I can't pick up my gerbil.

[elephantforbreakfast]

Hello all!

So I got my first gerbil a few moths ago, around December, from my friend who neglected it (basically kept it alone in a tiny cage with no nesting box, no bedding, almost no substrate and next to no human interaction ). Surprisingly, he's really good! He's never bitten me, even when there's food on my hands he just licks! But he's really timid, if I'll put my hand in his cage he'll sit on it my hand for a moment but jump off the second I move . I've done this almost daily since I got him (about 3 months ago) and so far it's only got to the point that I can pick him up for about 5 seconds before he jumps . This basically means that I can't pick it up so I can't get a good look at it so I can't tell it's gender (I've called it a 'he' in this post purely because i hate calling animals 'it's').



So please help you guys!!!

[catnut]

thanks for saving that gerbil, I'm sure he/she is thankful. Gerbils will be timid when not used to human contact and that is great he will sit on your hand, many won't-I have two rescues who I've had for months and I'm lucky if they will let me pet them and they won't go on my hand at all, Adam takes treats from my fingers. With patience, he/she could get tamer but know this may be as far as the little one will let you get due to his/her past. Just try to keep calm and maybe more progress will be made. Esp. when they are alone, they will be more skittish,too. Can you hand feed? or finger feed? sometimes that helps with confidence.

Take care,

Tammy

[elephantforbreakfast]

Thanks for responding

I'm alright with the fact that Gene (that's it's name, should have mentioned that )might never like being held, but if i can't hold it, I can't sex it, then I can't get it cage mates 

I'm also kinda worried that if I try to hold it before it's tame, I might accidentally catch it by it's tail if it tries to run.

Gene's about 2 years old, I feel I should add.

[PurpleSheep]

You could try to get Gene to walk into a clear jar or large glass - you can then pick him/her up and try to get a glimpse while he/she is in there. It might take a few attempts as the gerbil will wriggle, but this worked for us with one of our girls who was really skittish when we first got her.

Well done on rescuing Gene, it sounds like he/she will have a much better life with you. If you are able to introduce him/her to cagemates, he/she might well become much more friendly and easier to tame.

[elephantforbreakfast]

Thanks for the advice PurpleSheep!

I had a look and am 90% certain 'he' is actually a 'she'
So I was thinking of using a split cage and putting Gene on one side, and two young girls on the other side (I was planning on calling them Carl and Russel, but that won't work now xD). Do you think this will work? Do you think Gene's history will make an introduction difficult?

[crittercrazy]

As long as the two girls are younger than 12 weeks, I think it would probably work. (though it would be even better if they were younger than 10 weeks)
I wouldn't expect Gene's past to play a role in the introduction. . . but I suppose you never know. And if it doesn't work out, the two girls will still have each other so I would go ahead with it if it were me.
And again, thanks for rescuing little Gene.

[PurpleSheep]

I'm glad my advice helped

Our first gerbil Sukie was on her own for a long time, first at a shelter and then with us, until we decided to introduce herto some pups. She accepted them really easily and became so much happier afterwards. So it can definitely work, you just need to be prepared for the eventuality that it doesn't - ie be able to look after to separate clans of gerbils if necessary. Hope everything works out for you and Gene!

[elephantforbreakfast]

Thanks for all you guys' advice ^_^

I'll be getting the pups next weekend! Let's hope all goes well

[vexorg]

Some gerbils are naturally timid, some are bold. We've never had any much luck by training in making the timid ones braver. The bold ones tend to be like that from birth. Even the brave ones do have freak out moments where they hide, it's built in to their nature. Some of our current boys will try push you out the way as you open the cage to get out, others from the same litter run and hide if they hear the cage opening.

Find a treat that he likes, and start by getting him to take it from your hand.