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mouse123
05-08-06, 05:21 AM 05-08-06
I read somewhere that you can give the gerbils timothy hay. How often can you give it to them? Mine love it. They use it for a nest and it so cute to see them collect it in their mouth. They went crazy when I put it in last night. It was the first time I gave it to them.
Doom
05-08-06, 10:07 AM 05-08-06
My gerbils love hay. I put large handfuls in when I clean the cage with the substrate. It gets chewed, shredded, used in their beds and improves the digability of all substrates.

One warning..all hay should be frozen before use for at least 48 hours!
gerbilgirl92
05-08-06, 11:47 AM 05-08-06
After a few days of using it check and see if any of your gerbils have red noses. One of mine girls was allergic to it and was having terrible sneezing and itching fits.
mouse123
05-08-06, 06:13 PM 05-08-06
Thanks for the warning. Just curious...why should you freeze it? I'll def do it now but I didn't know I should. Can you give them too much? My gerbils (who are hand shy) allowed me to pick them up and pet them when I gave it to them.
Doom
05-08-06, 11:53 PM 05-08-06
Hay often carries mites etc. Obviously most hayfields will have rodents and however clean it looks or well-packed you cannot be 100% sure.
Freezing for 48 hours ensures that any parasites are killed.
anyone whose gerbils have suffered mites will tell you it's a very unpleasant problem.
I also freeze my feed just in case of bugs (most bugs found in food are harmless but not very pleasant).
mouse123
05-09-06, 04:40 AM 05-09-06
ok thanks.
gerbilgirl92
05-09-06, 10:35 AM 05-09-06
yup, thats how my gerbils got mites. IT WAS TERRIBLE! I don't really think yu can give them to much because they don't eat it.
Dr Doughnut
05-09-06, 03:16 PM 05-09-06
When my 2 [deceased] gerbs got mite, i took care of it. They were gone in just 8 days. I just cleaned the cage up totally, with soap, but they came back. I found the source, my bedding, back n the day when i kept it outside. There were some stray cats sneaking it the yard, some snuggled by the bedding.
mouse123
05-09-06, 07:16 PM 05-09-06
Do you think that I should freeze the whole bag or only what I'm goin to give them?
Doom
05-09-06, 11:35 PM 05-09-06
I guess that depends on space
I have a small freezer devoted to my gerbils so I freeze larger quantities of food and hay, but if you have limited space you may wish to bag it into smaller quantities.
Just be sure that there is no risk of contamination from the non-treated hay.