Scatter feeding

[tanzanyte]

We didn't use to scatter feed our original girls. I'm fairly sure they weren't fed that way when we got them. At the time I asked a load of questions and tried to carry on with what they were used to. We did try to introduce scatter feeding later on but they still used the bowl.
With our two boys we have been scatter feeding since we had them as that's how they're used to being fed. We have a small bowl upstairs that we put occasional fresh fruit and veggies in and I may add a couple of nuggets of their food, in the hope that it'll indicate if they're running low. I'm on my third deep clean, and have come across lots of food, and I mean lots!
My daughter wants to be the one to feed them, but in light of the amount of food we had to pick out of their bedding, I really need to try and work out a measure or weight for her to give them. She's been giving them a handful, but cannot remember how often, although not daily.

Does anyone else have any idea how much food we should be giving them and how often?
We use a complete food currently and supplement with hay and flowers, and seeds as treats.

[Thea]

I normally would go by around 8-10g for a female daily and 10-12g for a male daily. You might not be able to tell how much this is unless you weigh, but at one point pets at home gave free measuring cups, which they may still do (I have one), which would mean your daughter could give the right amount herself Funny about lots of food, when I had my boys I found that too, but my girls have always eaten the lot. I'm not too sure why.

[betty]

Yes, I would certainly consider creating a chart and a measuring pot (egg cup?) that your daughter can make herself (?) - then attach the chart and a dangly pencil to the edge of the tank/enclosure so it can be filled in with something like:

Day: Who fed gerbils: Which gerbils came out first: (or something fun for her to do each time)

Maybe a second chart or extra columns/rows for the flowers and treats (that she could draw if she is that way inclined?


Also, you can build into the chart 'rest days' when you don't put any food in (this can help to reduce the amount wasted of left over each time).

Perhaps start with 10g each with a fresh enclosure and then see how much you find on the next clean out and either go higher or lower from there?

[Thea]

Great idea betty!

[betty]

Always make things fun I say - especially with kids.

If they want to get involved - go for it! Especially these day with most kids in the UK stuck at home.

[tanzanyte]

Thanks Thea and Betty. I'll make up a chart. We already have one for their weight so she can monitor both. My daughter's 13 and able to follow it by herself, hence I'm trying to let her get on with it without too much interference.
They are clearly getting enough food as their weight is increasing steadily. I'm not sure when they're classed as fully grown but they are quite there yet as they don't weigh as much as the girls did.
How many rest days do people usually put in? I'll try once a week to start and see.

I didn't realise petsathome did free measures. I'll ask when I'm next in there. I will check first to see what pots I have around the house that we can use. We already have our 'gerbil' scales that stay near their cage, so if we find the right pot for the average weight required it's a starting point.

[tanzanyte]

Are the food weights given per gerbil? We weighed out 20grams and it's way more than they've been getting. My daughters handful is about 8-10grams, so I can't work out how they had as much extra food left over when she's been giving them a handful. The only thing I can think is if they are getting far too many treats. Although they probably only get 1-2 seeds from me. Any ideas what sort of treat intake would they have to have to make such a difference over daily food intake?

[Thea]

That is for per gerbil yes, but that may be too much so no worries! There's no point in doing 20g of food if they aren't eating it all. It may be that you're feeding them ever single day. It's funny because I give Rolo around 10g a day and I can't see any food the next day generally, but when I had boys they always had leftover food no matter what! Also with treats, they should be fairly limited, but there isn't really an exact amount. I normally give Rolo one of her 'bigger' treats every week (the more unhealthy ones? Or maybe I'll just say less nutritious!) but since mealworms for an example have a lot of protein and aren't that bad for them, you can give them more regularly.

[tanzanyte]

Thanks Thea. It's good to know that boys don't necessarily have as big an appetite as girls. I was wondering how much I should be moaning at my daughter. She said she isn't giving them many treats, but I just can't see what else they're getting for them to be leaving food. She said she was feeding them every other day. They might get a very small amount of fruit or veggies a maximum of twice a week as I worry about diarrhoea. We'll start again, measure it out and see at deep clean time if it's crazy again.

[Thea]

Every other day doesn't sound like loads of treats to me (of course it depends how big the treats are!) so if that is how often your daughter is giving them then I don't think that would really have a big impact on the amount they eat. Maybe you could ask her to skip the 'treat day', so only let them have a treat every 3-4 times (only one time, don't worry!) and see if they end up eating any more. If not, I think it would be safe to say treats aren't changing their normal diet and they probably just don't have a very large appetite! If it is still crazy when you do the next clean, you may just want to settle on giving them less food, because as long as they're still healthy (or their weights haven't dropped loads) then they probably just don't need that extra food.

Is there a chance they could be picking out their favourite bits in the food and leaving the rest? Again, I remember all three of my boys liked to pick out their favourites but my girls haven't done that. I don't think you would need to change their food if they did this because they would probably just do it with whatever food you switched to as well, but when my boys were fussy I added some burgess nuggets to their food because they have a lot of good things in them and they enjoyed eating them, so maybe you could add a similar biscuit that would give them what is good for them so they can stay healthy, but of course you'll only need to if this is the issue

Hope that wasn't super confusing!

[Markpd]

Just a thought, when they're being scatter fed, is the food placed where they often dig up a lot of bedding? Or more where they can't or don't dig up much?
I'm just wondering if they bury it and then lose it! lol

Jan 17, 2021 12:20:12 GMT -8 Thea said:

I normally would go by around 8-10g for a female daily and 10-12g for a male daily. You might not be able to tell how much this is unless you weigh, but at one point pets at home gave free measuring cups, which they may still do (I have one), which would mean your daughter could give the right amount herself Funny about lots of food, when I had my boys I found that too, but my girls have always eaten the lot. I'm not too sure why.

I found a soup spoon of mine levelled is exactly 10g of food, which was handy! (saved me weighing it out every time).

[michaeljack]

I scatter feed in all but one cage. I'm always entertained by their animated and competitive foraging and (sometimes) quickly hoarding favorite tidbits. The other cage houses my wife's elite gerbil family and it's equipped with a screened topper allowing her to place a small food crock upstairs.

I use a 30ml cough syrup cup to feed 30gr of food per two gerbils. It varies according to the number and age of youngsters with each Mom and Dad, and the number of members in each of the community cages.

[tanzanyte]

Sorry, I'm going to go off topic..an elite gerbil family - this sound interesting michaeljack ! I probably should be worried that this sounds exciting to me. Are they elite because they are favourites, or is it due to their colouring. Or is it breeding and that they are super healthy?

Anyways do you notice any difference between scatter or bowl fed?

I think my daughter was scattering all over but we have changed as per Marks suggestion to just putting it where they don't dig much, and in the corners of the deep bedding that don't get churned up so much. We shall see what the next clean out is like.

[LilyandDaisy]

I was also curious about the elite gerbils...

[Markpd]

Ditto!