On Wed, 14 Feb 2001, Deb Rebel wrote:
> No, mealworms are LIVE and they will hatch into nasty beetles. My
> hubby tried using them for live fish food for our fancy goldfish,
> until a) some got out of the container and got into some favorite
> leftovers of mine which I found out on a 2 am munch run and b) had
> some hatch out into beetles in the fish room.
Depends on the gerbils. None of the mealworms we ever put in as food
lasted long enough to turn into beetles. The gerbils bit their heads off
in second and then happily munched them like hot dogs.
> >I've read that giving gerbils flesh foods will make them more likely to
> >eat/attack their babies....I've also read that giving gerbils mealworms
> >will satisfy their protein/flesh food urges so they _won't_ cannibalize
> >their babies. Ah, the conflicting info you can find on the internet
> >these days! :) Does anyone have any advice?
>
> I don't feed them meat or live food so they don't get the idea. A
> good quality catfood as a treat works.
Catfood is fine, as mealworms can be on the expensive side unless it's
just an occasional treat. The notion that giving insects to gerbils will
make them eat their own young (just like the idea that giving meat to
ferrets will make them bite their owners) is completely
ridiculous. Animals typically imprint on foods by taste, scent, and/or
texture. I seriously doubt infant gerbils taste, smell, feel, or move
like mealworms. Also, gerbils in teh wild naturally supplement their
diets with insects. Obviously, they have continuted to exist as a
species. :)
> >reach in to catch them. We have to trick them into a
> >container and lift them out of the cage that way. Am
> >I doing something wrong? I only handle them about two
> >times a week each because I worry that I'm totally
> >freaking them out by going in their cages. Could I
> >have a weird smell on my hands, or be handling them
> >too much or not enough?
See teh Gerbil FAQ for a longer section on taming techniques.
Handle them more. It takes time. They are just babies.
Michelle
Flutist
