nobleandpure
Member
have two gerbils and might be getting a third soon
Posts: 110 
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Post by nobleandpure on Mar 1, 2016 14:57:27 GMT -8
my gerbil will not eat any of his good food. he will only eat treats that could make him sick. what should i do to get him to eat his food?
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jgl
Member
Posts: 116
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Post by jgl on Mar 1, 2016 17:49:35 GMT -8
Sometimes when mine don't eat everything I don't give them more because then they can't afford to be as choosy. It is a good sign that your gerbil hasn't stopped eating all together but you should still monitor his health closely to make sure it has nothing to do with illness. You may also want to check the age on your food to make sure it's still good.
Hope this helps
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nobleandpure
Member
have two gerbils and might be getting a third soon
Posts: 110
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Post by nobleandpure on Mar 2, 2016 14:02:25 GMT -8
I am still in the process of taming my gerbils, and I use treats to do so. should I stop doing that until he starts to eat more? or should I keep doing that?
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jgl
Member
Posts: 116
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Post by jgl on Mar 2, 2016 15:15:42 GMT -8
I would still use treats but just for training, not in the food your gerbil regularly gets. Let me know how it goes!
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nobleandpure
Member
have two gerbils and might be getting a third soon
Posts: 110
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Post by nobleandpure on Mar 2, 2016 17:31:32 GMT -8
thank you so much.
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tomandjerry
Member
I am new to having Gerbils but glad that i found this website to help me
Posts: 55 
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Post by tomandjerry on Feb 15, 2017 1:58:32 GMT -8
do you put a lot of food in as i put a big bowl full in and they didn't eat it so i didn't put as much in and added different
things and know they eat it.
Hope this helps
tomandjerry
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Post by nekothefur on May 9, 2017 19:33:41 GMT -8
I have the exact same problem! I am also in the taming process.
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Post by betty on May 10, 2017 1:44:01 GMT -8
No animal will starve itself to death on purpose - so you don't need to worry. As long as they are not loosing weight (but you would need to weigh them to know this) they are eating 'enough' - it is just not their potatoes and vegetables you want them to eat.
What you are most likely seeing is your totally full gerbil not really being hungry enough to clear out all their 'normal food' when you are feeding them treats. And gerbils only eat a small amount of food anyway.
The action of you being present will make them assume treats are on the scrounge (as that is what you have trained them to think) and so all the while you are there watching them - they won't eat their normal food. Why would you eat some sprouts and plain bread when someone is about to come home with surprise fresh groceries? You would wait of course - just as they are.
And it is no doubt - if I had a full tummy of chocolate cake - or just had a giant cheesy pasta bake - I won't want anything else for some while. Gerbil tummies are tiny compared to ours - so treats go a long way...
Keep up the taming though - so they have great gerbil lives - but maybe reduce the volume and/or frequency of treats if you think you are going overboard. Or maybe trade seed/sweet treats for fresh veg, plants and berries (all very healthy).
Good luck...
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