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Post by RyanF on Aug 12, 2004 5:26:52 GMT -8
My gerbils have a food container inside their house. But they always seem to pack it up with the bedding I put in the cage. Is this natural? Or do they have some kind of problem?  |
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Post by floppy on Aug 12, 2004 5:30:38 GMT -8
Hi Ryan,
It's perfetly natural for them to bury their food. Most people don't bother with food dishes anymore. They bury the food so they have to forage for it just like they have to in the wild.
floppy
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Post by andrea on Aug 12, 2004 5:51:17 GMT -8
our bury there food too, so i wouldn't worry about it ;D
Andrea
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Post by RyanF on Aug 12, 2004 5:56:15 GMT -8
Ok, thanks. I did switch to a food dispenser that connects to one of the tube openings a few days ago and they still pile it in there! I just decided today that I will be making a gerbils play place. It will connect with on of the tube openings. I will take the tubes to a plastic box (with lots of breathing hole) that will be filled with all kind of burrowing tools. Such as bedding, cardbord, sticks, etc. I think they will love it! ;D
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Post by andrea on Aug 12, 2004 6:01:26 GMT -8
our persian jirds also beg for food when it gets near dinner time, for them to only bury it and eat it later  ;D |
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Post by j on Aug 12, 2004 21:08:13 GMT -8
The other day I ran out of bedding and had to put a ridiculously thin layer in for a few hours untill I could get some more. Their dish is like 4 inches high and they had less than an inch of bedding. They still found a way to get the top of the dish covered with bedding. Was funny to watch them keep kicking it. One even picked up bedding and dropped it on the dish. |
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Post by sweetie on Aug 13, 2004 9:40:24 GMT -8
All 4 of mine also bury there food with the bedding. If you do not use a dish, how do you know how much they are eating? Or if they are eating enough? It is 2 tablespoons per gerb per day right? Do you just dump it in and let them bury it?
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Post by sweetie on Aug 17, 2004 11:40:52 GMT -8
Does any one know? Please, help answer my questions. |
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Post by sandy2 on Aug 17, 2004 14:48:18 GMT -8
Yup. As long as you are giving them food on a regular basis they'll be fine. I feed mine 3/4 cup of food twice a week, and they do great.
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Post by floppy on Aug 17, 2004 16:11:58 GMT -8
You should be able to judge yourself by how many gerbils you have in a tank. I feed mine every night around 9/10pm. Even though they bury it, if you shift some of the bedding away, you can tell if there is a lot or a little food left. I don't measure the amount I feed them, but I have a rough idea of how much they eat. In some of my tanks there will be a little bit of food left, in others there's hardly any. It doesn't make a difference if there's food left or not anyway, as soon as they hear me open the food container they all stand at the glass in a line or a tight group waiting to be fed, they all patiently wait their turn while gazing up at me! And when they see me coming toward them they get so excited!...to anyone else it would look like they hadn't been fed in weeks!
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Post by sweetie on Aug 18, 2004 3:54:44 GMT -8
Poor little starving guys!! LOL
So as long as there is food left it's okay? I feed them 2 times a day. When I clean the cage, alot of food is thrown away. Could I be feeding them too much or are they only eating what they like?
They started gnawing on thier plastic food dishes so I took them out!!
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Post by floppy on Aug 18, 2004 3:59:43 GMT -8
Hi Sweetie,
If there is a lot of food left maybe you should try just feeding them once a day? I go through so much food here with my bunch, maybe I should be giving them a little bit less too! I have never measured the amount I gave them before but I may give it a go...what is the recommended amount per gerbil?
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Post by sweetie on Aug 18, 2004 4:13:11 GMT -8
Floppy,
What I read in a book is that you should give them 2 tablespoons per gerbil per day. Of course this book had other information that was unreliable (feed fresh food 1 time a day).
I hope this helps. I usually give them 2 tablespoons per per day but have a lot left. Maybe I am giving them too many sunflower seeds and treats. They seem so skinny to me well except Bubba.
They are so active they burn it all off.
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Post by floppy on Aug 18, 2004 4:22:14 GMT -8
I guess it would have been around 2 table spoons of food per gerbil that I have been giving them...As I said, in some tanks there is food left, if it's a lot I'll skip giving them food until the next night. It's terrible though, because they act like they haven't been fed for weeks even when there is food in their tank! And it's hard to pass them by! lol
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Post by sweetie on Aug 18, 2004 4:31:49 GMT -8
They sure do know how to pull on your heart strings don't they. They should be nominated for an Oscar!!! LOL
I think I will check to see how much they have left instead of wasting food. Thanks for the info. I was thinking that maybe they did not know where it was but then again they are the ones that hid it in the first place.
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;D