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> From: Jill <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> I have a gerbil who has lost her teeth top front teeth several times. You
> will need to syringe feed her baby food/baby cereal or oatmeal. I got
very
> creative trying to give her some variety in her diet by crushing graham
> crackers and mixing with water to make a mush and chopping nuts *very*
> finely so she could eat those. You will also need to syringe feed the
water
> for sure.
>
> ---
Your dedication is commendable Jill but actually there is no need for
syringe feeeding with lost teeth. Syringe feeding is only necessary when
the gerbil cannot feed itself e.g. babies or gerbils that are immobile
after a stroke or injury. It should only be used when absolutely
necessaryt as there is always the danger of liquid getting into the lungs.
Remember it is usually only the incisors (biting teeth), where the problem
lies. Gerbils have back teeth (chewing teeth) too. All the gerbil needs
is a soft diet. They can eat it from a normal food bowl. As the food is
more messy than normal food, jusy make sure the food bowl is washed
thoroughly every day. Baby food is good because it is nutritious but it is
also expensive. If you do feed baby food, I find gerbils prefer it a
thicker consistency thasn for babies. Use about half the amount of water
recommended.
You can also make a dry mix of things like crumbled weetabix, fine oatmeal,
poppy seeds, sesame seeds, plain biscuit etc. Easy to chew fruit and veg
like banana and thawed out frozen peas are good too. Just use your
imagination. I have lots of gerbils and always have 1 or 2 on this sort of
diet and any time. They do fine. The only thing you sometimes end up with
is podgy partners who eat the soft food and the other food too!
As for water. Having no teeth is no barrier to using a normal water bottle
Good luck
Sue
