in the past, mainly for getting a variety of textures and smells, but it's not really essential.

These days I feed mine ecotrition (U.S.) for rabbit with treats on the side. Nutritionally, it comes out the same as the gerbil mix and a whole lot cheaper.

I know that doesn't directly answer your question Kim, but all the brands you list seem like quality nutritional foods. And if your gerbils are still healthy and well, that is good sign they are well nourished. I don't think you can go wrong with whatever decision you make on food mix.

[kim]

ok, thanks for the advice.
The problem is tho is that i do try to leave it so that they eat it all before giving them more but they can leave like 2 coloured disks and eat everything else and I can leave just then 2 disks in there bowl for a whole day without giving them more food and there still there by the evening, then I worry cos they haven't eaten all day and give in and give them more, but I don't take out what they leave but scatter in in there tank as this does often get them to eat it. I feed my gerbils half a tablespoon each day between the two of them.
All my gerbils are very healthy though so I guess I don't need to worry to much.

[ella]

Sometimes my gerbils will eat them if I offer them by hand. Perhaps you could try this with what's left?

And I definitely wasn't encouraging her to remove the pellets, just advising her not to worry too much as most gerbils don't really like them.
But that's really interesting (and sad) about the breeder who had no idea what the facts were about the food she gave her gerbils, especially since they were breeding.

Gerri Gerbil is on the high end of protein recommendations for gerbils, and I'm assuming the she's not breeding them, so they should be perfectly fine if there's no way to get them to eat every single pellet without leaving them alone with insufficient food for a day.