Pine & Peach
member
Pine is my Olympic runner, and Peach is my sleepy girl
Posts: 36
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Post by Pine & Peach on Apr 7, 2021 3:41:45 GMT -8
What gerbil treats should I get for my gerbils? I tried giving them cheerios, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds but they didn’t really like any of them is there any other store bought treats or homemade treats that you think my gerbils might like?
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Post by gerbilord on Apr 7, 2021 4:07:38 GMT -8
My two go mad for mealworms, goji berries, and pine nuts. Most nuts seem to go down pretty well. :)
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Post by elsaandanna on Apr 7, 2021 5:54:14 GMT -8
My two love oats to the point that they will sit still for ages eating then instead of running about
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Post by Scott on Apr 7, 2021 15:19:27 GMT -8
Melon seeds. When I cut up a cantaloupe or similar melon, I scoop out the seeds, pick out the pulp, and wash off the rest, then dry them off in the fridge in some paper towels. If I put several in my hand my gerbil jumps on and manages to somehow grab them all at once, as did his cagemate before he died.
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Post by betty on Apr 8, 2021 4:58:18 GMT -8
Yes, all of the above - but shreddies instead of Cheerios - and mine do all love a melon seed as well.
My food has dried banana chips which go down well, plus mini sweetcorn, green bean, brocolli, apple - and I tried morio worms yesterday - MASSIVE HIT.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Apr 8, 2021 5:37:00 GMT -8
Mine like grape nuts (the cereal), peas, raisins, and everything already mentioned.
Dried mealworms can be hit or miss I find. Gerbils either love them or ignore them. I've had slightly better success with live mealworms. My gerbil Storm, who won't usually eat dried mealworms, will attempt a live one but doesn't always finish it.
I've tried locusts (back when I only had Lily and Daisy). Daisy likes dried insects but is squeamish about things still alive and moving. Lily loved them. I'm pretty sure she enjoys hunting them down as much or more than actually eating them. I'll have to get them again some time so Rocket and Storm can have a go.
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Post by Scott on Apr 8, 2021 7:05:46 GMT -8
Mine grabbed dried mealworms at first, but eventually started to ignore them.
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Pine & Peach
member
Pine is my Olympic runner, and Peach is my sleepy girl
Posts: 36
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Post by Pine & Peach on Apr 8, 2021 13:03:22 GMT -8
Thank you all!
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Post by Markpd on Apr 11, 2021 9:28:45 GMT -8
Another good treat is Dandelion leaves/flowers (seem to be loads of the latter here atm!) Mine grabbed dried mealworms at first, but eventually started to ignore them. Similar things happening with mine, they used to grab them and run, but now Blake is less enthusiastic about them and Avon will often not bother at all, although strangely I have found he will sometimes eat them if I drop it on the ground in front of him, weird!
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Post by tanzanyte on Apr 14, 2021 13:56:42 GMT -8
Ours love milk thistle seeds. I think it's the biggest hit with all of them and they don't seem to tire of them either. I like them because they are tiny so I can give them 2-3 and they don't race off. Unfortunately Ancol stopped doing their range of seeds and dried flowers but you can pick up milk thistles easy enough as they use them for tea so they're available on eBay in a much bigger quantity for a lot cheaper. Walnuts are another good one, and also when I get the baby food fruit pouches and put a blob on my hand, the girls go crazy for that. It can be hit or miss though as our boys don't have a clue and just step in it, so you do have to keep watch and be ready to clean them up. I do love it though as it really builds trust from the prolonged contact, and it's so cute when you feel their little tongues licking at your hand. I haven't tried melon seeds but I'm now going to give those a try when I next pick one up. Thanks for the tip on drying the seeds Scott. Are Morio worms massively different to mealworms betty? It'd be interesting to do an experiment and see which one they go for first if you have a mealworm and Morio worm out for them.
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Post by betty on Apr 14, 2021 14:46:12 GMT -8
I haven't tried milk thistle seeds - thanks!
Morio worms are very different from mealworms in size, skin and attitude. They bite and/or sting for starters - and move in such a way that gerbils can easily lose them - they literally flick themselves out of their hands and across the room (well not all the way obviously). They have such thick skin that it takes a while for a gerbil to actually kill them - and in this time they flick, flick, flick (can't blame them really).
I wouldn't use live morio worms for pups, sick or poorly adults - die to the possible biting and the fact they apparently have a spike on their bake to poke with? Also, not I wouldn't feed them in an environment where they could get dropped and not immediately eaten (same a crickets). Also, I always feed them with tweezers as they make my ears crawl!
Nutritionally, I don't know - let me have a look....
So, there are some minor differences in nutrition that a quick look found (so not definitive) - saying that they (morio worms/superworms - Zophobas morio) are lower in protein than mealworms/large mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) but are higher in calcium and fibre (due to their really thick skin).
Sounds like some breeders are breeding larger mealworms (through selective breeding and better husbandry), and hormone-charged mealworms (artificially boosted) and calling them giant mealworms. However, mealworms look totally different to morio worms so make sure you are buying the right thing by their latin names rather than their common names.
I would certainly feed them again once in a while - but I breed my own mealworms already - and they don't bite - so it would be a treat more than a staple. Both have a terrible calcium:phosphorus ratio too - so I feed more calci-worms anyway now.
I will try your experiment though - although I think my doops would just eat whichever was in their face - they won't hang around to look at options...
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