Gerbil Diet....?

[vendlaparsa]

As i am new to the whole gerbil thing, i've found myself stressing over their diet. 
I know sunflower seeds (and pumpkin seeds) are high on fat and aren't that good for gerbils.. I was wondering if i could make my own mix with mostly flower seeds, as people tend to say they're far healthier.. 
What sorts of flower seeds should i get or should i just trust in the amount of sunflower seeds my original mix has..? I feel like it has a lot of them! 
But then again, they don't seem too interested in sunflower seeds anyway...? I don't know!

I'm very scared that i'm doing something wrong with their diet, which is why i'm asking for advice here. What mixes are good? Should i make my own with the right proportions of flower seeds and just give sunflower and pumpkin seeds as treats or snacks every now and then? 

Also! Is it a bad thing that i have their food bowl always there? Should i take it away every now and again or should they always be available? I've had the bowl there all the time, ever since i got them.. 

and please tell me them digging and messing up their food bowl is just because they're trying to have fun....

i ordered more bedding and even more toys, to make sure they have fun though,,, 

ps. keep in mind my gerbils are literally like a few months old <3

[Markpd]

This thread by Thea might help you

(Also I'll move your thread to the 'Food' section, I'm sure you'll find help from other threads there too , afraid I can't help you with this one, never made my own gerbil food).

[barryozzy]

I don't make my own food, and mine get quite a lot of sunflower seeds   (though I do make them do tricks for it). I keep reading the nutrition information but I can't seem to understand it, I get the Kaytee forti-diet because they seem to like all the bits

Gerbils won't usually scarf all the food right away, so it's fine to leave the bowl out. Some people also scatter feed (basically just toss the food around without a bowl), which keeps gerbils busy for longer since they have to find the food. 

When mine get bored they like to throw the bowl around, sometimes I find it upside down and buried on the other side of the tank   they mostly only do that with the wooden bowl though

[Markpd]

Lol

Ah yea, I forgot to answer the feeding question. I scatter feed over the platform and hut they have, so it's not scatted amongst the bedding as I'm pretty sure they wouldn't find most of it, if it was put there.
Strangely when Blake is on the left side, he sometimes buries his food on the hut, and then forgets where it is!  (He has a very poor sense of smell).

[LilyandDaisy]

I think you mean flour seeds, as in flour seeds that contain more carbohydrate compared to fat. The other type of seed is oil seeds, which contain more fat compared to carbohydrate.

You shouldn't be afraid of fats in your gerbil food. Humans have a lot of baggage around nutrition which tends to get carried over to pet nutrition but fats are healthy in moderation, they are essential for life, and foods high in plant fats tend to be some of the most nutritious foods you or your gerbils can eat. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds are no more fatty or unhealthy than any other oil seed really, and a good gerbil mix does need some oil seeds for the important nutrients they contain (e.g Vitamin E, essential fatty acids, various minerals).

When mixing your own food, you need to make sure everything is properly balanced or you risk deficiencies and malnutrition. It is something that's possible to do, but it's a big undertaking and as someone new to gerbils it may be easier and safer to use a commercial mix to begin with. What country are you in? Perhaps we can recommend a good commercial mix that's available where you are. Or if you let us know what food you are using now we could tell if it's good or not, or if it has too many sunflower seeds.

If you're interested in mixing your own food it might be better to start by making a supplemental or "enrichment" mix that you feed in addition to your gerbils' main food, as perhaps 10-25% of their diet. This gives you a lot more leeway and less risk in the event it isn't properly balanced. If you're interested in food mixing (either as their main food or a supplemental mix) you can certainly ask all the questions you want here

Gerbils should always have some food available, whether it's in a bowl or scattered over their bedding. Gerbils will often cover their food bowl with bedding. They do this to hide it and make sure it's saved for later. You don't need to uncover it as they will find it themselves when they are hungry enough.

[wonderz]

Bowls are great because you can see how much they are eating. I used to use one but not anymore. This is only because the bowl was too high and I have one who will jump in and hog the bowl. They'd also bicker over food, so I switched to scatter feeding. Like barryozzy said it keeps them busy. If yours are digging and messing up their food bowl, then that's normal! I've learned that gerbils love to bury things like sand baths, toys, hides, etc.

I don't make my own food mix either. I feel like it could get pretty expensive. What are you giving them currently? I used to use Higgins sunburst rat and mouse mix, but quickly switched to something else when I found out how much sugar it contains. I was on the hamster hideout forum and someone mentioned an Etsy shop that makes their own mixes. She mostly sells hamster mixes but has a gerbil mix as well. I decided to order it because the ingredients and GA percentages seemed good. I bought both the young and adult mixes because mine are also only a few months old. I just froze the adult mix for now. Anyways, mine seem to love it so far! I even use their old mix as treats lol

This is the website: www.etsy.com/shop/RobinsGourmetFood?ref=nla_listing_details.
Gerbil mix I use: www.etsy.com/listing/1032062260/500g-gerbil-food-mix-with-pellets-robins?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details

She also sells herb mixes but I had the lavender removed.

[catnut]

it can seem complicated but gerbils' aren't too hard to feed. 1.make sure they have food at all times as they are small, they can only eat a small amt. at a time. 2. try to buy the best food you can get with the right %'s and not too high of fat. 3. make sure water is always available and the bottle is working(check daily with your finger). I've always fed seed mixes, i did try oxbow for a short time but some gerbils' don't like it enough to eat enough so i gave both to mine when i tried it. Some sunflower seeds are okay, i limit to some each day, same with corn-not too much and coloured gerbil food i don't feed either.