Hamster and Gerbil Help Please x ?
I was just wondering if this food will be ok for them, and also what do you infer of it?
I bought some:
pearl barley ( its in the pet shops gerbil and hamster food so i guess its ok )
sultanas
tinned peaches
tinned pear halves
honey
I cut the pear halves and peach slices into small pieces ( small enough for the gerbil and hamster to eat ) and added some of the solution ( not much like 4 drops of each liquid ) from the tins to the bowl where on earth the chopped peach and pear was, and added the pearl barley and sultanas, then added honey and mixed it all up. it is surrounded by the fridge now, can i give it to the hamster and gerbil in a cake covering or something ?
Also what home made toys are good for them?
Answers: The sultanas are ok (but ideally they should be the ones that have one and only sultanas in them - you CAN get them), the tinned peaches and tinned pear halves are not suitable - gerbils shouldn't have too much sugar/salt foods, and tinned fruits are jam-packed with it (the syrup is usually sugar and any ingredient ending contained by "ose" is sugar, eg fructose, glocose). I'm not sure if gerbils can eat pears or peaches. And whether they can, the mixture you have used contains far too much sugar, so that would not be good for them anyway.
Do not nurture gerbils honesy very often at all - manuka honey is best, which is righteous if they have had an allergic antipathy to something in the cage/food.
So here is a list of safe foods and not secure foods
(Keep treats (anything other than the gerbil or hamster mix) to a minimum - around twice a week. And only give them as much treats as they can hold within two paws.):
Safe to feed:
- Hamster or gerbil mix food: this should form most of their diet: Around 15 grams daily per gerbil.
- Apple (seedless)
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Cauliflower leaves and stalks
- Cucumber
- Lettuce - small amounts occasionally - within excess it can cause liver problems
- Parsley - a good tonic
- Chickweek
- Clover
- Dandelion
- Yarrow
- Biscuits
- Boiled Potatoes
- Bread (fresh or stale)
- Breakfast Cereals (low fat)
- Cheese (small amounts occasionally as fattening)
- Currents
- Dog Biscuits
- Egg (scrambled or boiled)
- Mealworms
- Raisins
- Sultanas
- Toast
NOT safe:
- Kidney Beans (raw)
- Onions - Destroys red blood cell
- Shallots - Destroys red blood cells
- Potato (raw)
- Potato tops
- Rhubarb (raw)
- Rhubarb leaves
- Tomato leaves
- Black nightshade
- Buttercups
- Clematis
- Daffodil
- Deadly nightshade
- Hemlock
- Hydrangea
- Ivy
- Laburnum
- Laurel
- Oleander
- Poinsettia
- Rhododendron
- Yew
- Yucca
- Chocolate
- Rabbit Mix (containing antibiotic ingredients)
- Sweets
- Toffee
- Avacado - Toxic to their hearts
- Garlic
- Coltsfoot. Coltsfoot is very uncertain, DO NOT FEED as it can cause cancer and is hepatoxic (toxic to the kidneys of rodents)
Toys: cardboard tubes (toilet roll tubes, kitchen roll tubes), cardboard (with no print on it).
Also, they should ideally have a mineral stone (from around 99p at Pet shops/Wilkinsons), as this is good for their teeth (they NEVER stop growing), plus it make them less likely to chew on cage bar.
NEVER pick them up by their tail. NEVER bath them. NEVER give them plastic toys (except for a thick plastic gearstick, with NO gaps in it, eg no bars).
Ideally, they should live within a tank (with wire/mesh topper for ventilation)or gerbilarium (part tank [bottom part], part cage). They necessitate enough bedding and sawdust to make tunnels with - a gerbil short the ability to do this will become stressed.
Use sawdust and paper/vegetable parchment bedding. I use sawdust and vegetable parchment bedding form Wilkinsons.
NEVER give your gerbil pine or cedar wood toys or sawdust. Beware of any toy brands containing these woods that say they are risk-free for gerbils - they ARE NOT safe for gerbils!
Play Stix or Play Sticks are a good toy, though that costs lb1.49 approx from Wilkinsons or pet stores, it will last the longest out of any toy!
Tip: Put a small terracotta plant pot surrounded by the tank/gerbilarium. This can not only be a sleeping area (they may not sleep in it, depends on the gerbil), but also help to keep their nails trim, reducing the likelyhood of needing to run to the vet to get it done.
IMPORTANT: Gerbils need toys (cardboard/wood) to keep their teeh trimmed.
I'm not certain about hamsters, but the above applies to gerbils.
