# Feeding Gerbils



## gerbilmummy (Jul 25, 2013)

Hello all,
Hope you are all OK and having a nice day 

Before I got my Gerbils I did a lot of research but one thing had me confused and I still am.

When should you give your gerbils fresh food in their food bowl?

When doing my research some sites said to give them fresh everyday, others say every 2 to 3 days, others only once everything in the bowl has been eaten.

What I have been doing is to just check the food bowl in the morning and before bed and if there isn't much in the bowl, I refresh it, if there is a lot I leave it but after 2 days I always chuck out any that hasn't been eaten and give them fresh.

My grandmother says I am spoiling them and I should just leave it until everything has been eaten as at the moment they can pick and choose so they aren't getting all the nutrience.

Am I feeding my boys wrong?


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## HazelandDan (Apr 22, 2012)

Hi 

What I do (which I presume I've settled upon after reading loads of info on egerbil and gerbilnik's replies on forums) is to scatter feed a handful of dry muesli (Gerri gerbil) every 2 days so that they can use their natural foraging instincts to find the seeds etc. amongst their bedding/tunnels/toys. and then maybe 2-3 times a week give them a small amount of fresh fruit or veg. They also get pine nuts/almonds that sort of thing as an occasional treat once a week and have a millet spray every now and again. They have a dried whole corn cob in their tank permanently too, to make sure they've always got something - they seem to enjoy pulling the kernels off more than they do eating the thing though!

I wouldn't give fresh every day, as it tends to have high water content. And don't worry about trying to get rid of old muesli a few days later, you just need to make sure that fresh foods aren't left lying around to rot.

I really would recommend scatter feeding, it gives the gerbils extra opportunity to express their natural behaviour.

Hope that helps!
Hazel x


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## gerbilmummy (Jul 25, 2013)

Thank you 

I had read about scatter feeding but wasn't sure as I can't make sure both my boys are eating (especially since Ash's tooth problem).

However he is eating well now and I could consider the scatter feeding idea again. 

I give them fresh hay weekly and almost the first thing they do is go to work burying the hay, and when I give them something good they feel like they have to bury it, my only concern is they will want to bury all the food and I won't know if and what they have eaten. 
So if I make sure some is scattered and some is in their bowl? Or would they not bother with the hunting for the scattered food if they can just go to it sitting conveniently in their bowl?:crazy:


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## HazelandDan (Apr 22, 2012)

Ah, yes. I remember reading about ash's tooth. Glad it's all sorted and that he's eating ok now. I can understand why you'd want to monitor what they eat, but once you're confident he's doing ok, maybe you could try scattering. Do they bury their food now? Gerbils do, to an extent, stash their food (as far as i'm aware). In their wild burrows they have separate 'rooms' for sleeping, toileting and a larder etc. - so just because they bury it, doesn't mean they're not eating it, just mean's they're collecting it somewhere they can come back to later. Here's a video of my Lily doing just that - she went through a stage of stashing food in jars! haha. Excuse my stupid baby voice, I was thoroughly enjoying the game of 'put it in the jar!'

VIDEO0005 - YouTube


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## gerbilmummy (Jul 25, 2013)

Aww I loved the video! Your little black one looks like my Ash (he has the little white mustache and all)

No, they do not bury their food at the moment. 
They are in this gerbilarium:
Hamster Cages: great selection at zooplus: Small Pet Cage Falco

and their food bowl is on one of the platforms, funnily enough I have never seen them stash food anywhere (apart from hay).

Unless anyone suggests otherwise I might start scattering food a little but still put food in their bowl for the time being and see how it goes.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

gerbilmummy said:


> Hello all,
> Hope you are all OK and having a nice day
> 
> Before I got my Gerbils I did a lot of research but one thing had me confused and I still am.
> ...


To add to the good advice Hazel has already given you.

Just feed them every couple of days. Food bowls make them lazy and scatter feeding encourages stimulation of the brain and exercise. If there is still food after 2 days then you are feeding them too much. Just reduce the amount they are fed. How deep is the bedding/substrate you give them?

Ps - I agree with your grandmother :thumbup1:


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## gerbilmummy (Jul 25, 2013)

I don't know how deep the substrate is, never measured it.

All I do know is it is deep enough for the boys to make fantastic tunnels and burrows etc.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Hello, 

I am still learning so if I have this wrong I'm sure I'll be corrected, but maybe just leave the bowl for special treats (fruit, vegetables etc) and only scatter feed, if you are concerned that one or both of your gerbils won't 'get the idea', just make sure that you have a hanging treat in the cage so they always have something to eat. 
I just think that if you scatter food AND put food in the bowl they will just opt for the easy option. I know it is hard but just try scatter feeding for say two days, weigh them and if they have lost weight then re think about it.

Good luck.


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## Fluffydd (Jul 28, 2013)

I scatter feed mine and they enjoy that. They get a piece of fresh fruit or veg nearly everyday and I've not had any problems.


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## gerbilmummy (Jul 25, 2013)

I had a go this week with the scatter feeding.
Ash got the idea straight away and seemed to enjoy himself, however Rowan would just run up to the bowl, have a sniff then just sit by the bowl staring at me:blush:
I not only scattered food on the substrate but also placed a few pieces on toys etc, Rowan did take the food from the toys but he did continue going to the bowl and sitting there 'waiting'.  I never once saw him hunting for food.

Should I keep going with the scattering? Hope that Rowan gets the idea, or should he have 'got it' by now?

By the way I placed a couple of treats in the bowl (dried vegetables - carrot and potato I think it was) and none of that was eaten come morning so Rowan couldn't have been THAT hungry.


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## georginaspets (Sep 8, 2013)

I scatter feed some of my gerbil's food and put some in their bowl and they will forage for the scattered food and eat out of the bowl. I also give them a little salad once a week consisting of mostly veg and occasionally a small amount of fruit.


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