Expert: Charlotte Louise Gutteridge - 10/28/2006

Question
Can gerbils eat any of the following: watermelon, lettuce, carrots? And could you also tell or find me a list of what gerbils can and can't eat?  

Answer
Hi Cassandra,

You can give them watermelon and carrots, but i don't recommend lettuce because they are always sprayed and washed in loads of chemicals!!!

There are so many things a gerbil can eat, so it will take me ages to list them all, but here are some of the more unusual things:

*Dandelions (washed)
*Scrambled or boiled egg, only a small amount though
*Bits of Cheese
*Plain dog bisuits
*Some cereals, such as cheerios
*mealworms, dried (normally found in wild bird sections of pet shops)
*Millet spray (domestic bird section)
*Natural yoghurt

They can have a bit of most fruit, berries that we eat and veg, but steer clear of the things below:

*Raw kidney beans
*Avacado pear
*Raw potato
*Onion
*All plants from the garden other than dandelion
*Cabbage
*Lettuce

I hope this helps? If there were other specific things you want to feed but just want to check feel free!!

Thanks for your question,
Charlie.