Can gerbils eat strawberries?
Yes, the quick answer to that question, yes, gerbils can eat strawberries and any kind of strawberry regardless of the gerbil breed type. They can eat them as often as any other fresh fruit or vegetable – and they are gerbil-sized for dose is entirely safe.
Strawberries are a delicious fruit, one that is almost always available in our homes, especially during the late summers, falls, and early winter periods. We use them in ice creams, jams, and they can be found in many snacks that we humans love to eat – they are more likely to be offered as a cool treat in hot weather. We love them, and so does our gerbil, and can safely offer bits to our pets.
We can offer some red parts to our gerbils or even the more available parts we do not eat, for example, the strawberry endings, especially since most people don’t eat strawberries endings – perfect for a cute gerbil-sized portion.
Strawberries are versatile, and you can find a little bit of it in many leisure snacks. Sometimes they are also found in gerbil snacks as something different – usually not just the fruit itself. Sometimes they are slices or just little squares. Sometimes it’s tempting to give your gerbil a whole one because they look so good.
Strawberry Nutrition Facts.
Botanically, strawberry is not considered a berry. By appearance, strawberry plants are low-lying ground plants with huge leaves and clonal new seedlings at the end. Most of the commercially available strawberries you find in stores today belong to the strawberry family, Fragaria. They are grown in temperate regions around the world – these plants can grow in colder temperatures and the opposite season if they are protected from extreme weather.
Strawberries are rich in many nutrients – most notably vitamin C -, but they also contain other vitamins and manganese as well as a host of heart-healthy phytochemicals.
However, just like most brightly colored fruits and vegetables – most of the calories come from sugar.
You can find large and small-sized strawberries for sale – in most cases, size doesn’t matter – they are all equally sweet, succulent, and delicious.
Ways gerbils can eat strawberries.
There are a few different ways to eat strawberries – and like all foods, they contain other things, so here’s a quick breakdown of the most common forms of which gerbils can eat strawberries.
Can gerbils eat fresh strawberries?
Yes, gerbils can eat fresh strawberries. The most common way to eat a strawberry is how it comes off the plant (or out of the little box). Just give your gerbil the stem part, a slice, or if it’s small, the whole thing. It’s very mushy, and everything sticks to it quickly – so maybe feed it on the run or in small pieces on the platform, so it’s easier to retrieve and clean the area left after eating.
Dried and dehydrated strawberry pieces are less common, but as long as they are not super sweet for us humans, they should be safe for gerbils. Although a much smaller quantity of any dried fruit should be offered to pets, including gerbils, this is because dried fruits contain a concentrated sugar percentage, among other things, since the fruit has lost over 90% of its water content. Therefore, always ensure that dried fruits portions are even smaller than the fresh variant of the same fruit.
There are far fewer nutrients and sugars in gerbil-sized fresh strawberries than in gerbil-sized dehydrated and dried strawberries.
Can gerbils eat strawberry jam?
No, gerbils can not eat strawberry jam, and this is because strawberry jam has many artificial additives in it. So, please, do not give gerbils strawberries in jam or baked pudding as they will undoubtedly be full of sugar or soaked in acid.
To preserve the food – you either need to dry it out (see above), preserve it in salt (not very good for summer fruit, but suitable for cheese), or preserve it in SUGAR –this is the case with strawberries. You have to add the same amount of sugar to the strawberries to make preserves and add pectin or lemon juice.
What other strawberry parts can gerbils eat?
It’s not just the pulp that gerbils can eat – or can eat – so here’s a brief overview of all the parts of the strawberry plant you can find and whether they’re safe.
Can gerbils eat strawberry stems?
Yes, gerbils can eat strawberry stems; they’re completely safe – your gerbils will probably eat more of the meat – but many gerbils like it around the branches for that added fun.
Can gerbils eat strawberry plant leaves?
Yes, you guessed it, gerbils can safely eat strawberry plant leaves without any adverse reaction. Strawberry plant leaves are readily available to many small farm and garden strawberry growers. Some of our team members at PetCanEat grow their strawberries too. You can reach out to one of such people and request some strawberry plan leaves for your gerbil.
Can gerbils eat strawberry seeds?
In case you didn’t know, strawberry seeds are on the outside of the strawberry (see above) – and – interesting botanical fact – -without the seeds on the outside – the strawberries don’t turn red! In any case, these seeds are perfectly safe for our gerbils and us.
Can gerbils eat strawberry plant flowers?
The flowers are very much like flowers, and while we humans can eat them – I can’t find anything that I can say with certainty that gerbils can eat. If you offer them – make sure the field or plot you get them from has not been sprayed with commercial chemicals.
And – eating the flowers too early will prevent your fruit from actually pollinating – so take the petals off each plant ……
Can gerbils eat wild strawberries?
Wild strawberries are delicious – I grow them on my land too. The fruit of these plants may not be as sweet to us humans – but they are the perfect gerbil size – and I love them. So it saves me from having to chop up my big strawberries, and it looks so cute to see a gerbil holding a whole strawberry!
If collecting your plants from the woods or bushes near you, please wash them before feeding them to your gerbil.
Can gerbils eat strawberries? The conclusion
By now, you can see that gerbils can safely consume strawberries without adverse effects, especially if care moderation is applied. Strawberries are a sweet treat your gerbil can also eat many other parts of the strawberries, including the stems and leaves,
