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Post by gerbilgrl89 on Jul 25, 2015 0:28:50 GMT -8
I know it's early days yet, I only bought my new gerbils on Thursday, but I'm at a loss to know what to do about their biting! I've had 4 previous sets of gerbils and not one of them has bitten like this. I've had the occasional nibble, but these girls just dash up and sink their teeth in and hang on! They seem happy in their new tank, they have a lovely hideaway with their nest in so they should feel secure, I've not tried to hold them or stressed them out with taking pictures or anything. I always wash my hands and rub them carefully in the substrate, then put a yummy treat in the palm of my hand and lower it into the tank. They either savage me first and then eat the treat, or vice versa. It is really agonising and to be honest is upsetting me! What if I can never get them tame? They won't ever be able to come out for a playtime or anything!  |
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Post by crittercrazy on Jul 25, 2015 6:03:19 GMT -8
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Post by gerbilgrl89 on Jul 26, 2015 11:13:33 GMT -8
Thanks for the link. Unfortunately I don't see that the technique you advise would work in this situation. It's not that they bite out of fear with me trying to catch them (I'm not!) - it's that they're purposefully running up and going for me! I just don't see where I can go from here. It's real BITING, blood spurting, the lot. It's actually making me cry. It's been a year since my last gerbil passed on, I've tried so hard to do the right thing and go to a rescue or a breeder, but there just haven't been any, so I resorted to Pets at Home. Now my hands are covered in bleeding wounds and I just feel broken by it all.
Shall I take the topper off the tank and just put it back on the cage base, and have them in there? Maybe without the enclosed tank they'll feel less territorial? Or then maybe it'll just upset them all over again and they'll be even worse?
My sister who's a vet suggested a coat my hands in bitterspray. Is that worth a try? I don't want them to associate me with bad things though!
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Post by crittercrazy on Jul 26, 2015 14:34:16 GMT -8
Though I was writing from the viewpoint that the gerbil was probably scared, it still might work. All I can think of to do is discourage the gerbils from biting you- a gentle nudge and a "Pssst!" will do that. The bitterspray might too, so I'd go for that. I understand not wanting them to associate you with bad things, but the fact is it sounds like your gerbils already aren't too happy about human interaction. Once you convince them not to bite you, then maybe you can convince them to instead welcome your presence. I don't know if the topper/lack thereof will make much of a difference. . . someone else might have experience with that. I've never used a topper. I'm guessing that if the gerbils are from Pets at Home, they must have been handled poorly by the workers there. It's really rare for gerbils to be so aggressive towards people. . . I'm sorry it happened that way.  |
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Post by ninestone on Jul 26, 2015 18:29:03 GMT -8
You could also try some heavier leather gardening gloves. Maybe you can get them used to taking treats off your palm without getting your fingers bitten open. Hopfully they will eventually stop trying to bite the glove, then you could try taking it off.
In CritterCrazy's blog post, she noted to leave one's hand in and don't yank it out if they bite, which is what they want. Some gloves may allow you to do this, and get them used to hands and start viewing them as big treat dispensers instead of whatever they are afraid of now.
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Post by gerbilgrl89 on Jul 27, 2015 12:09:50 GMT -8
You could also try some heavier leather gardening gloves. Maybe you can get them used to taking treats off your palm without getting your fingers bitten open. Hopfully they will eventually stop trying to bite the glove, then you could try taking it off. In CritterCrazy's blog post, she noted to leave one's hand in and don't yank it out if they bite, which is what they want. Some gloves may allow you to do this, and get them used to hands and start viewing them as big treat dispensers instead of whatever they are afraid of now. Yes, I think that's probably the way to go. I haven't tried gloves yet because I didn't think they'd make the connection between gloved hands and actual hands due to the smell, but its worth a try. Keeping my bare hand in just isn't an option. I will try the gloves. Thanks guys! My mum raised a point which had been subconsciously worrying me - what if they're pregnant? That might explain why they're being so particularly ANGRY at my presence! |
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Post by vexorg on Jul 27, 2015 13:14:38 GMT -8
Bribery works with most gerbils. Find a treat they like, like shelled sunflower seed, then offer them on a flat hand to see what they do. It may take a little painful perseverance, soon they should start to relate you to nice treats.
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Post by crittercrazy on Jul 27, 2015 13:32:25 GMT -8
You could also try some heavier leather gardening gloves. Maybe you can get them used to taking treats off your palm without getting your fingers bitten open. Hopfully they will eventually stop trying to bite the glove, then you could try taking it off. In CritterCrazy's blog post, she noted to leave one's hand in and don't yank it out if they bite, which is what they want. Some gloves may allow you to do this, and get them used to hands and start viewing them as big treat dispensers instead of whatever they are afraid of now. Yes, I think that's probably the way to go. I haven't tried gloves yet because I didn't think they'd make the connection between gloved hands and actual hands due to the smell, but its worth a try. Keeping my bare hand in just isn't an option. I will try the gloves. Thanks guys! My mum raised a point which had been subconsciously worrying me - what if they're pregnant? That might explain why they're being so particularly ANGRY at my presence! Most of the time, pregnancy doesn't make that big of a difference in temperament. When my girl was pregnant, I noticed no difference whatsoever. However, they are from a pet store that has a reputation for mis-sexing. Have you tried to sex them? And if you can't tell, just get some pictures and we can tell you.  |
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Post by gerbilgrl89 on Jul 27, 2015 13:46:04 GMT -8
I'm fairly confident they're girls. The're much bigger than the 7 weeks I was told they were, so I'm pretty sure they're girls from the lack of balls! But I haven't held them yet. The worry is that they were with a male at some point before i brought them home.
It's probably just that the only interaction they've had is being grabbed and held upside down. They do seem quite nervous in general, freaking out and stamping if I make a sudden movement on the other side of the room.
I appreciate your input people! This is so upsetting - not how I imagined it at all!
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Post by ninestone on Jul 27, 2015 18:28:52 GMT -8
I'm fairly confident they're girls. The're much bigger than the 7 weeks I was told they were, so I'm pretty sure they're girls from the lack of balls! But I haven't held them yet. The worry is that they were with a male at some point before i brought them home. It's probably just that the only interaction they've had is being grabbed and held upside down. They do seem quite nervous in general, freaking out and stamping if I make a sudden movement on the other side of the room. I appreciate your input people! This is so upsetting - not how I imagined it at all! You mentioned that you considered getting rescued gerbils. It seems like you've rescued these two from certainly not very good treatment at P@H. Hopefully with a little patience and kindness they'll turn around. Good luck and hang in there! |
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Post by jerbilessence on Jul 29, 2015 6:24:00 GMT -8
I'm sorry that you have this experience and totally understand how it is so upsetting. We have one rescue gerbil, Olly, who does exactly the same as your girls i.e. charges my hand when I put it in the cage and tries to bite. It's like he is being territorial and sees my hand as a threat. These girls need to see you and your hand as something to welcome and look forward too (but without you getting hurt in the process). I'm not sure what sort of cage you have but you mention a topper so maybe it's one of the PAH gerbilariums? If so, you should hold a treat just at the cage door with your hand outside the door so you can't get bitten. Encourage them to come up to you, speak softly to them, and then give them the treat between your fingers (not in the palm of your hand). Keep doing this until they stop charging and will take the treat politely. If you're still at risk of getting bitten, start by giving the treat to them with tweezers first before you risk your fingers. Good luck and persevere...it may just take a little longer with these girls. |
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Post by vexorg on Jul 29, 2015 7:25:35 GMT -8
I'm not sure the tweezers will help long term, most of ours will attack new things in the cage, but not hands,
We have one lone girl and she has always been very defensive with her cage, she has learned not to bite in order to get a treat. But put your hand near her bed and she will nip you. We've spent a lot of time with her to make her more tame, 2 years now, and she will always be wary of people. She is an odd little girl, throws her bedding all round the cage after cleaning tine, sits on the bedding rather than fluff it up like the others do.
There's only so far you can train or tame them from where they are, not biting or attacking should be doable though.
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Post by gerbilgrl89 on Aug 3, 2015 13:52:52 GMT -8
Well, (and I'm going to whisper here so fate doesn't hear!) - I think I'm winning! The girls have calmed down a lot. They're still very nervous and run to their nest and stamp if I so much as raise an eyebrow in the same room as them, but if I sit by the tank long enough talking to them softly they will now all come and take a treat from me without attacking! I've had some nips but no blood drawn for several days!  I guess they just need time. I so badly want to get them to the stage where I can handle them, and they enjoy it. They'd be able to come out for playtimes then and everything! One step at a time though. |
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Post by ninestone on Aug 4, 2015 6:39:27 GMT -8
Yay! Keep it up, and stay patient. They may "backslide" to previous behavior sometimes, so don't lose heart!
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I guess they just need time. I so badly want to get them to the stage where I can handle them, and they enjoy it. They'd be able to come out for playtimes then and everything! One step at a time though.