Gerbil Nutrition

[MiniLopHop]

I adore my Gerbils (Barnum and Baily), but they have become watermelons with legs. I am afraid I am loving them to death. They get exercise in their wheels, some play time out of the cage, and lots of digging/chewing with cardboard. I think their diet may be too rich. They get a table spoon of echotrition once a day and greens at night. Any suggestions to help them loose a bit of weight?

:run:

 

[Boz]

Hello!
How old are they? Are they male or female? What are the kept in?

The dry food amount sounds right. So I don't think you are over doing that.

Gerbils don't need greens (but they can have them). What kinda greens are they getting?

ETA: actually, the food mix could be a part of it. ecotrition (guessing that's what you meant? ) is a good mix but it has higher amount of protein (16%) and non-breeding adult gerbils should have around 12%. That could cause a bit of bulkiness. If they are over two years old they can run on even less protein (10-11%) and less fat (3-5%).

 

[MiniLopHop]

Boz, thank you! I will check out changing their food. Do you suggest something in particular?

They are both males, about 2 years old. I have had them for about a year. They have only bulked up recently, that is why I was confused.

They are in a 20 gallon tank with a mesh top. I have their wheels secured to the top so they don't get bedding stuck or knocked over. Whenever they get low on cardboard I toss more in. They make the coolest little tunnels with it.

The greens are whatever the bunns are getting that week. I rotate through spring mixes, petite lettuces, etc. Basicly dark green and red leaf mixes. Occasionally I will give them a little bit of the herbs as well. Ironically their favorite is dill and the bunnies are not fond of it. They get a baby carrot to share on their gothcha day and Christmas.

 

[Boz]

Males tend to bulk up more with age and they do tend to carry their weight more obviously. And if they are around two, it makes sense! I think it's probably just that. It's nothing you are doing wrong. Ecotrition is a very good food. Can you weigh them at all? A food scale works great. Usually we weigh gerbils in grams.

The greens are fine. Normally I only give mine a little bit. They live in the wild and normally don't eat a lot of greens, mostly seeds and small insects.

The tank sounds perfect! Gerbils love to chew and dig. And the wheel if fine too.