What to Feed Your Gerbil

The Gerbil’s Nest

Gerbils are quite easy and inexpensive to feed. Most of what they need as far as nutrients are concerned can easily be obtained through a simple hamster/gerbil or small animal food mix. This is readily available in pet shops and has been specially formulated for the dietary needs of small rodents such as gerbils.

A good gerbil food mix should include grains such as wheat, corn, oats, and barley, as well as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, other small seeds, and vegetable flakes. You may also want to make sure that the food contains pellets, since they contain lots of nutrients all pressed into small gerbil-sized portions.

Sunflower seeds are among gerbils’ favorite foods. So much so, in fact, that a gerbil will eat him or herself far overweight. Therefore, if your gerbil food includes sunflower seeds, you may wish to pick them out and use them only as treats.

A gerbil’s diet should be supplemented with a moderate amount of greens, a few times per week. This will provide your gerbil with additional vitamins and minerals that s/he may not be obtaining through the pet food alone. Greens can include celery, carrots, kale, parsley, apple peel, grass (grown for the gerbil, not from your lawn where pesticides and other pollutants may be present), dandelion, alfalfa, and other similar foods. These should only be given in small amounts, however, or you risk causing intestinal disorders (diarrhea) in your gerbil. Mushroom adores small amounts of grapefruit and lemon, but this is not typical.

Carefully allow your gerbil a range of foods and find out what s/he likes best.

Foods to avoid include potato, cabbage, or junk food made for people. They will only cause troubles in your gerbil’s digestive system, and will likely lead to diarrhea.

Keep in mind that gerbils are prone to hoarding, so if you feed him or her fresh fruit or vegetables, your gerbil may only nibble it and then bury it for later. In the case of nuts, this isn’t a problem, but with the moisture in fruits and vegetables, rot can cause a health problem. Watch your gerbil, and remove any hoarded food that is less than fresh.

Don’t be concerned if your gerbil occasionally eats his or her feces. This is a natural process that allows them to absorb the B vitamins produced in their digestive tracts.

Mushroom eats Nutriphase Gold Hamster and Gerbil Formula because of its great mix of nutritious seeds and pellets. The sunflower seeds are picked out and reserved as snacks.

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Ecotrition Hamster and Gerbil Diet is a supreme blend of high fiber ingredients that include seeds, fruits, nuts, vegetables, vitamins, and minerals, close to what gerbils eat in the wild, but formulated for the highest nutrition and health.

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