While raising a gerbil, you’ll come across many foods that you might think are all right for your gerbil to consume, but that won’t be the case. Some foods are highly harmful to your gerbil as their nutritional value isn’t adequate for their excellent health.
If you want a healthy gerbil, it’s better to research what foods your gerbil can and cannot eat. Once you know about the foods suitable for your gerbil’s digestion, you won’t struggle with an ill gerbil, nor would you have to keep taking them to the vet. So, without further ado, let’s get into some foods you can’t feed your gerbil.
Table of Contents
Can Your Gerbil Eat Edamame?
No, your gerbil cannot eat edamame whatsoever. Edamame is small soybeans prepared in a pod. They might look harmless, but if you don’t want your gerbil to fall sick, please do not feed them any edamame. As mentioned earlier, some foods just aren’t suitable for your gerbil’s digestive system.
Edamame, in particular, contains ingredients that won’t suit your gerbil’s health. Firstly, it contains plenty of calcium. Yes, a certain amount of calcium is required to strengthen your gerbil’s bone health. However, excessive calcium can lead to the opposite. Meaning that your gerbil’s bones will weaken.
Excessive calcium can also lead to your gerbil developing small kidney stones. This can become a severe problem for them in the future. So, if you don’t want that to happen, we recommend you steer clear of edamame as long as you want to ensure your gerbil doesn’t fall prey to fatal diseases.
Other than the excessive calcium, edamame also has high acidic content. This is another main reason why your gerbil shouldn’t be fed edamame. The high acidic content can lead your gerbil to develop numerous digestive disorders, including ulcers. Hence, edamame isn’t suitable for your gerbil’s health at all.
What to Feed Your Gerbil Instead of Edamame?
If you’re looking for substitutes for edamame, you’ll be happy to know there are many. You’ll just have to look for alternates for edamame on the internet that you can give to your gerbil.
The more you look into it, the more substitutes you’ll find. One of the best alternatives you can give your gerbil is chickpeas.
Chickpeas are highly nutritious in health. They have plenty of vitamins and nutrients your gerbil will undoubtedly benefit from. One of the biggest benefits of chickpeas is that they promote heart health. The more you incorporate chickpeas into your gerbil’s diet, the healthier their heart will become.
Chickpeas also prevent constipation as they contain large amounts of fiber. If your gerbil is experiencing some digestive issues, giving them chickpeas will be excellent to relieve them of constipation. Chickpeas don’t contribute to weight gain, adding another reason why chickpeas are beneficial.
Chickpeas are small, so your gerbil won’t have difficulty digesting them. However, since a gerbil’s digestive system is pretty small, it’s still better to monitor the amount they’re consuming to ensure they don’t fall sick later.
My Gerbil Ate Edameme: will he be okay?
If your gerbil accidentally ate edamame, and you’re worried about their health, don’t be. As long as they only ate a few, they should be just fine. However, if they ate plenty, we recommend taking them to the vet as soon as possible for a checkup.
It would be best if you also cut down on the amount of edamame you’re feeding your gerbil from now on. If you want to continue feeding them edamame, make sure it’s in moderation and that they have other alternative food items as well to balance out their diet.
To sum it up, edamame isn’t good for your gerbil and can cause some significant problems down the road if they consume too much of it. If you want to err on the side of caution, we recommend avoiding edamame entirely. Your gerbil will be much better off without it.
Can Gerbils have fried edamame?
Fried edamame isn’t good for your gerbil either. The same rule applies to fried food items as it does with edamame—they should be avoided.
So, it’s best to steer clear of fried edamame (or any other fried food) if you want to keep your gerbil healthy.
Can Gerbils have baked edamame?
The same goes for baked edamame. It’s not good for your gerbil and can cause some problems down the road if they consume too much of it.
So, we recommend avoiding baked edamame as well.
Can Gerbils have cooked edamame?
Cooked edamame is just as bad as raw or fried edamame. So, it’s best to avoid feeding your gerbil-cooked edamame altogether.
Can Gerbils Have frozen edamame?
Frozen edamame is yet another food item you should avoid feeding your gerbil. Just like raw, cooked, or fried edamame, frozen edamame can cause some health problems for your gerbil if they eat too much of it.
So, it’s best to avoid giving your gerbil frozen edamame. If you want to give them a treat, there are many other safe alternatives you can give them instead.
Can Gerbils have steamed edamame?
Steamed edamame is just as bad as any other type of edamame. So, it’s best to avoid giving your gerbil steamed edamame as well.
Can Gerbils have raw edamame?
Raw edamame isn’t good for your gerbil either. The same rule applies to raw food items as it does with cooked or fried edamame—they should be avoided.
So, it’s best to steer clear of raw edamame (or any other raw food) if you want to keep your gerbil healthy.
Final Words
Edamame is a type of soybean that is unsuitable for gerbils to eat. The beans contain high levels of calcium, which can lead to weakened bones and kidney stones, as well as an acidic content that can cause digestive problems.
Chickpeas are a suitable alternative, as they are nutritious and beneficial for heart health, digestion, and weight control. When feeding gerbils any type of legume, it is important to monitor their intake to avoid overfeeding.
