The 12 Best Foods For Gerbils

Reviews

Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Blend Gerbil Food

Higgins’ Sunburst Gourmet Blend is our best gerbil food option overall. The cuisine contains a variety of dried fruits, such as apples and pineapples, seeds, such as pumpkin and sunflower seeds, nuts, such as cashews and peanuts, cereals, and pre-cooked legumes.

We like that the meal is supplemented with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and probiotics to promote digestive health. In addition, the meal does not include any artificial flavors, preservatives, or colors!

This food’s sole drawback is that gerbils can pick and choose what they eat from the mix, which can rapidly lead to an imbalanced diet.

Pros

• Loaded with a variety of dried fruits that are species-appropriate
• Contains a blend of seeds
• Stuffed with diverse nuts and grains
• Enhanced with healthy vitamins, minerals, and amino acids
• Contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
• Extra probiotics
• Absent of synthetic flavors, preservatives, and colors.

Cons

• This could lead to an imbalanced diet

 

Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Gerbil Food

Forti-Diet Pro mix by Kaytee is the most cost-effective gerbil food. Protein is vital for omnivorous animals such as gerbils, and this diet includes natural sources of protein such as sunflower seeds, maize, and other grains, in addition to yucca for odor control.

Additionally, the food contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for optimal brain, heart, and eye health, as well as prebiotics and probiotics for digestive support. We like that this meal contains no artificial tastes and is organically preserved.

The greatest difficulty with this diet is that the pellets include artificial colors, which is not ideal for gerbils. In addition, some gerbils may just select their preferred morsels and discard the others. These two criteria prevent this cuisine from being at the top of the list.

Pros

• Inexpensive
• Natural sources of protein
• Contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
• Prebiotics and probiotics were added.
• Without artificial flavors or preservatives.

Cons

• Contain artificial colors
• This could lead to an imbalanced diet

 

Oxbow Garden Specialty Food Supplements

If you are searching for a premium, well-balanced, and nutrient-rich meal for your gerbil, go no further than Oxbow’s Garden Select Fortified. This pelleted food provides your gerbil with all of the essential elements for a well-balanced diet.

We love this idea since your gerbil cannot pick and choose from a mixture of fruits and seeds, and you can feel confident that they are receiving a balanced, healthy diet. The diet combines high-quality fruit and vegetable components, such as whole yellow pea, tomato, carrot, spinach, and banana, as well as three hand-selected hay kinds.

It also contains components from the United States and a minimum of 16% protein, making it perfect for omnivores such as gerbils.

This food’s sole flaw is that the pellets are prone to falling apart, resulting in a great deal of dust at the bottom of the bag. Plus the food’s relatively expensive cost keep it out of the top two on this list.

Pros

• Balanced pelleted design
• Containing three hand-selected types of hay
• Includes a variety of fruits and veggies

Cons

• Comparatively costly
• Pellets can be readily disassembled.

 

Kaytee Fiesta Gourmet Variety Diet Gerbil Food

Using an assortment of attractive ingredients, the Kaytee Fiesta Gourmet Variety Diet gerbil food encourages your pet’s natural foraging tendencies. It includes sunflower, pumpkin, and millet seeds, as well as a variety of healthy fruits, such as banana and papaya, and vegetables, such as carrots and sweet potatoes, blended with maize, rolled oats, and barley.

The meal is fortified with DHA and omega fatty acids to promote optimal heart, brain, and eye health, and it is filled with prebiotics and probiotics to aid digestion.

Several customers complain that their gerbils did not love this meal and ate just the edible pieces, resulting in an uneven diet.

Pros

• Encourages the gerbil’s foraging tendencies.
• Contains numerous useful seeds
• Full of wholesome fruits and veggies
• Contains added DHA and omega fatty acids
• Prebiotics and probiotics abound.

Cons

• Several gerbils may not consume this meal.
• This could lead to an imbalanced diet

 

Healthy Handfuls of Oxbow Essentials Gerbil Food

Healthy Handfuls pelleted food from Oxbow Essentials has all the vitamins and nutrients your gerbil needs to maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet.

The meal is particularly created to mimic a gerbil’s natural diet; it is free of high-sugar fruits and artificial preservatives, colors, and tastes; and it contains only essential elements to promote optimal nutrition, weight, digestion, and general health.

This comprises nutrients such as timothy hay, oats, and barley, and a total protein value of 15%. The diet is enriched with stabilized vitamins C, A, and B12 to maintain healthy immunological function in your gerbil.

The diet has a minimum of ten percent fiber, which may be excessive for gerbils. It is also devoid of fruits and vegetables, so you may choose to supplement your gerbil’s diet with these for added variety.

Pros

• Without high-sugar fruits
• Without synthetic preservatives, colors, and tastes
• Timothy hay, oats, and barley are included.
• Stabilized vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin B12

Cons

• Somewhat rich in fiber
• No fruits or veggies included

 

Tropical Carnival Gerbil Food from Brown’s

Brown’s Tropical Carnival Gerbil Food is a festive combination of seeds, fruits, nuts, and vegetables that provides your gerbil with everything it needs for a balanced diet.

A minimum protein level of 12.5% is present in oats, millet, corn, sunflower seeds, dried papaya and pineapple, carrots, and sweet potato. It is enriched with a variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, E, and B12. It has additional probiotics to promote a healthy digestive tract.

The primary concerns with this food are the artificial tastes and colors, which are not healthy for your cat.

Pros

• A mixture of seeds, fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
• 12.5% minimum protein content
• Added beneficial bacteria
• Enhanced with many vitamins and minerals

Cons

• Contains flavoring and coloring additives

 

Vitakraft Comprehensive Nutritional Support Gerbil Food

Vitakraft’s Complete Nutrition gerbil food will encourage your pet’s natural foraging tendencies. The meal has 16% protein from natural sources, giving it a high crude protein value.

It includes seven nutrient-dense ancient grains, an abundance of fruits, such as apples and bananas, vegetables, such as carrots and spinach, oats, maize, and different seeds. We like that Vitakraft has included natural probiotics to promote healthy digestion and omitted artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.

Your gerbil may acquire a selective eating behavior and leave part of the components, resulting in a possibly imbalanced diet. There is little else wrong with this variety mix.

Pros

• Protein derived from natural sources
• Contains seven nutrient-rich ancient grains
• Containing numerous fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts
• Added natural probiotics
• Absent of synthetic colors, flavors, and preservatives.

Cons

• This could lead to an imbalanced diet

 

Hartz Bonanza Gerbil Food

The Hartz Bonanza Gerbil meal is particularly created to fulfill not only the nutritional demands of your gerbil, but also its culinary preferences.

These include papaya, bananas, peas, maize, and other seeds, along with pellets supplemented with vitamins and minerals, all of which are meant to keep your gerbil happy and healthy. Additionally, the meal is packaged in a zip-lock bag for simple storage and long-lasting freshness.

Several consumers claimed that the pellets at the bottom of the bag released a great deal of dust into the food. Unfortunately, the pellets also include artificial coloring and preservatives.

Pros

• Contains various nutritious fruits
• stuffed with healthful almonds and seeds
• Contains pellets that have been supplemented with vitamins and minerals.
• Re-sealable packaging

Cons

• Pellets disintegrate readily, producing dust.
• Contains synthetic dyes and preservatives.

 

Advanced Nutrition Diet Food Wild Harvest E1950W Gerbil

Advanced Nutrition food from Wild Harvest is an appealing combination of fruits, vegetables, and nuts designed to provide your gerbil with a healthy diet.

With components such as oats, corn, millet, cranberries, carrots, banana, sunflower, and flax seeds, your gerbil will be enticed by the diversity of tasty morsels. Additionally, the meal is enriched with vitamins, including vitamins D3 and B12, and vital minerals, like zinc and calcium. It is packaged in a handy zip-lock bag.

Several buyers claimed that their gerbils did not appreciate the food’s dark powder coating, which presumably consists of fragmented pellets. Additionally, the pellets include artificial colors and onions, which may induce anemia in gerbils.

Pros

• Contains a variety of fruits and veggies
• Stuffed with diverse seeds and nuts
• Contains added vitamins and minerals
• Zip-lock bag that can be resealed

Cons

• Coated with a granular deposit
• Contains artificial dyes
• Contains onions

 

Rosewood 76440 Nature’s Salad Food Rosewood 76440

Rosewood Nature’S Salad gerbil chow has 21 all-natural ingredients collected from German wildflower meadows that your gerbil will like. The diet contains fragrant and healthy herbs like marigold, dandelion, nettle, and peppermint, in addition to oat flakes, wheat flakes, peas, and carrots.

The cuisine includes no added sugar, no artificial colors or flavors, and a range of appealing textures and tastes. This is as near as your gerbil will get to foraging!

This meal is an excellent snack for your gerbil, but it lacks the nutrients necessary for a balanced diet. In addition, there are dubious additives, such as “edible flowers,” that are not specified and may be hazardous to your gerbil. There are also flower petals, corn kernels, and popcorn that might pose a choking hazard.

Pros

• 21 all-natural ingredients
• Contains fragrant and healthy herbs
• Without additional sugar
• Contains no artificial colors or flavors

Cons

• Only suitable as a snack
• Not nutritionally sufficient
• Contains dubious components
• Attainable choking risks

What to Look for When Buying Foods for Gerbils

It is simple to obtain gerbil food that meets their nutritional requirements, given the variety of products that are currently accessible. Nevertheless, the vast variety of meals might make it challenging to select a proper food!

To pick the best diet for your gerbil, it is vital to consider the following factors:

• The food you purchase for your gerbil should have all of the essential vitamins and minerals for a healthy, well-balanced diet. Consider a range of foods, such as nuts, seeds, an abundance of fruits and vegetables, and extra vitamins and minerals. Gerbils are omnivores that require a good amount of protein. Protein should ideally originate from a natural source.
• Synthetic ingredients. Many commercial pet meals include artificial colors, tastes, and preservatives that are harmful to gerbils and other animals. Gerbils are little animals that may have healthy and happy lives without the use of artificial chemicals; thus, you should avoid using them whenever feasible.
• The refined sugar in your gerbil’s food is harmful and utterly unneeded. Some manufacturers add sugar to their products to make them more pleasant; thus, it is important to examine the list of ingredients. In moderation, sugar from natural sources such as fruit is beneficial.
• Gerbils like chewing, thus it is great to provide them with food that resembles the textures of foods they would consume in the wild. Gerbils are prone to dental problems, and chewy foods can help maintain their teeth healthily and sharp.

Nutritional needs for gerbils

The meal you select for your gerbil should satisfy all of its nutritional needs.

Besides necessary vitamins and minerals, gerbils require the following:

• Protein gives your gerbil the energy it needs to go through the day and contributes to its growth and cognitive function. The protein percentage of the food you give your gerbil should be around 15 percent.
• Fat is also vital to the health of your gerbil, and a range of nuts and seeds are excellent sources of healthy fats. Depending on the size and age of your gerbil, its basic diet should contain between 3-9% fat.
• Fresh produce. Your gerbil will enjoy and profit from eating a range of fresh meals in addition to pellets and mixes. Fresh fruits, such as apples and bananas, are wonderful additions, as are fresh vegetables, such as carrots and sweet potatoes, and even hard-boiled eggs.

As with any pet, ensure that your gerbil always has access to lots of fresh, clean water.

Avoidable foods for your gerbil

Gerbils are finicky eaters and will not consume anything that they dislike.

However, it is better to be cautious than sorry, therefore you should restrict their access to the following foods:

• Citrus fruits
• Fruit seeds
• Chocolate
• Commercial muesli
• A combination of onion and garlic
• Rhubarb
• Biscuits
• Tomato leaves
• Grapes

Mixed or pelleted foods?

Mixes or pellets, and often a combination of both, are the two most common kinds of dry gerbil food. Mixtures include a range of nuts, seeds, dried fruits and vegetables, and cereals, whereas pelleted meals provide a balanced diet of all the nutrients your gerbil needs for a healthy diet. Pelleted food provides a well-balanced foundation for your gerbil’s nutrition, while mixes provide variety.

Small animals, such as gerbils, can pick out the pieces they favor and discard the rest, resulting in an uneven diet, according to several pet owners.

While this may be true, many gerbil owners report that their pet eats everything when given high-quality mixed food. Obviously, it’s up to you as the gerbil’s caretaker, and it’s a good idea to test both and see how your pet reacts.

How much should a gerbil be fed?

This relies on a number of variables, such as the food you feed them and their size and age. The label of the food you select will often provide a decent estimate of the daily portion size, which should ideally be divided into three to four smaller meals.

Fresh fruits and vegetables should be given to your gerbil on occasion, but not too often; the additional wetness can cause gastrointestinal issues. A teaspoon or two twice a week is plenty.

Conclusion

Higgins’ Sunburst Gourmet Blend is BestForPets (bestforpets.org)’s top choice for the best foods for gerbils. The diet contains an assortment of dried fruits, seeds, nuts, and grains suited to the species. In addition to vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, it contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and probiotics. It does not include any artificial flavors, preservatives, or colors.

Forti-Diet Pro mix by Kaytee is the most cost-effective gerbil food. This product is supplemented with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and provides digestive assistance with prebiotics and probiotics. This cuisine has no artificial tastes and is organically preserved.

Possessing a pet is a huge responsibility, and it can be difficult to locate food that provides a healthy, balanced diet. Hopefully, our in-depth evaluations have helped you choose the finest food for your beloved pet among the plethora of alternatives available.