I need to fatten him up! HOW??

[RitzieAnn]

First, I hope I chose the right spot to post this... it's food, but entirely his health as well!

Ok, as I'm sure many of you know, my little Keebler has had a super hard life. (If you don't know, gerbilforum.proboards21.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=health&thread=1122185959&page=1)

But I can easliy feel his back bone. He's not losing weight, but he's certianly not gaining either. He's on 2 high quality foods, Kaytee Exact mixed with a great seed mix by Natures' Cafe. (they have a hamster/gerbil mix) I've also added some dry rice, and some dog food. I also give Keebler some banana chips (Think the brand might by 8 in 1, but it comes in the critter isle, and it's called something like "Healthy Toppings.") he gets more than the other gerbils. I'm also starting to feed him a cricket or 2 every few days. (I just got him 2, I'll save the 2nd one until tomorrow, or the day after) I also just got him a package of vitimin treats. I think it's called "UltraVita" for hamsters and gerbils.

Does anybody else have any idea what else I can give him to "pack on the pounds." He was my 1st gerbil, and I will have had him for 1 year in October, and he was only a few months old when I got him. (he was still growing) My poor little guy has been through he!! and back, and I'd like to keep him going! His coat is finally (95%) normal looking now. His foot still doesn't work, but he's figured out how to deal with it. He tries to run in a wheel, but gets frustrated because he can't go very fast. (Keebler has a race car, and boy did he make it go FAST ) But he can go up tubes now, so he's doing much better... but his weight is still an issue.

PLEASE help! I'll try nearly anything for my little Keebler!

[meganb52]

You'll want to incorperate some higher-calorie foods into his diet like seeds, yogurt drops and sugar-free peanut butter. I would offer a little more that what you would consider a "treat" amount every day and see if it helps him gain some weight. I think the crickets are a good idea too as long as he can catch them with his little bum foot. You might want to invest in a small digital scale so you can weigh him to see if he is gaining weight. Have you noticed him drinking more or less lately? He could have some sort of renal or liver damage stemming from the infection in his leg from a while ago. From the way you were describing it, he may have had some systemic involvement from that infection that may have damaged internal organs, but ther's no way to know for sure without a blood test, which is near impossible in gerbils since they're so little... Since I've never seen him ther's no way to know for sure. I would buy a scale and try to up his caloric intake and see how it goes. Keep us posted, and give poor Keebler a scratch on the head from me, and tell him to stop being such a burden on his poor mommy! ( just kidding! You sound like a wonderful mom for little Keebler!)

-Megan

[malabui]

Fattening things gerbils like :
-Pine Nuts
-Flacked Almonds
-Pumkin Seeds

[RitzieAnn]

THis is what he eats...

Kaytee Exact (which is perfect, nutritionally)
Natures' Cafe (hamster/gerbil seed mix) (this inclueds Sunflower seeds, millit, other random seeds, corn pieces, dog food, dry rice and penuts)

I've also added as daily treats....
"Healty Toppigs" bananas
Pumpkin seeds
other banana chips (from other critters food mixes)
a daily large cricket (I hand it to him on a tweaser, otherwise he's not too interested)

A scale is a good idea... I hope I can find a cheep one!

[sandy]

I'd switch to dry cat food, or even kitten food, instead of dog food because it has higher protein and fat content. Also you can buy straight sunflower seeds sold as bird seed, throw in a handful every day as a topper to his regular food.

[kansascitykennel]

I second the suggestion of peanut butter. We had some gerbils that had a hard time keeping their wieght on (found no cause for it either) with out some peanut butter on celery sicks. They got thses every other day.

Kathy

[meganb52]

Hey Ritzie,

I did a quick search on the internet and came up with this nice 200g scale which should accomidate your needs. It's $22.99 plus shipping, which comes out to $29.99 total. The easiest way to weigh Keebler would be to place a cup or bowl on the scale and tare it, then place Keebler in and see what he weighs. Something like this scale is what you want, and may come in handy with other critters too. Heck, I might even buy one for weighing my gerbs at home as well since it's cheap and small!

www.rightonscales.com/web/120z.htm

-Megan

[RitzieAnn]

So, do you think it matters if the bag says "Black Oil Sunflower Seeds"? Because we have some, but I"m pretty sure that's what the bag says.

Also, thanks for the link to the scales. I really wish that I could afford it. I'm just working part time right now, and it's really hard with rent and car insurance! EEK! I"'m learnin that others are right.... mooch off your parents as long as you can! = ) but my critters and i are managing.

[doomgerbiluk]

hmm
well I use a pair of ellectronic kitchen scales, I would imagine your Walmart would sell similar. I can get a cheap pair for under £5 so I can't imagine you'd need to pay more than $10 at most!!!

[RyanF]

i use a mail scale for my gerbs that we got awhile ago. Work really well.

[whitmoregirl]

I used a kitchen scale when I weighed Pepper and Raven... which reminds me I really need to do it again to see whether they've lost weight!

[sandy]

So how is he doing now?

[RitzieAnn]

he's still living! He's not so keen on the idea of the vitamins anymore. He doesn't really want to eat them, but I'm headded to work (I works at PetsMart now) and I"ll be getting some crickets for him and the frogs. He still really loves thosee. Think I might pick up some meal worms also. AND he's picky now. He likes the banana chips in the "Healty toppings" bag, but the chips that came from Guinipig food, he won't eat. Nor will he take the gerbil food banana chips as a treat, only the "Healthy Toppings."

Sillly gerbil!

[ahtnamas]

Sunflower seeds are very high in calories, with a lot of fat. The books warn against feeding too many, because they cause obesity, but in this case, more may be better. Black oil sunflower seeds are considered the best kind for feeding to both small pets and birds, so they're actually the best kind you can get.