Mongolian Gerbil Diet

Gerbils are natural foragers, so scatter feeding gives them a good opportunity for this and is more interesting for them. Just take a few handfuls of food and scatter them across their enclosure. Feeding without bowls can also help reduce the possibility of fighting between your gerbils, as it is not possible for one to sit in the bowl to guard it.

A Mongolian gerbil diet is quite simple; on average you should offer one tablespoon, roughly 10g, per gerbil per day. However, this will depend on the efficiency of your mix and it is always better to overfeed than underfeed. Providing your gerbil has plenty of room to burrow, run and a solid-based wheel to exercise in then they should maintain a healthy weight. An average healthy gerbil should weigh between 70-100g, though an older male may weigh more. Any rapid weight loss should always mean a vet visit as it can be an indication of something serious.

A Mongolian gerbil diet should include the following:

Basic seed mix

such as a commercial gerbil mix. Gerri Gerbil provides a good mix for gerbils.

Supplements

you can mix in foods such as rabbit pellets, crushed oats, wheat, corn flakes, pumpkin seeds, monkey nuts and small amounts of sunflower seeds.

Fresh

washed greens, vegetables and fruit . Things such as bananas, apples, carrots, broccoli.

Water

Gerbils require very little water, but some should always be available for daily use.

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Treats

protein such as small amounts of scrambled egg, boiled chicken, mealworms, cheese or tuna are appreciated. Small pieces of bread, toast or millet are also popular. Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are very popular but should not be fed too frequently as they can lead to obesity. Cooked cous-cous also seems to be a favourite.