Baby gerbils are adorable – totally.
However, they aren’t babies for long – so the things that baby gerbils eat question is quite a simple one – and depends on how old they are:
From birth to about 2 weeks of age
Baby gerbils only eat mom’s milk – barely leaving the nest.
From 2 weeks to 4 weeks of age
Baby gerbils start to mouth and then eat normal gerbil food at a very young age – but they still drink mom’s milk when they get the chance…
From 4 weeks of age upwards
Baby gerbils are fully weaned by 5 weeks and then they are on normal gerbil food permanently.
If they have their mom looking after them and are all healthy, then they don’t need any special foods or preparations, other animals’ milk products or baby food. They will be just fine on a really good dry gerbil food.
They will also have access to really nutritious forms of food like sunflower hearts, shucked pumpkin seeds and mealworms and maybe scrambled eggs etc – as you will no doubt be giving these to the mother during this time. None of these are a problem for the young pups at all – and often – they don’t like the mealworms anyway (must be an acquired taste?).
I would scatter feed everything throughout the tank with gerbil babies around to make it easy for them.
They shouldn’t have to walk miles around their tank and up ladders or into toppers just to eat – they need all the calories they can get to grow, and so having food at every turn will mean they do just that. Don’t want them wasting calories just to find the food dish!
And baby gerbils look so cute when they eat – as even a sunflower heart look ginormous in their tiny hands…
Your New Baby Gerbils:
When you get your baby gerbils from the store or a breeder – they will already be old enough to eat normal dry food like Oxbow or Johnson’s foods – made for gerbils specifically.
Ideally though, if your baby gerbils are under 12 weeks of age I would try to get a few weeks worth of the same stuff off the breeder, or buy a bag of the same type as the store were feeding them – just to make sure their tiny tummies aren’t upset with too many changes at the same time.
If you home a baby gerbil that is less than 6 weeks old straight from its mother, then there is a chance that it will lose a little bit of weight at first (or won’t gain weight as fast as usual) due to lots happening in its tiny life all at once – especially if it is going to be housed singly for whatever reason.
Leaving home too young can be difficult enough as it is without changing everything else too. I mean, imagine: no mum; all alone; new house; new everything else; and now new food that smells and looks different?
What Fresh Food Can I Give Them?
Alongside their normal dry food, there are plenty of other things you can give them as natural treats – do try to avoid commercially-made treats as these contain a lot of added sugars and colours – when gerbils quite often prefer natural treats anyway.
Baby gerbils haven’t acquired their adult tastes yet – they are still learning how to be a gerbil – so even if they don’t like a certain treat the first few times – doesn’t mean they won’t like it as they age. So keep trying if you get the chance.
Natural treats they love include broccoli, strawberries, raspberries, kale, cabbage, carrots, grapes, fresh sweetcorn and many more including other seeds – do check out any gerbil safe food lists you can find to be sure nothing will upset their tummy…
Also, everything listed should only really be given in tiny gerbil-sized portions and not every day. By gerbil-sized I mean about as much as they can hold in their front paws – less if it is watery like cucumber, grapes and melon etc.
Not only could too much upset their desert-dwelling tummies, but also – the more you give them, the less likely they are to eat it all in one sitting. They carry it off and leave it rotting in their bedding for you to find in a few weeks when you clean out. Ergghh!!
Or give these things in a run or playpen only – then you can clean away what they don’t eat straight away.
Can Baby Gerbils Eat Plants and Wood?
Yes, you can also give them fresh plant leaves (strawberry and plantain for example) and tree leaves and twigs (hazel and hawthorn for example) – but always check the following first:
- It is on the safe list for sure
- You have identified it correctly without a single doubt
- It wasn’t growing near roads, parks or other pollution sources
- It wasn’t on a commercial farm that could have been sprayed with chemicals
- It doesn’t look old, tatty, diseased or otherwise unsavoury
- You are sure you need to feed it to your gerbil babies?
I only added the last one – as I often get asked if this or that is safe – and I always answer:
if in doubt – leave it out.
There are so many MANY things that are 100% safe for gerbils that they can eat for around two months or more without having the same thing twice – why add something new that you aren’t sure about?
There is no need to risk anything just because you have it in your hand.
So, the answer for your question of what do baby gerbils eat is simple: baby gerbils can eat everything an adult gerbil can eat – just in smaller portions.
Enjoy your babies!
