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Post by adn2be on Apr 25, 2004 19:31:16 GMT -8
 Was feeding my new gerbil...trying to coax him into my hand......and what did I find crawling in his dish??? a worm ....ewwwww ok ok so now I see that you can feed them worms...and they like em so maybe he'll eat it...oh I hope so lol cuz thats gross...no stomach for worms here!! Is this normal? the bag was infested with them...it has only been in my house for about a week at the most, bought it (bulk) from the store where I bought my gerbil...and now I am wondering....if I am gonna have to be dealing with creepy critters...maybe Celly is the wrong pet for me?  Helpppppp lol!
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 26, 2004 4:56:53 GMT -8
First: welcome here! ;D It is not normal that there are worms in your gerbil food!  I would contact your pet shop if I was you, to complain! Or return the bag! And even the cage, the bedding, as well the gerbil itself shloud be free of worms or any other parasite, insect, etc. The only animal you should see is a gerbil!  ;D BTW, I should not feed the worms to your gerbils! Some worms can be parasites! The only "worms" you should feed them are mealworms, waxworms, etc. (they are not really worms but larvae of some insects). ;D |
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Post by adn2be on Apr 26, 2004 5:35:08 GMT -8
thanks Peter! Sure will contact the pet store that I got that stuff from....but the bag is gone Trash man comes early Monday morning so I promptly took the bedding and the food to the trash....guess that serves me right...I have a store up the road that is quite established, and I will be heading there today to buy some worm free food for my little buddy, along with some new toys....*sigh* another critter to spoil lol  |
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Post by andrea on Apr 26, 2004 6:04:48 GMT -8
Not sure weather you can get this where you are but I am in the UK and I use Gerri Gerbil its the best food I have found on the market for gerbil so far!!  |
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 27, 2004 1:29:09 GMT -8
Is it Andrea? It is also available here in the Netherlands! I've never tried it, so I will try it once. Now I use a complete gerbil food from Sluis.  Also a good food, by the way. |
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Post by andrea on Apr 27, 2004 1:46:43 GMT -8
I have never seen that food Peter, To be honest the choice of gerbil mix is not a lot in the UK, most are gerbil/hamster mixes andthese are not good foods. The hamster mixes tend to be very fatty and greasy so lots of people here have obese gerbil, the biggest chain of pet shop (Petsmart) in the UK does not sell gerri geril I have to find garden centres to buy it from.
I once had to buy hamster mix in an emergency once and boy was it greasy, the gerbil had very greasy coats and runny bums from it, the cheesmans refused to eat it all together!. I put it in the bowl and the y looked at it looked at me in discust turned round a kicked bedding in my face, they were not impressed!! ;D
So now I tend to stick to Gerri gerbil and buy sunflower seeds seperate as a treat.
Andrea
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Apr 27, 2004 1:54:14 GMT -8
When I started to keep gerbils, there were also no complete gerbil mixes available in the Netherlands, however since the last couple of years you see them more and more in pet shops! Most likely because of the growing popularity of gerbils here. Besides the Sluis food that I use, and the Gerrie Gerbil food I know two other brands of gerbil mix, namely:  Prestige Premium - Crispy G Nature.  XtraVital Gerbil food. Before I used the Sluis food, I also used hamsterfood or just common rodent mix. |
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Post by andrea on Apr 27, 2004 1:57:48 GMT -8
I have seen the xtra vital food, but onlly at shows  I had heard it was no that great I may have to get some at the Cardiff show to try. But with fussy eating cheesmans I cannot change the food to much. they also love the pumpkin seeds in the gerri gerbil and I have never seen them loose to buy like the sunflower seeds ;D |
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Post by r8ch on Apr 27, 2004 14:17:34 GMT -8
Hiya Yeap adn2be, I made the mistake once of buying loose food. There were a couple of different varieties at a large pet store and I took some of each home to try. On opening one bag I found lots of bugs and those things u call worms (probably larvae of the flies I found).  Consequently I tied it back up tightly and returned all the food to the shop where they refunded me my money, no questions asked. I would advise that you always buy sealed, pre - packed food for your gerbs, as you have found out (as I did)!! As for feeding hamster food, I have gerbils, shaws jirds and pallid gerbils, and they all get the hamster food. It is not greasy at all, but I am quite particular where I get it from. What makes them high in fat (and hence calories) is the inclusion of sunflower seeds and peanuts - but these are easily removed and put to the side for treats. I have heard reports from breeders that they haven't been too impressed with Gerri gerbil (not to mention the price of it) but I have fed it without problems. My guys also get other goodies mixed in with their hamster feed to add variety, such as bird seed, oats, cereals (non - sugar coated), alfalfa and redigrass (dried grass) which they all love. Plus bits of fruit and veg a couple of times a week and waxworms as a tasty special treat.  R8ch |
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Post by andrea on Apr 28, 2004 0:07:33 GMT -8
Hi Rach!
Where do you get the hamster food?. I got some from petsmart recently and the gerbils did not like it and it was so greasy..
Our gerbs love the pumpkin seed that come in the gerri gerbil.
I think our gerbys get to many waxworms, they know what the little tub with holes in the top means !! ..
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Post by r8ch on Apr 28, 2004 10:03:46 GMT -8
Hiya Actually the food comes from the same place as the megazorb does. I'll bring a sample along to Cardiff to show you. The place also sells melon seeds in very large bags, so if you want some let me know (it will keep you supplied for months!). My guys are limited to wax worms once or twice a week, amount depending on their size. For example Rafiki will have 3 large ones and a nursing mum will get a couple more, depending on what else I'm supplementing at the time. Then again I can give anything tp Rafiki and he'll keep coming back for more, if only I let him R8ch |
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Post by andrea on Apr 28, 2004 11:55:15 GMT -8
Oh yes bring some melon seeds I am sure our lot will like them!!. If you could bring a sample of the mix you us that would be great also ;D
Andrea
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Was feeding my new gerbil...trying to coax him into my hand......and what did I find crawling in his dish??? a worm ....ewwwww ok ok so now I see that you can feed them worms...and they like em so maybe he'll eat it...oh I hope so lol cuz thats gross...no stomach for worms here!! Is this normal? the bag was infested with them...it has only been in my house for about a week at the most, bought it (bulk) from the store where I bought my gerbil...and now I am wondering....if I am gonna have to be dealing with creepy critters...maybe Celly is the wrong pet for me?
Helpppppp lol!
I would contact your pet shop if I was you, to complain! Or return the bag! And even the cage, the bedding, as well the gerbil itself shloud be free of worms or any other parasite, insect, etc. The only animal you should see is a gerbil! 
;D 
I had heard it was no that great 
Consequently I tied it back up tightly and returned all the food to the shop where they refunded me my money, no questions asked. I would advise that you always buy sealed, pre - packed food for your gerbs, as you have found out (as I did)!!