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Post by maxthegerbil on Apr 30, 2005 3:57:10 GMT -8
Hi Everyone. Can someone please answer a simple question for me please to put my mind at ease. My gerbils dry food mix is Gerri Gerbil here in the UK and it contains white pumpkin seeds in the mix, I suppose for added calcium. (even though I believe the levels of calcium are not that high?) Anyway, I bought a packet of pumpkin seeds from a health food store for the gerbils and these are DARK GREEN in colour! Can I assume that these green pumpkin seeds are just the same as the slightly larger white seeds that are found in Gerri Gerbil food? Or would you say they are from a different type of pumpkin? (It states on the packet: Country of origin, China). And in your opinion, are they just as safe to feed? Hope you can advise me as I feel they are fine to mix with their food, but wanted the advice of other gerbil owners. Many thanks.
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Post by lpn1993 on Apr 30, 2005 4:08:15 GMT -8
The shell of a pumpkin seed is white, but the actual seed inside is green. I've noticed this when I've seen my gerbils eating pumpkin seeds. As long as the ones you saw don't have added salt, they should be ok.
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Post by maxthegerbil on Apr 30, 2005 4:27:47 GMT -8
Hi ipn1993! Thankyou SO much for your quick response to my question. I feel quite dumb now, not realising that they were green because they had no shell???!!!!!! The seeds I purchased were in a small clear bag with the sell by date on and the country of origin. It did`nt state whether the seeds had added salt, but they look to me to be dry and straight from their shell. I`ll taste one myself, Just to be sure! I only opened them yesterday and the gerbils (who are just over two months old now) love them! I used to keep fancy rats and I know to watch for any added salt and sugars because it`s so easy to pick things up nowadays without noticing that they have had things added. It`s so great to be back in the world of gerbils again! THANKYOU!
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Post by lpn1993 on Apr 30, 2005 4:44:33 GMT -8
You're welcome! Don't feel dumb - I didn't know that the actual seed was green either, until I watched my gerbils eating them one time. I had thought pumpkin seeds were white too. I didn't even think about that being the shell.
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Post by maxthegerbil on Apr 30, 2005 8:03:37 GMT -8
Hi again Ipn1993. Being back to gerbils ownership, I thought it best to double check on here just incase as I bought the pumpkin seeds with good intentions (as you do!) and then suddenly wondered why they were a dark shade of green! The good thing is, the gerbils love them, so I add some extra seeds to their usual mix. Thanks again for the advice! I`m sure there are still lots of seeds out there that I have yet to discover which gerbils eat and I can buy in the health food shops! I only give sunflower seeds as treats as I know these have a high fat content.
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Apr 30, 2005 9:35:33 GMT -8
pumpkin seeds are also high in fat so while they are great don't give too many
I generally treat the same as way as sunflower seeds, nice but not too many
yes whole grains are great
Millet is a stimulant to gerbils so be careful, golden linseed is pricey but does help give them a nice healthy coat, porridge oats (rolled oats) are greatly enjoyed and help the gerbil feed go further as well as reducing fat content for overweight gerbils. Pulses should be avoided, beans need thorough soaking to be safe. I'm not sure about peas? some feeds seem to include these so presumably they are OK.
My gerbils love those little triangular shaped seeds too.
I also buy dried unsweeted fruits and coconut when I can.
And yes the pumpkin seeds in Gerri are different from health food shop ones but they do love both. Melon seeds (yes you can dry the ones from inside melons, or even give them a little with some flesh as a rare treat) also do.
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Post by maxthegerbil on May 1, 2005 0:15:24 GMT -8
Thanks doomgerbiluk for that advice! I did`nt realise pumpkin seeds should be treated the same as sunflower seeds because of the fat content and I also did`nt know about using the dried seeds from a melon either! That`s a good tip as the summer months are now here in the UK and I do love melon. I will be very careful about the amount I feed to them however. As you said, they are mainly treats. I knew about millet being a stimulant so I avoid that. I think they have only been given a very small pinch of it so far, so I`ll refrain from using it altogether to be honest. My only male mouse eats budgie seed in his diet and I`m wary of even giving millet to him! I tend not to feed gerbils anything I`m not sure about without checking on it first. I will start writing down a list of extras that they can have and things that they can`t and I can refer to this list when going to the health shop! Thanks again for your helpful advice. It`s greatly appreciated.
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Post by doomgerbiluk on May 1, 2005 0:37:54 GMT -8
millets fine but no more than an inch (of spray millet on the stalk) weekly. It is good for them but people who've overfed it do it get hyperactive gerbils   Yes a list is good, remember gerbils are very adaptive and for the most part what we eat, they can eat. Same rules apply , everything in moderation, avoid high fat, salt, sugar. Wet foods (fruit, veg) should only be given once a week or fortnight btw. If anyone else has any treat or diet tips please add them, but make sure you tell us which they are. I do think gerbils enjoy variety and that should be a considered when feedign them, by using a good, basic mix, such as Gerri, and varying it by mixing other grains etc in, I ensure my gerbils diet is both nutricious and has some variation. They certainly seem to appreciate it  |
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Post by lpn1993 on May 1, 2005 6:22:30 GMT -8
I noticed that the pumpkin seeds are higher in protein and lower in fat than sunflower seeds. The pumpkin seeds I bought have 30% protein and 15% fat, while the sunflower seeds have 16% protein and 22% fat. I guess this could vary some depending on the brand, etc. The pumpkin seeds are still high in fat, that's for sure, but they're not quite as bad as the sunflower seeds. Gotta be sparing with them, though, so you don't have chubby gerbies! |
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Post by maxthegerbil on May 2, 2005 1:10:49 GMT -8
Thanks guys! I appreciate your input. I agree with all you have said and it`s a nightmare when you have four sunflower seeds in the palm of your hand with three youngsters jumping on at the same time and one grabbing all the seeds, running off and the other gerbils sitting there as if to say, `who stole my seed!`... !
I also find that Gerri gerbil food is quite a good mix to feed and you can then add necessary additions in moderation. It surprises me though that small animal feed manufacturers other than Supreme (who make Gerri Gerbil) hav`nt bothered to come up with other gerbil mixes? Does`nt it just annoy you when you ask for gerbil food in a pet shop or pet suppliers and they say, `Oh, just feed them hamster mix`..... It`s a good thing I know more than they do!
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Post by sandy on May 2, 2005 9:16:04 GMT -8
I'd just like to warn about wet foods, in my opinion they are the #1 source of E. coli and diarrhea in gerbils. They don't really need them, so why risk it? I only give extremely well-washed celery sections to my 3 week-old pups when they are learning to use the water bottle, it keeps them from getting dehydrated as they wean.
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Post by maxthegerbil on May 2, 2005 10:14:16 GMT -8
I agree Sandy. I`m always wary of wet foods myself and so far, hav`nt bothered with them. I may cut up a nice sweet grape for them during the summer months as a treat,(organic of course!) but I don`t think I would bother with anything else. I feel they get all the nutritional needs they require from their general diet. Others may feed fruit and veg and have no problems with it however.
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