Snacks for gerbils: little extras for foraging, gnawing and taming

Gerbils are curious and want something to do all day long. A good snack plays into that. A dried cricket from your hand, a stick of millet spray they have to peel themselves or a chew roll they break down bit by bit: it is tasty and it keeps them busy. At the same time, snacks are exactly what the word says: an extra. Gerbil food remains the foundation of the menu.

In this category, our own Zooply snacks come first: dried insects, millet spray, nibble mix, walnuts and the enrichment range with green oats. Zooply is our own premium brand, which we use every day for the animals in our shop and at our breeding facility. You will also find a large range from other brands, such as JR Farm, Trixie, Zolux, Flamingo and Esve.

In short

• ✓ Snacks are a small part of the menu and never replace gerbil food.
• ✓ Dried insects suit gerbils well: in the wild they also eat an insect now and then.
• ✓ Use snacks for taming and as a foraging game in the bedding.
• ✓ In a small group, give each gerbil its own piece, or spread snacks over several spots.
• ✓ Only give sweet and fatty snacks occasionally and in very small pieces.

What will you find in the Snacks category?

Zooply dried insects

Zooply Crickets, Zooply Grasshoppers and Zooply Silkworms are dried insects without additives, in a resealable pack. According to the product information, they are sugar-free and suitable for taming and for use in enrichment games. Gerbils naturally eat an insect now and then, so a few at a time fit well into their menu. For example, give one from your hand while taming, or hide a few in the bedding.

Zooply Millet Spray Pieces

These are short sticks with the seeds still attached. Your gerbil has to hold them, nibble on them and remove the seeds itself. That is a snack they really get busy with. Because they are pieces instead of a whole spray, they are easy to portion. Put them loose in the enclosure or push them halfway into the bedding.

Zooply enrichment range: the fields

Zooply Hare Field, Flower Field, Heath Field, Meadow Field, Reed Field and Dune Field consist of green oats and pieces of millet spray, with a dried eye-catcher in each variety: bunny tail grass, a daisy, sea lavender, strawflowers, amaranth or statice. Your gerbils may eat, destroy and drag away the oats and millet. Push the bunch into the bedding or place it by a house or tunnel. That way you provide food, enrichment and natural decoration in one.

Zooply Nibble Mix and Walnuts

Zooply Nibble Mix is a varied snack with seeds, grains and dried vegetables, among other things, available in 200 grams and 2.5 kg. Scatter a small amount through the bedding as a foraging game. Zooply Walnuts (150 grams) are rich in fat. For a gerbil, a small piece of walnut is already a generous treat; so only give it now and then.

Chew rolls, sticks and grain-free snacks

From JR Farm you will find, among other things, the wooden chew roll with carrot, Roll n Fun, Double-Roll, chew balls and an extensive grain-free range with chew rolls, chew drops, lucky carrots and bonbons. Zolux has chew sticks with oats, vegetables, carrot, Jerusalem artichoke and peanut, among others. These snacks are harder or come on a wooden stick, so your gerbil stays busy with them for longer.

Edible tunnels, towers and play snacks

Trixie has edible tunnels with hay and vegetables, including in ø 6.5 × 20 cm, a tower with mountain hay and seeds and a bridge with vegetables and nuts. From JR Farm there is the 75-gram hay house, the sniffing box and the play wheel with snacks, and from Flamingo the Tubez chew tunnels. For gerbils, these are mainly demolition projects: they gnaw holes in them and use the pieces for their nest.

Crackers, biscuits and other nibbles

You will also find Trixie Crackers with dandelion, carrot or beetroot, Flamingo vegetable biscuits, corn cobs from JR Farm and Trixie, the Esve Pet Bouquets with grains and grasses, and the Trixie growing kit that lets you grow fresh grass yourself, among other things.

Which snacks suit gerbils best?

Gerbils are seed eaters that eat an insect now and then. Snacks that tie in with that, such as dried insects, millet spray, green oats and seeds, suit them best. Hard chew snacks and edible tunnels are also suitable, because gerbils gnaw a lot and turn everything into nesting material.

Snacks with fruit, honey or lots of seeds and kernels are sweet or fatty. A gerbil is small, so a snack like that quickly makes up a large share. Only give those now and then and break off a small piece. Preferably choose snacks without added sugar and check the ingredients on the product page.

Not everything in this category is intended for gerbils. Large hay blocks, hay houses and hideaways for rabbits and guinea pigs and the Esve Timothy hay rolls are intended for rabbits and guinea pigs, according to their product information. For a gerbil, choose the smaller variants intended for rodents.

Using snacks for taming

A gerbil that has just come to live with you is often skittish. Snacks help build trust. Calmly place your hand flat in the enclosure, with a dried cricket or a piece of millet spray in your palm. Let your gerbil come to you; don't grab. Repeat this for a few days at the same time, when your gerbils are awake and active anyway. After a while, most gerbils climb onto your hand by themselves.

Never pick a gerbil up by its tail. The skin of the tail can come off or the tail can break off. It is better to scoop your gerbil up with two hands, or let it walk into a tube.

Snacks as a foraging game

Gerbils love to dig. Hide a few insects or a pinch of nibble mix in the bedding, in a tunnel or under a layer of hay. They will then search and dig, which suits their natural behaviour well. An edible tunnel or a Zooply field bunch is also perfectly suitable: the gerbils slowly destroy it and drag the pieces to their nest.

Don't hide too much at once. Gerbils build up stashes, and whatever they don't eat straight away disappears into the nest. Then you can no longer see what is really being eaten.

Snacks in a small group of gerbils

Gerbils live in pairs or small same-sex groups. A large snack that they all want at the same time can cause tension. So give each gerbil its own piece, or put the snacks in several spots in the enclosure. An edible tunnel or chew roll often works well in a group, because it can be gnawed from several sides.

How many snacks do you give?

There is no fixed number, but keep snacks to a small part of what your gerbil eats per day. A few insects at a time, a few times a week, is plenty for a gerbil as a protein snack. A hard chew roll or tunnel can stay in the enclosure for longer, as long as it stays dry and clean. If your gerbils leave their gerbil food or get heavier, you are giving too much. In that case, stop the snacks for a while and give only the regular food.

Store snacks dry, cool and well sealed. Remove snacks from the enclosure that have become damp or smell musty.

Useful combinations

Snacks work best when the basics are good. These categories go with them:

• Gerbil food: Zooply Gerbil Food as the daily foundation, with snacks only as an extra.
• Dried herbs: Zooply herbs and flowers for low-calorie variety.
• Gnawing wood: safe chewing material, so you need fewer edible snacks to keep them busy.
• Bedding: a thick digging layer in which you can hide snacks.
• Toys: to hide snacks in and let your gerbils search.

Frequently asked questions about snacks for gerbils

Can gerbils eat dried insects?

Yes. Gerbils are not strict herbivores and eat insects now and then in the wild. Zooply Crickets, Grasshoppers and Silkworms are dried insects without additives. Give a few at a time, a few times a week. They are also suitable for taming, because most gerbils find them very tasty.

How often can my gerbil have a snack?

A small snack can be given daily, as long as it really stays small and your gerbil keeps eating its regular food well. If you want to reward often, for example during taming, simply use a few pellets from the daily portion of gerbil food as well. That way you don't give anything extra and the menu stays balanced.

Are snacks with fruit suitable for gerbils?

A small piece of fruit snack is fine now and then, but fruit naturally contains sugar. Gerbils don't need it. So it is better to choose insects, millet spray, green oats, vegetable crackers or grain-free chew snacks, and save sweet snacks for the odd occasion.

My gerbils only eat snacks now. What do I do?

Stop all snacks completely for a week or two and give only gerbil food in fixed portions. Only top up when the bowl is empty. Your gerbils will then get used to their regular food again. After that you can give very small extras again, preferably as a foraging game rather than in the food bowl.

Why do snacks disappear straight into the nest?

Gerbils build up stashes. That is normal and not a sign that they are hungry. Give smaller pieces and less at a time, and they are more likely to eat it straight away. Check the nest now and then: if there is a lot of perishable food in it, remove that and leave the dry stash in place.

When should I go to a vet?

If your gerbil no longer eats its snacks or food, is losing weight, is lethargic, has diarrhoea or is breathing with difficulty, contact a vet with rodent expertise straight away. Snacks are intended for enjoyment and bonding and don't solve health problems.

Snacks for gerbils at Knaagplaza

At Knaagplaza, the webshop of 't Knaagplein, you will find snacks for gerbils from Zooply and other brands. Zooply is our own premium brand: we use the insects, millet spray and fields every day for our own animals. Give snacks in small amounts and with care, and your gerbils will enjoy them without their regular food being pushed aside.