The Gerbil’s Nest

How To Feed Your Gerbil

Though gerbils are quite happy if you simply drop their food into their bedding—allowing them to use their foraging skills—many gerbil keepers don’t like to sprinkle their pets’ food among their litter and waste.  Therefore, they choose proper gerbil food dishes.

Gerbil food dishes consist of a sturdy, steady dish or crock that won’t tip or be easily chewed by persistent gerbils. 

It is normal for a gerbil to bury his or her food dish with bedding and litter.  If this bothers you, you can always get a food hopper that can be attached to the side of the cage.  This will prevent gerbils from soiling their food with litter and droppings. 

The amount you will need to feed your gerbil is approximately one tablespoon per day, per adult gerbil.  This rule is not, however, carved in stone, and if your gerbil usually finishes all of his or her food before the next feeding time, you may wish to feed him or her more. 

Try to feed your gerbil at the same time every day.  You’ll be amazed at how quickly your gerbil learns the schedule and impatiently waits for you to refill the dish.

A nifty trick that you can use to encourage your gerbil to eat fresh fruits and vegetables without burying them is to purchase a hanging veggie basket (below) that will keep the veggies accessible, but prevent them from being lost in the bedding and litter where they’ll rot and make your gerbil sick.  These veggie baskets are often sold in the bird or rabbit section of pet stores, but they work very well for gerbils, too!

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The above food dishes are sturdy to prevent tipping and are made from fired clay which prevents damage from gerbil chewing.

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The above food dishes are sturdy to prevent tipping are colorful, and easy to clean.  They are made of plastic, which gerbils tend to chew, but they’re inexpensive to replace when the time comes.

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