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Post by gerbilgrl89 on Jul 31, 2015 9:39:52 GMT -8
Yes, the killer gerbils from P@H. Aside from flying at my jugular whenever I attempt to interact with them, they do NOTHING! They don't use their sandbath, they don't go up on their platform, they don't use the wheel, they don't explore their little hidey-house or other toys, they barely chew cardboard, they don't run through the cardboard tunnels, they hardly dig...  They sleep 85% of the time (Latte sleeps 95% of the time, I can't have seen her for more than 10 minutes collectively in the week I've had them!) and when they're not sleeping they just sort of, um, hang around. How can I teach these girls to be actual normal, happy, interactive gerbils? I wonder if they're depressed. Do you think that's possible? |
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Post by crittercrazy on Jul 31, 2015 10:01:31 GMT -8
They might be up and at it during the night. Some of my gerbils sleep through the day then find all sorts of racket-causing energy in the middle of the night.
How long have you had them? Perhaps they're still a little stressed about the new environment.
I must say- it really doesn't sound like you have a normal pair of gerbils here. "Normal gerbils" do not bite, especially not so often/viciously, and they are very active and curious. I don't know what you can do to fix that. . . but I wouldn't recommend buying from P@H in the future.
Hopefully they'll come around eventually. . . maybe someone else has more experience/thoughts to share. . .
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Post by vexorg on Jul 31, 2015 12:06:57 GMT -8
Our single girl bites in the cage, tends to be less active most of the time, then has mad fits of throwing stuff round the cage. She was a pets at home single. But she has never been "normal" in the gerbil sense. Take them as the are, play with them using a straw or bit of string.
It's probably like ships in the night, they'll be busy when you aren;t there, and maybe only sleep or hide when they hear you. Unless you are sitting watching them 22 hours a day they you can't really say they sleep 90% of the time.
The most vicious gerbil we've seen was at the pets at home adoption centre, he looked really cute and fun when playing, then they opened the glass door to fill up the food bowl. He went for the arm as it came in the door. the guy was trying to carefully pushing back in as he was really running and biting at him.
I think our current boys really have spoilt us, they are so friendly and nice natured.
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Post by xxxamybxxx on Jul 31, 2015 12:41:15 GMT -8
Give it time they will come around, ive had my boys just over 4 months now and its only the last month or so that they have started comming out to see me. My little guys were from a rescue so they were used to people and were already a year old so they havent been through the pet shop trauma as recently as yours have. Give them some time, it will take a while before they trust you enough to let you see them playing  |
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Post by catnut on Jul 31, 2015 14:42:23 GMT -8
do you know how long they were at the pet store before you got them? They may just need more time to come around and trust you, I find my rescues like to come alive in the evenings and even gerbils from pet stores need time to get used to everything. Maybe there is too much in their home as pet stores tend to have hardly anything, so try taking out a couple things. I have a rescue who is very bitey and even though I've had him 10 months, he still doesn't like my hand in his home and I can only stroke his head when he's tired and for a very short time. Try wearing a glove, rub it in their bedding and just moving their stuff around and try to stay calm as they can feel your fear. Just talk to them while sitting next to their home, as Adam really loves it when he knows I am talking just to him. I have another rescue, Serena, who lets' me touch her and climbs my arm but only when she wants to and I've had her two months, so it just takes patience. Don't give up. |
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Post by psychotherapist on Aug 3, 2015 11:44:06 GMT -8
As others have already said, it takes a lot of time & patience. Some Gerbils seem naturally well-adjusted and friendly, indeed I've had 2 young Gerbils in the past who were best friends with me on Day 1 and were totally normal & comfortable in their new environment. However some Gerbils, particularly from places like P@H, will need more time to adjust. 1 of my current trio, I've had him for 2 1/2 years - it took me about 1 year and a half to properly bond with him. He was never interested in human interaction, hated being handled and would throw a tantrum and start ripping apart the cage after handling. Nowadays, he still isn't too fond of handling but no longer resists being picked out and doesn't throw tantrums very often anymore (he did it a few nights back, but it was my fault for testing his boundaries lol). He also has become quite sweet and will come up to greet you, awaiting his tasty treats no doubt. I agree with the suggestion made above regarding taking some stuff out of their environment and to add to that - personally I'd cut back on the amount of places they can run and hide and cut back on the bedding. If you keep it just bare enough so that they can always see and hear you, but still feel they have at least 1 "safe" place to run and hide, it should help the process along. Don't worry too much about depriving them of their vast burrowing space, you can restore this as they grow more accustomed to you. Hopefully yours won't take as long as my current Gerbil did, however.  |
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Post by gerbilgrl89 on Aug 3, 2015 14:02:34 GMT -8
I forgot to check back after starting this thread but I had the same idea of taking out some of their stuff. What I did was add a level to their topper but took their vine root and large platform out of the tank. I don't know why but I think it's helped, unless it's just a coincidence, because they're becoming tamer. They have even started venturing upstairs and have had some tentative goes on the wheel. (They're hopeless on it bless them, they just get out of control and fall off!) They still don't shred much or use the sand bath and they haven't attempted digging but I do think we're making progress.
I saw a documentary once about rescued apes in captivity, and how they're shown videos of normal ape behaviour so they get the idea of what to do - I'm thinking I should try this on the girls!
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Post by catnut on Aug 3, 2015 14:57:59 GMT -8
glad they are getting tamer, some gerbils just need more time to adjust. |
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They sleep 85% of the time (Latte sleeps 95% of the time, I can't have seen her for more than 10 minutes collectively in the week I've had them!) and when they're not sleeping they just sort of, um, hang around. How can I teach these girls to be actual normal, happy, interactive gerbils? I wonder if they're depressed. Do you think that's possible? 
