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Post by RitzieAnn on Jul 23, 2005 22:10:55 GMT -8
I had my clan of 5 females in the play bin, with some tubes and stuff.... one of them HUNTED down a moth that was in there, and ate it! I've never seen them go after something alive before. (I've tried putting little spiders in their cages before....) So we got some crickets. They like to chase them, bite part of them, and then put them down and come back later. (I felt bad for the crickets, they were half eaten, and still alive) But they really seemed to enjoy them. Except Keebler. All he did was run around because he was excited to have OPEN space (10gal aquarium, Keebler lives in a Critter Trail One) He always comes to the door for a treat though, and when we handed him a cricket (or rather a cricket part...) he just chomped it down! Two of them actually! he loved it, but just couldn't coordinate his leg to work with catching them (that's for another thread)
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Post by sfgerbils on Jul 24, 2005 6:44:02 GMT -8
Whenever my parents would buy crickets for bait (they like to use them for fishing) I would steal a couple and put them in with the gerbils. It seemed to me that my female who, at the time, was pregnant/nursing REALLY got into catching it and eating it. The males in their tank didn't seem to get the idea but once they saw the movement they went after them too. I think they enjoy the food and the break in the monotony of toys that don't really move independently. If you put more than one or two in at a time though you can end up with crickets hiding out down in the tunnels/spaces that the gerbs have created. I've never found one though when cleaning out tanks - I think they always get eaten.
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Post by meganb52 on Jul 24, 2005 14:10:20 GMT -8
Personally, I think crickets are a great snack for gerbils. THey are full of protein and are a great form of enrichment through hunting/stalking behaviors.
-Megan
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Post by RitzieAnn on Jul 24, 2005 14:56:49 GMT -8
I put them into an empty 10 gal with just BARELY enought bedding to cover the bottom, since I didn't want crickets all over the place. I got the idea because one ate a moth from the play pen!
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Post by RitzieAnn on Aug 21, 2005 13:14:06 GMT -8
Keebler still can't catch the crickets, but he still chomps them down when he's handed them! It's really funny to watch the others "hunt" down the cricket! ((**Just make sure you have a cricket proof lid, or YOU'LL be hunting down crickets!!**))
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Post by AndreaS15 on Aug 23, 2005 17:51:30 GMT -8
My friends feeds cricket to her gerbils and they love it. I've always wanted to but my boyfriend says NO BUGs.... lol he dosn't want them escaping in our house I also found my 2 older male gerbils freaking out one day because a fly was in there tank, so i'm not sure they would enjoy any other bugs in with them.
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Post by shrimply on Aug 24, 2005 10:50:16 GMT -8
What type of crickets will they take? At the shop there are lots of different types? Are any dangerous to them are some better than others?
Sorry for all the questions.
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Post by RitzieAnn on Aug 24, 2005 10:54:18 GMT -8
I work at a pet shop, and we have 2 "kinds" Large, and Small =) I give them the large ones because our small ones are super small! I also went "hunting" for grasshoppers yesterday for my frogs, and we fed them to the gerbils too. THey were fighting over them, and one gerbil had one side of the grasshopper, and another gerbil had the other side, and it was just a game of tug-o-war! HILLARIOUS!
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Post by shrimply on Aug 24, 2005 11:37:18 GMT -8
At the reptile shop they sell- Black Field crickets Brown Crickets Quiet Field Crickets In all sizes Which should I go for?
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Post by meganb52 on Aug 24, 2005 12:34:30 GMT -8
I think the most common kind is the brown cricket. Any of them would do fine.
-Megan
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Post by RitzieAnn on Aug 24, 2005 13:40:54 GMT -8
WOW! Cricket variety! Any of them should do just fine. Our big ones could stand on a penny(they're about that size) but the grasshoppers I fed them last night..... some of them were a good 2 to 3 inches long! (They were the ones with wings.... they were far too big for my little froggies!)
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Post by iamteela on Aug 29, 2005 20:24:35 GMT -8
I'd be careful about feeding grasshoppers to the gerbils. Some of them can be poisonous, or at least have chemicals that will leave a nasty taste in their mouths. Definitely stay away from any brightly colored grasshoppers or other insects. Crickets should all be fine though. I think I'll get a few to split between my gerbils and my fish!
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Post by RitzieAnn on Aug 30, 2005 1:33:38 GMT -8
I never thought about poisonous grasshoppers.... hum.... But I'm 99% sure they're chemical free. My boyfriend's grandparents have 130 acres, and in the middle of it is a dry spot where LOTS of grasshoppers like to hang out. His grandpa is really big on the whole "wildlife habitat" and refuses to use chemicals, even the fish friendly ones (HUGE overgrowth in this pond....) However, I swear the gerbils loved the grasshoppers more than the crickets!
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Post by Jess on Sept 3, 2005 3:33:45 GMT -8
If I knew gerbils ate moths, I would've let all mine loose in my room a few months ago. Those things were everywhre.
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Post by bbbluw on Sept 8, 2005 23:29:23 GMT -8
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