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Post by fluffyfluff1 on Mar 21, 2004 14:33:42 GMT -4
Can gerbils use pine cones to gnaw on? Or do they contain volatile oils that could harm them? Reason for asking with all the pine trees around......they look like they'd make a fun toy
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Mar 21, 2004 23:27:39 GMT -4
There is a site called www.whatbadgerseat.com. Too bad there isn't a "whatgerbilseat.com" site! This is from another site, gladstone.uoregon.edu/~anelson5/gerbilsmain.html>>Gerbils aren't too picky about their food. The main thing to focus on is to make sure they have fresh water and not too much fat in their diets. Even though they are desert animals, a water bottle is needed because they do drink. There are a lot of commercial mouse, hamster and gerbil foods in the stores, but if you use these you have to make sure that there aren't too many nuts or sunflower seeds in them. Gerbils love these items, but they are very fatty and should only be a small portion of the gerbil's diet or even just given as a treat. You can use these items as a method of taming a gerbil as well: I pick the sunflower seeds out of my mixture and only feed them from my hand, and my gerbils have now learned that the really good stuff only comes from their human friend. As far as "people food" is concerned, don't give them anything containing a lot of fat or grease. bread, butter, pizza, and food scraps are not recommended as food. Some gerbils will eat a piece of meat (a very small, non fried, piece), but most don't care of it. They can eat basically any fruits or veggies in moderation - the equivelent of one raspberry or one small apple slice is plenty for one day. Too much watery food will give the gerbil intestinal distress, and too much sugar from overfed fruits will make the gerbil sick. The food doesn't need to be chopped up like it does for reptiles; gerbils have very sharp and able teeth. If for some reason your gerbil needs to be without water for a day or two (for example, mine chewed a hole in their water bottle and had to wait for me to buy a new one), you can substitute by feeding gerbils watery fruits or veggies such as iceberg lettuce, grapes, tomatoes, or celery. Make sure you remember what foods you have put in your gerbils' cage, because it's likely they'll try to 'save' some of it by burying it, leading to them possibly eating rotten fruit, and you possibly having to deal with an annoying family of fruit flies in the cage. << - - - - - - - I also checked both the NGS and AGS society pages without success on that. Pine oils are in the wood; I have no idea if they are in the cones, or if the cones are harmful. It would seem to me of something is harmful the animal rarely eats it - try feeding chestnuts to a squirrel; they take one taste and drop it. I personally would put the cones in a microwave for a bit, let it cool, and then try half of one on some gerbils. I wouldthen watch what they do with it, but I doubt if they'd eat it or even gnaw it much. I think it would be OK, but I wish I could give a definitive answer. You can always go to www.agsgerbils.org and e-mail their president, Janet Morrow, with that question.
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Post by dosergirl on Mar 22, 2004 2:29:17 GMT -4
in an unrelated side note....Rabbits can use washed pine cones as chew toys...or chewies as i like t call them
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Post by calvinator1 on Mar 22, 2004 11:41:00 GMT -4
I would rinse the pine cones before giving them to the gerbils. If you use pinecones that have already opened, there shouldn't be any problems, as all the oils and pollen have been dispersed. Avoid the green ones, though they may look like a more tempting chew toy, because these will still have the various phenols and other chemicals inside them. The green ones are also a lot heavier and could really hurt a gerb if they should get stuck underneath.
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Post by fluffyfluff1 on Mar 22, 2004 12:57:53 GMT -4
Thanx guys I thought to wash and bake them on low heat to remove germs and such. I bake them for crafts, opens them up and dries them out for easier cutting apart. But I will email the gerbil society like Die suggested, better safe than sorry The way PB is, I think she would enjoy tearing them up if they end up being safe.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Mar 23, 2004 2:19:03 GMT -4
Let us know what you find out.
How come you see pine cones in March?? I thought they dropped in the Autumn, but what do I know. ;D
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Post by fluffyfluff1 on Mar 23, 2004 11:20:46 GMT -4
What there is a season called Autumn in Houston? We have only 362 days of Summer and 3 cool days here. Wink wink. Actually, they still are dropping here.
Haven't heard back from the gerbil society yet.
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Post by jeannie on Mar 23, 2004 12:23:17 GMT -4
Whenever I was in Houston, it was in the summer and incredibly humid. I don't think I've felt that kind of humidity anywhere else. (off topic, I know!)
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Mar 23, 2004 23:50:00 GMT -4
Whenever I was in Houston, it was in the summer and incredibly humid. I don't think I've felt that kind of humidity anywhere else. (off topic, I know!) The Super Bowl was held there, and it was amusing to hear the Houston Chamber of Commerce shills talking about how "great" the temperature was - 78 degrees. But that was the last week in January! The place was so horrid from April to September with the heat, humidity, and giant swarms of bugs, that they had toi build the Astrodome for sporting events. Houston is also a rare unzoned city - build what you want wherever you want! I suppose if one is a millionaire and can live in total a/c everywhere you go Houston is bearable. Maybe. - - - - - - - Back to pine cones!I did a quick pass through the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens late this afternoon to check on the orchids, and I noticed that indeed there were loads of pine cones around. I guess they do drop in March! Thjey were noticeable sticky, sappy, and fragrant. And I have no idea if they are safe for rodents. (?).
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Post by fluffyfluff1 on Mar 24, 2004 12:20:39 GMT -4
Ok, I admit it.....Houston is a hole. Living in a smaller town outside the limits makes it bearable.
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Post by jeannie on Mar 24, 2004 12:25:57 GMT -4
On the original topic, I think I might stay away from pine cones, because of the possibility of them having pine oils, which seems highly likely. On the off topic, I had a friend in college from Sugar Loaf, Texas. Is that near you, FluffyFluff?
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Post by fluffyfluff1 on Mar 24, 2004 12:44:33 GMT -4
Never heard of Sugar Loaf, Sugar Land yes. I'm in a town called Friendswood, 22 miles south of downtown Houston. I love it here the people are so friendly. Men still open doors for ladies The librarian was so excited for us when we applied for a card there.....I thought he was gonna bust buttons off his shirt.
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Post by jeannie on Mar 24, 2004 14:09:45 GMT -4
Ooops, I meant Sugar Land! I was suffering from a lapse of Aggie-itis! Sounds like Friendly Friendswood! I never felt comfortable when men opened doors, so I like the typical NY style of men's etiquette. Recently a guy tried to help me with my coat, and I didn't know what he was doing, because it had been so long since anybody had done it.
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Post by fluffyfluff1 on Mar 24, 2004 14:53:08 GMT -4
Sugarland is about 20 miles west of Friendswood We thought of moving there but ended up choosing Friendswood for progressive schools We sure did go way off topic didn't we?
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Post by jeannie on Mar 24, 2004 15:24:31 GMT -4
Even further off topic - what's progessive about the schools there? I guess since you started the thread, and you aren't objecting, that it's okay. or we could start a new thread...
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