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Post by nutbuni on Oct 13, 2008 7:05:15 GMT -5
Hi, does anyone know if it would be ok to breed gerbils for ferrets to eat?
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Post by pear2apple on Oct 13, 2008 8:41:43 GMT -5
Yes thats ok. They're a bit expensive to feed though, I think thats why not many people do it. Mice are much cheaper and about the same I think.
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Post by fuzzymom on Oct 13, 2008 9:09:56 GMT -5
I'm beginning to breed gerbils as prey items for ferrets. I just picked up a pair yesterday. I'm going to be breeding many different types of prey items for ferrets.
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Post by pear2apple on Oct 13, 2008 9:29:47 GMT -5
Wow! Good for you! Way to go with variety!
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Post by nutbuni on Oct 14, 2008 2:48:25 GMT -5
Excellent, thanks! I'm planning in breeding various things for my ferrets too. Is there anything meat/breeding wise that they shouldn't have?
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Post by Heather on Oct 14, 2008 12:54:49 GMT -5
I can't think of anything off hand. Giuli had a list of little prey animals at one point in time. They included everything from various worms and insects to some small lizards and snakes, amphibians and then of course various prey mammals. I would think the only thing that you would have to be concerned with, when limiting your prey, is if the animal can be overly vicious and scare your furbaby into not hunting, or hurting it, too large (messy kill), or has some type of toxic mechanism that makes them poor prey choices for carnivores. A little research would be able to tell you about the toxins. I suppose price might also be a limiting factor Other than that the doors are wide open. ciao
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Post by Kerit on Nov 20, 2008 15:23:35 GMT -5
nutbuni and fuzzymom, any new advice on gerbils as prey? I just acquired a small colony (from the same guy rehoming the Crestie, I managed to say no to any lizards or snakes though) and will be setting them up to keep breeding. I did have a pair of gerbils back in high school, and decided they weren't for me as pets, but I can certainly manage them as feeders.
Even the juveniles can leap, so are they more difficult in terms of live feeding? I don't want to chase the little buggers around the bathroom. I've been bitten by one, and it was worse than any mouse bite I've received, so maybe I'm just being overly cautious, and they're no more of a challenge for the ferret than a mouse would be.
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Post by luci on Nov 20, 2008 16:07:37 GMT -5
It's been a while since I've handled gerbils, but compared to hamsters and rats (which I've had as pets) they are more vicious little buggers. But I haven't had rodent pets in quite a few years now and my memory may be failing me.
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Post by fuzzymom on Nov 20, 2008 23:16:13 GMT -5
I haven't fed a gerbil to my group yet, but we shall see soon. I have a very very pregnant female gerbil who should deliver any day now. I'm going to try a live feeding but if it looks like its not going to work out well, I'm going to pre-kill all gerbil feeders.
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Post by Kerit on Nov 20, 2008 23:30:01 GMT -5
I just seem to remember them as a little more... hostile, too. Let me know how it goes, fuzzymom! I could always just keep pinkies for snacks.
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