If they had access to all the riches of nature, your gerbils would round out their usual diet of dry grains and seeds with tasty bugs, juicy roots, and chewy fresh leaves.You can replicate this at home by providing your gerbils with a dried food mix with small weekly offerings of fruit or vegetables. Dry food mixes can be home made or bought commercially from your local pet store. Whether you decide to make your own food or buy another commercial brand, there are certain nutritional guidelines you should follow.

A good composition of dry food mix will have the correct ratios of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, which will change slightly depending on the ages and activities of your gerbils. Commercial foods have labels which will clearly list the percentages for you. The downside to buying commercial is that many brands put biscuits, corn, and use chemical dyes in their products which should be manually removed before feeding. Making your own food at home can actually be healthier if you don’t mind doing a little research.

As a general rule young active gerbils will need more fat and protein, and older gerbils need less protein and fat. Fats should never be completely omitted or severely reduced in their diet. Optimum values for fats vary between the 3% – 8% range. This depends on the age of the gerbil and whether it’s a breeding animal or a pet. A highly active gerbil may require more fats for energy and to also help maintain their coat in an optimum condition.

On the other hand, too much fat will lead to obesity, sterility in females, and increased cholesterol levels resulting in heart disease and strokes. Protein contents less than 15% leads to slow growth in pups, and too much protein in their diet (+20%) can lead to liver damage, kidney stones and skin lesions. So always be wary of diets that have protein content higher than 20% especially if used for long periods.

Portioning your gerbil’s food is just as important as what you feed them. Usually it is recommended to serve a single gerbil about one tablespoonful of your dry food mix per day, and that no more food should be added until the bowl is empty. Gerbils are picky and have a tendency to eat what they prefer first and often avoid other foodstuffs while these are present in their bowl. Some people have adopted the practice of feeding every other day because of this. Scatter fed gerbils should have their bedding checked through daily to ensure they are eating everything.

Always make sure the food intake is varied enough to make sure that your gerbils receive adequate micro-nutrients, and also to prevent boredom setting in. If you feed treats on top of their staple diet, make sure the treats are always in small portions and not offered more than once per week.