Nutrition tips for gerbils

Feeding your gerbil a basic staple diet of commercial dry seeds or pellets will provide the main part of its diet. It is best to give your gerbil and reasonably varied diet, which is also high in nutrients. Gerbils can be fed seed mixes or block feeds, which have definite differences.

Seed Mixes: These are loose mixes of seeds, sometimes with pellets or dried vegetables added. Most of these will be nutritionally balanced, but only if your gerbil eats everything in the mix. Many gerbils will pick out their favorite bits and leave the rest, which can lead to a dietary imbalance if there are components your gerbils consistently avoid. Also, if the seed mix is heavy on sunflower seeds (which are quite fatty), the gerbil may just feast on these and ignore the other seeds, which provide the nutritional balance.


Pellets or Lab Blocks: these have the advantage of being nutritionally balanced. Pellets are smaller and lab blocks are the larger chunks of food. Both are good, although some people believe the lab blocks are the most ideal because of thorough scientific research behind them, and the lab blocks are now being packaged for the pet market. Unlike loose mixes, the gerbils can't pick and choose which components they eat so the blocks and pellets assure a balanced diet. On the other hand, lab blocks and pellets are all in one piece, and don't allow for such selectivity, and have some scientific evidence behind them for nutrition. However, this type of diet offers little variety or interest so while pellets or blocks make a good basic diet, some supplementation is recommended. The best solution is to give the gerbil variety while still providing good nutritional content. Thus use seeds in a controlled way, possibly picking out the sunflower seeds to use as treats and in training, and use the block and pellets as the main source of nutrition.

Treats and supplements that can be added to the diet include :

* fresh fruit and vegetables (in limited amounts at first to avoid diarrhea) such as carrots, broccoli, apples and berries. Carrots are good treat to give your gerbil because hard foods help their teeth. Watermelon rinds are high in nutrition, so they make great treats on hot days.

* nuts (sparingly; high in fat)

* sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds (sparingly; high in fat)

* whole grain bread (plain or toasted)

* breakfast cereal (unsweetened types only)

* raisins, currents

* small bits of cheese

* small amounts of egg (scrambled or boiled)

* occasional meal-worms

* occasional dog biscuits (good for chewing)

Making homemade gerbil treats:

Gerbil are omnivorous, which means they eat both vegetables and meat. Their natural foods include grains, seeds, vegetables, and insects, and they will like corn, oats, or wheat mixed with dry dog food. Premixed hamster food from a pet store has complete nutrition, but some hamsters won't eat it.

Gerbil Treats Recipe

1/4 a teaspoon of peanut butter 1 box plain Cheerios cereal variety of vegetables such as carrots, celery, small dog biscuit or stale or fresh bread bird seeds and sunflower seeds small amount of cheese

Spread peanut butter on dog biscuit, stale or fresh bread. Stick cereal on top and press in some of you hamster's favorite small foods such as bird seeds or sunflower seeds. Next, press in vegetables around the Cheerios. Press cheese around the vegetables to cover.
Other treats that can be fed to your hamster include:
Acorns, Almonds (shelled), Beechnuts, Biscuits, Boiled Potatoes, Brazil Nuts, Bread (fresh or stale), Cashew Nuts, Chicken (cooked), Cheese, Coconuts, Crickets, Currents,Homemade Dog Biscuits, Fish (cooked), Hazel Nuts, Meat (cooked), Pecan Nuts, Peanuts (shelled or unshelled), Pistachio Nuts, Prunes, Raisins, Sweet Chestnuts, Sultanas, Toast, Walnuts

Never feed a hamster any of the following:

Buttercups, Chocolate, Garlic, Onions, Rabbit Mix (containing antibiotic ingredients), Raw Kidney Beans, Sweets, Toffee, rhubarb, and potato leaves.

The amount of feed given to a gerbil is also important. A routine should be set up to feed the gerbil every 24 hours, approximately at the same time. Night time is quite good. Try to get a feel for how much the gerbil will eat within a day, and then keep on feeding that amount. Try not to give too much to avoid spoiling within the period. Remove any uneaten food from the previous day before feeding to prevent any illness. Treats need to be limited, gerbils can die at a young age from obesity. It is a good idea to keep their food portions small.
Although gerbils are small, they still require a fresh water supply to maintain their internal organs. Because gerbils come from dry climates, they do not need a lot of water, but don't make the mistake of thinking water is not important. Make sure they always have a supply of fresh, clean water in a sipper bottle. This water should be replenished regularly into a bottle sipper. Try not to allow the water to get stale.

ABSOLUTELY no salt, salt is very bad for them, so just make sure that the nuts are washed throughly, and they are plain, also don't give more than one nut a week, they have a lot of fat in them, and the fat can build up quickly

How to choose a gerbil cage

There are lots of choices out there for gerbil cages, and I know that it may seem a bit hard to find one that is all safe, easy to clean, and large enough. Look for comfort in the cage. Some cages have a wire grate bottom which is not comfortable for your gerbil. Avoid those. A solid bottom is preferable. Also look for safety features. For example, are the tunnels or chambers too small for your gerbil? Or in the case of a wire cage, are the spaces between the wire bars too wide which may cause your gerbil to escape?

I highly recommend bigger hamster cages, for an aquarium, the larger the better but a minimum 12x24 inches (30x60 cm) for two gerbils. More gerbils means more space is required. Or at least buying as big a cage for your hamster as you can afford. It is best to choose gerbils that have already been caged together, or home made gerbil cages.
Aquarium is the best for gerbil. For an aquarium, you will need a mesh or wire lid securely fitted on top in order to provide air circulation. This will also prevent the gerbil from jumping out of the cage. You can buy the lid at a store or construct it yourself out of hardware cloth. There should also be a few different levels for them to climb on. Gerbils are very active, especially at night. They will always appreciate another level to climb on and as much space as you can give them to explore within their cage. Most glass aquariums do not have second levels, so you may need to make one yourself. A simple unfinished wooden platform with an access ramp will do nicely.

Aquarium guidelines:

10 gallon tank 1 or 2 gerbils
15 gallon tank 3 gerbils
20 gallon tank 4 gerbils
30 gallon tank 6 gerbils


Wire cages can be use for gerbil and wire bars should be no more than inch apart. A wire cage must be at least 12 by 24 by 12 inches. Use a metal clip for extra security on wire cage doors. Some gerbil are notorious for "cage breakouts". It you use a wire cage, the floor should be made of a fine mesh so the gerbil's feet can't fall through. Open wire cages are generally healthier, as air can circulate, helping volatile oils from certain types of bedding evaporate more quickly and lessening the dust the animals will breathe from any sort of bedding. A gerbil will kick bedding out between the bars of a wire cage, making a daily mess and they sometimes chew on the wire resulting in sores on their noses. For these reasons, wire cages are not ideal.

Plastic cages are another option. These tend to be more attractive to the owner but provide little ventilation to the gerbil and can easily be chewed through. Gerbils will attempt to chew through plastic cages, and may get sores, so these are not highly recommended. Another thing about plastic cages is they smell more quickly.


Next you have to choose bedding for the cage. Experts recommend aspen shavings or a safe recycled paper bedding.Put down a layer of newspaper on the bottom of the cage, and then add shredded paper, timothy hay and other fun materials. NEVER use cedar and pine shavings, as their fumes can irritate your pet's throat, lungs and nasal passages and they can cause liver disease and respiratory problems in all small mammals. Some pine shavings may contain high amounts of oils that can cause skin problems, so it is best to avoid shavings if possible. Don't give them anything made of soft plastic or cardboard, which they'll simply chew to bits.

After choosing the cage, you will need a heavy ceramic food dish that won't easily be tipped. Add a nest house - wood or ceramic ones are durable and available commercially (plastic ones will be quickly chewed to bits). A clay pot with holes works well too. Provide materials for climbing - stable chunks of wood, stable rocks, ladders, ramps and platforms will all be used.Add some chewable toys - wood toys from pet stores, branches, hay, and cardboard. Toilet paper tubes, though quickly destroyed, will likely be a favorite toy. Getting an exercise wheel, but get one with a solid surface, and no place for a tail to get caught.

Ensure that there is adequate ventilation in the cage, especially if you plan on having more than one hamster.