Biting, need help/advice.

[lala]

Hi, me and my boyfriend have two female gerbils, they are three and a half months old.

Both will take treats from my fingers and are happy to be held and interacted with, but yesterday one of them bit my boyfriend and drew blood. I'm not sure if it was because he'd been holding food, I can't remember if he had been, or because he'd been cleaning the poop out of their cage and so smelt in some way to them.

Both gerbils have nibbled before but when they do it is a quick nibble then they pull away as we obviously are not to tasty to them. If they do continue nibbling we tap their side and they move away and tend not to try it again.

Is there anything I can do to stop them outright biting people or nibbling at them?

[ella]

I'm not sure that you can do anything about nibbling, and there's not really any need to.
My gerbils have drawn blood twice, once when nibbling (like an accident, not aggressively) and the other time I deserved it (I had to pick him up to clean the tank and took him by surprise).
I would recommend not doing anything unless it becomes a really serious problem. Just offer food from your fingertips or in your palm and avoid picking the gerbil up. Wait until they climb on before lifting.

[johanne]

Try to aware of their needs when you have them out. If they think they've been out too long and you're not catching on that it's time to go back, some gerbils may bite.

[nutmeg01]

i have only ever been properly bitten by my gerbils twice and it was not a pleasant experience mine only bite when they're startled and in fear or when i stupidly separated a fight without gloves maybe try putting something like peanut butter on your hands so they learn not to bite or nibble you (this helped with my dog when he was mouthing not sure if it will help with gerbils though)