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Old 07-09-2016, 04:20 PM   #11
Mollysfriends
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

That sounds a good idea I might give it a go if I'm confident I've got the mix right if not extras to her food would make it more interesting for her. would she need the insects though as I wouldn't be keen on that. Also what sort of natural forage and herbs do you mean?
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Old 07-09-2016, 04:34 PM   #12
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

Insects would be a very natural and beneficial part of the diet.They don't have to be live insects,you can feed dried mealworms just as you would feed them to a hamster.You might be able to get dried crickets as well which would also be good,but mealworms are probably the easiest to find.

As gerbils are omnivores,to have a natural diet it would need to include animal protein.So in short,yes,insects are needed.

For forage,Rosewood make natural forages and things that you can find.I would suggest checking for the ingredients and double checking the safety of each thing though with any product just to be entirely sure.
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Old 07-09-2016, 11:11 PM   #13
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

If you find feeding insects creepy. You could try cooked plain chicken or even meat treats for cats or dogs.
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Old 07-10-2016, 02:07 AM   #14
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

Just be aware of feeding too much meat content to an older gerbil as high protein isn`t required for old animals. Adding a few mealworms (dried) a few times a week would be fine, but the diet may well contain enough protein anyway. A good varied maintenance diet should maintain health but obviously looking at what is being eaten from a mix, what isn`t and what she may not be eating due to the ingredient being too brittle or tasteless like grass pellets which are mostly a fibre content anyway and a handful of hay would do the same job if the gerbil eats it. Those coloured biscuits for example rarely get touched, so just being aware of what the gerbil is enjoying and what she`s leaving can give an indication of what else to add in as an alternative. x
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Old 07-10-2016, 05:10 AM   #15
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

Pellets and biscuits in a lot of foods contain necessary vitamins and minerals which otherwise you'd be unsure of the exact amount that your pet is getting.This can be very risky,as too much or too little of any single vitamin or mineral can throw off health.
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Old 07-11-2016, 09:28 AM   #16
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

Thanks for that information. The plan now is the check what Molly eats. I'm going to give her a choice of all her
Foods and see what she takes first (I'm pretty sure she'll take the pumpkin and sunflower first. Once she's done that the next time we will give her the same choice with those removed and see what she eats. We're going to do that until we get to the food she turns her nose up at! In theory this is what she will leave each time. Molly loves hay her favourite is oat hay by oxbow. She does eat all others but that's her favourite. I'll try her on a mealworm Rosie and Daisy have in their food as she's never had them in hers before I go out and buy it. Hopefully we will then cover everything she needs in her older years.
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Old 07-13-2016, 07:31 AM   #17
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

I googles that Burgess gerbil Granola the other day and wasn`t impressed by it so look elsewhere! It`s good that she enjoys the hay as that provides good fibre and nesting combined. Supermarkets like Lidl/Aldi and the others sell small bags of selected nuts like hazelnuts, walnuts, cashew etc...so check those out. I think gerbils can have pine nuts too. x
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Old 07-13-2016, 03:18 PM   #18
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

I didn't know they could have cashew nuts, Hazel nuts and walnuts. Molly likes pine nuts but I believe they are quite fattening so she only gets them once is a while as a treat. Any idea if the other nuts are fattening at all. Thanks for Google ing the burgess granola I couldn't find it. It is interesting what companies think is a good food. I haven't been able to find the ingredients of the beaphar gerbil food so will have to order it early so I can write a list and find out what she's not keen on. I was advised by the vet(on a previous gerbil) to only feed every other day so that she eats the things she's not keen on which I do. Hopefully it will mop most of the nutrients up that way but a few extra treats certainly won't go amiss.
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Old 07-13-2016, 03:24 PM   #19
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

For nuts it depends on how much you give them.It really wouldn't be harmful to give a few nuts on occasion,but the key here is moderation with every single thing.

I couldn't really find a good ingredients list on the Beaphar food since it just gives very vague things like cereals and meat and animal derivatives(extremely common things in the UK which are the bane of my existence being in the US where any ingredient is made clear and never hidden with vague terminology)so I wouldn't risk it.
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Old 07-14-2016, 02:07 PM   #20
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Default Re: Molly's scratching any ideas

Well i will be buying molly some nut treats now i know she can have them. I'm sure molly will enjoy having different things as treats.
I didn't realise there was meat and meat derivatives in the gerbil food. I will be ordering some soon if nothing else I can see what exactly there is listed. It's a shame the UK manufacturers aren't more like the US in their listing of food items. Does anyone know of a good gerbil only food that is avaliable in the uk? I'm always open to better food for my girls.
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