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Post by amandarinorange811 on Aug 15, 2012 21:26:34 GMT -8
I went on a 4 day camping trip and left my gerbils in the hands of my mother. Now, I gave them everything they may possibly need before I left and made sure my mom knew they were somewhat low-maintenance creatures if left unattended for 4 days in their safe and nourishing habitat. I told her specifically that one or two Cheerios for my two gerbils would suffice if she felt like giving them something extra to life their spirits. I also told her to do the usual: check the water bottle, handle them a bit. What does she do? Dumps (in her exact words) "around ten" Cheerios in my gerbils' food bowl. I didn't really know what to think. First I thought, YOU ARE SO DUMB I TOLD YOU SPECIFICALLY HOW MANY CHEERIOS TO FEED THEM. Second, ...how are they even able to down that many? I think I have a disobedient mom and some fat little gerbils on my hands. Finally though, my question is, should they be okay? I know that isn't good for them, but what can I do now? Not a single Cheerio was left...lol.
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Post by johanne on Aug 15, 2012 21:52:28 GMT -8
Relax, they'll be fine  It was only 4 days, lol. If it was 4 months they might be slightly off optimal nutritional status. Gerbils are generally good about selecting a healthy diet for themselves from what's available. Cheerios are mostly air anyway. They look big for what's actually there. |
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Post by Fox Mother on Aug 15, 2012 22:16:37 GMT -8
They will fine, like Johanne said, it's not like a long tern cheerio diet. |
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Post by amandarinorange811 on Aug 17, 2012 16:05:59 GMT -8
Well, I know, I guess I came off a little stronger than intended.
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Post by GeordieGerbil on Aug 17, 2012 16:17:32 GMT -8
Mothers eh? Mine likes to do the same thing. She felt bad for them eating gerbil food so she used to feed them doritos and pringles and prawn crackers and hot cross buns! She often gives them the odd little thing she shouldn't but I've never had a problem with them Mothers ¬_¬ |
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Post by crazy4gerbils on Aug 17, 2012 16:28:13 GMT -8
My father spoils them rotten. They eat his corn flakes haha |
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Post by MoonstoneGerbils on Aug 17, 2012 18:02:40 GMT -8
Plain cheerios are fine for gerbils to eat.They arent likely to make your gerbil fat. Cheerios are part of my gerbils staple diet, and they always eat their cheerios. I actually think 1-2 cheerios a piece is a rather small amount to give, i think my gerbs probably eat 4-5 a day.
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Post by qtoffer on Aug 17, 2012 20:03:22 GMT -8
A bit off topic, but one time, I had to go away for a few days and asked my father to take care of my fish tanks while I was gone. A few days before I was supposed to leave, he asked me - with a straight face - "So I put a handful of fish food in each tank everyday, right?" Naturally, I found someone else to keep an eye on my aquariums. |
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Post by Rachael on Aug 18, 2012 6:32:23 GMT -8
When I was a kid (a while ago now!) my mum used to give our gerbil "tea and toast" every morning. A teaspoonful of tea and a corner of toast. God knows what else she used to fed it while we were at school. But it wasn't just her fault, it was all our fault because we didn't educate ourselves about gerbils.
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Post by reesesturtles on Aug 18, 2012 17:16:12 GMT -8
I don't think tea and toast would be too harmful actually, haha. But yeah, I left my gerbils with a sitter for two weeks and gave her a tupperware container filled to the top with treats (mostly cheerios, dog kibble, sunflower seeds and yogurt raisins). Two weeks later when I came home the container was nearly empty!! She was giving them all several treats a day, and they were all definitely plumper. No harm done, except they had developed a habit of constantly standing up to beg for treats any time I walked in the room, haha. But that didn't last once they figured out I'm not as generous as the sitter was  |
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Post by *Tikal* on Aug 18, 2012 21:39:28 GMT -8
Did she feed them anything but cheerios? My gerbils are strange, they can't stand them. I was told by many that nothing is cuter than a baby gerbil eating a cheerio, but when I got my boys they looked at me like I was insane for trying to feed them such an absurd food. To this day they have never eaten a cheerio... sigh.
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harley
member
~One of The Three Brothers~
Posts: 35
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Post by harley on Aug 19, 2012 1:16:35 GMT -8
They look like a big donut in the hands of 20 day old Rocky (couldn't help it & the pic clickens for larger) :-)  |
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Post by reesesturtles on Aug 19, 2012 6:48:08 GMT -8
That picture is so adorable!
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Post by belldandy on Aug 19, 2012 13:27:47 GMT -8
cute!
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Post by sofluffy on Aug 19, 2012 14:11:43 GMT -8
*Tikal* , My gerbils are exactly the same! In fact they sniff them, pick them up and throw them out the cage! haha
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It was only 4 days, lol. If it was 4 months they might be slightly off optimal nutritional status. Gerbils are generally good about selecting a healthy diet for themselves from what's available. Cheerios are mostly air anyway. They look big for what's actually there.
