We haven’t had Persians long ourselves, so we wanted to create a list of foods that were safe for Persian Jirds to eat based on what we and other keepers had already been feeding.
So we plan to pull together a list of ingredients and pre-made products that we had already been feeding – detailing whether they were fed every day, as a treat or once in a blue moon. We will also be including the ‘I never would’ list of things that we will be avoiding incase they are harmful or toxic to jirds.
If you have anything to add below that you have fed – please do start adding to the comments below and we can expand the safe list.
So here we go so far – and we have tried to double entry some things where they might be called two different things so you don’t miss stuff going up and down the list.
Remember, the descriptions below are only things that we have tried ourselves – so use the descriptions to mean just that. If we say ‘leaves only’ that doesn’t mean you can’t eat other parts of the plant – it just means that we haven’t tried them ourselves so we don’t know either way whether they are safe for Persian Jirds – or even if Persian jirds like them!
Unless it says do not feed a certain part – we just don’t know ourselves yet. Similarly with listings with an * – these are foods that are mentioned by others that we haven’t tried ourselves yet.
Key: Either the listings here are:
(1) fed in their main feed mixes in varying quantities (the jirds have access to it every day);
(2) fed often as a snack or top up food (the jirds are given this once a week or so);
(3) fed only rarely as a treat (the jjirds might only get this once a month or less);
(F) after the listings are plants or fruit that have been fed fresh off the plant by us – rather than just found dried in a food or treat.
Safe grains for Persian Jirds:
1 – Beans (?) (flaked)
1 – Buckwheat
3 – Locust Beans
1 – Maize (all types)
1 – Oats (flaked naked)
1 – Peas (flaked)
1 – Soya Bean (meal)
1 – Wheat (extrusions)
1 – Wheat (whole)
Safe nuts for Persian Jirds:
3 – Coconut
2 – Walnuts
3 – Almonds
2 – Hazelnuts
2 – Brazil nuts
1 – Peanuts in shell
3 – Redskin peanuts
3 – Pine nuts
Safe seeds for Persian Jirds:
1- Black sunflower
1 – Canary Seed
*Cardamom
*Carrot seeds
*Chia sage
*Chicory seeds
3 – Dari (sorgham)
*Dill seeds
*Fennel seeds
3 – Flax seed
*Ground seeds (not sure what these are exactly?)
*Hemp seed
*Larch seeds
3 – Linseeds
*Marigold seeds
*Milk Thistle Seeds
2 – Millet (yellow, foxtail and red)
*Niger seed (not to be fed in large quantities)
*Parsley seeds
*Perilla (a type of mint)
*Pine nuts/seeds
*Poppy seeds
1 – Pumpkin seeds
*Rapeseed
1 – Safflower
*Salad seeds
*Sesame
3 – Sorgham (dari)
1 – Sunflower (black) (striped) (white)
Safe fruits for Persian Jirds:
3 – Apple (fruit, blossom, leaves and branches) (F)
1 – Banana (just the fresh fruit – or dried chips) (F)
3 – Cranberries (dried or dehydrated only)
3 – Goji berries (dried or dehydrated only)
1 – Mango (dried or dehydrated only – in current parrot mix)
3 – Melon (F)
1 – Papaya (dried or dehydrated only – in current parrot mix)
3 – Raisins (and sultanas)
2 – Raspberry (fruit, leaves and canes) (F)
2 – Strawberries (fruit, blossom and leaves) (F)
2 – Sultanas (and raisins)
Safe vegetables for Persian Jirds:
3 – Baby Sweetcorn (F)
2 – Beetroot
2 – Broccoli (F)
2 – Carrot (F)
2 – Cucumber (F)
2 – Curly Kale (F)
3 – Kale (F)
1 – Peas (flaked dried peas found in main food – fresh peas given less often)
3 – Potato (fed in treats only so far)
2 – Sugar Beet – (found in many treats)
3 – Sweetcorn (fresh cobs) (F)
3 – Sweetcorn – baby (F)
Safe herbs for Persian Jirds:
*Camomile
*Fenugreek
*Mint
*Parsley
*Sage
Safe grasses/forage for Persian Jirds:
Alfalfa
Ready Grass – Oat
Straw
Timothy Hay
Safe plants and flowers for Persian Jirds:
*these are mainly found dried as part of most treat bars, mixes and hays – even when only fresh is specified – these are all still safe dried.
Chicory
Chicory Root
Coltsfoot Leaf
Cornflower
2 – Dandelions (F) – take off the petals
Hibiscus
Jerusalem Artichoke
2 – Marigold (petals, leaves and stalk – but I have not fed the seeds) (F)
Milk Thistle
3 – Nasturtium (flowers, stalks and leaves) (F)
3 – Plantain (flowers, bulky ‘head’, stalks and leaves)
3 – Rose Petals and Rose Hips (F)
3 – Sunflower Petals (F)
Safe wood and trees for Persian Jirds:
*assuming all trees are unsprayed, chemical-free and not from a roadside – give as often as you want
Apple wood (including bark, leaves, buds, blossom and lichen)
Ash wood (including bark, leaves, buds – but not the ‘keys’ (the hanging seeds))
Cork wood
Hawthorn wood (remove the thorns first – wood, leaves, blossom and berries (fresh or dried))
Hazel wood (including bark, leaves, buds and nuts – but not the catkins)
Willow wood (including bark, leaves, buds – but not the catkins)
Safe live food treats for Persian Jirds:
Mealworm (larva and pupa) (F)
Waxworm (larva, pupa and moth) (F)
Locust (any instar) (F)
Cricket (and instar) (F)
Other safe ingredients found in Persian Jird food or treats: *low levels only
Molasses
Egg Biscuit
Calcium carbonate
Monocalcium phosphate
Salt
Sodium chloride
Soya oil
Soy bean oil
Vegetable oil
Verm-X herb blend
Vitamin and trace element premix