Gerbil bites me when I out my hand in its cage?

[imjessiegee]

My new gerbil, Nico is new. I adopted him from a pet shop in the adoption area. Its a lone male. I put my hand into the cage, flat with my palm facing towards the ceiling and the gerbil runs and bites then runs away. He's been biting harder each time and its starting to hurt. I put a sock over my hand and then put it in the cage and the gerbil sniffs then runs? I have been handling it as much as I can but I do have school and my mum won't touch it.

[snowballandnugget]

Congrats on adopting Nico! ! You need to help him learn that your hand is a positive thing. You can show this by having a yummy treat in it each time you put your hand in. This will help him get used to you. It will take him some time to relax. Also though his nipping you may hurt a tiny bit, try not to take your hand out of the tank when he does it as that will show him that if he bites then he gets his way (you out of his tank). Be patient, talk to him calmly when you have your hand in the tank and even if he isn't coming to your hand or stays hiding when your hand is in the tank, gently move a bit of his bedding around and adjust some of his toys so that your scent will stay and he can get used to it. good luck and keep us posted!!

[johanne]

He's just scared, trying to make the scary thing go away. You might need to wear leather gloves for a while. Just set your hand in the cage and don't try to go near him. Let him come to you, even if it takes weeks to get to that stage. Offer treats of course. Patience will pay off in time. But certainly don't reward him by taking your hand away if he bites it (thus the glove).

[catnut]

i have a foster gerbil, Adam,i just took in on wed. and I'm also just starting to get him used to my hand, just take it slow and talk to him plus what everyone else suggests and he should be tame before you know it.