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Post by question asker on Dec 29, 2009 12:42:22 GMT -8
hey there! okay so a few months ago (in october) i bought to male gerbils a red eyed honey that is 1 and a half yrs old and a 3yrs old patched lilac, i think lol i checked e gerbil but there are so many shade that are soooo close in colour, anyways. They were in a habitrail loft with some tubes. They were chewing their way out and i switched them to a 20 gallon long which my teacher was getting rid of. I have been keeping their house nice and there life is alot better. They had a pellet fodd so i got them a mix with seeds etc.. I provide them with lotsa bedding (lol i just ran out this morning) and cardboard etc. I've read like alot of posts on this forum and am pretty informed. now here is the problem: they were not hand tamed or introduced propperly. They get along and cuddle together but i'm afraid of what might happen... the people who i got them from had 3 gerbils in the first place. 2 escaped after their 3yr old son forgot to close the cage. they then just got a new gerbil and stuck them in there and apparently they got along also they aren't hand tamed and i've been trying to tame them since i got them. they take sunflower seeds and food from my hand but when ever i put my hand in withoiut treats they just like attack it! not a little nibble but they things its food or cardboard i guess. Some where i've read that you should first try, if you r uncomfortable, with gloves. I tried this wit several kinds of gloves but they chew each one! so now, here are the questions: will something possibly happen like fighting? (*because of the intro) and is there any way of hand taming so i can hold them not to cuddle but atleast to pick up to show them off or transfer when cleaning tank? are there any post about it? i might give these 2 away to a lady in the neigbour hood, their rat died and they would like my gerbils i might get new ones if i give them away and if i do, can some one help me to hand tame them ? hwo do you do it? thanks sooooo much, sorry for the longest post ever probably!
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Post by question asker on Dec 30, 2009 9:52:49 GMT -8
i'd love an answer im probably giving htem away to the lady in the neighbour hood but would love my questions answered incase i ever need to know
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Post by bexpetz on Jan 6, 2010 5:12:10 GMT -8
It will be harder to tame them now that they are older, but the age difference between them will probably keep them together, the older gerbil will look after the young one protectively. The 20 gallon tank provides plenty of space for them! Make sure you give them lots of cardboard and wooden toys to occupy them, including egg boxes, kitchen rolls, cereal boxes and other cardboard household toys as long as they don't have wax, glue, string, nails or seletape on them! Here's how to tame them: Pick them up in a glass jar/their house maybe/a cardboard tunnel or other container, and put them in the bath. Let them come out of the container in their own good time and leave it there for them to go back in in case they want to feel secure. Sit in the bath with them! This works, I am not joking. They get used to your scent, climb all over you, and if they get scared go back into the container. You can also try this on the staircase, put the container on a step and sit on the next step down so they can climb onto you. Gerbils can be hard to tame at times (when they haven't been tamed before) but persevere and they will grow to be tame! Make activeties outside of the cage pleasurable, set up playpens for them, let them play in sectioned-off areas or the bath or stairs, with plenty of toys and some food for them to find. Take them out and clean their cage regularly! If they are not fighting then it is unlikely that they will start fighting now. Keep them interested and stimulated, create mazes and playgrounds and activeties for them to do.
Are they shy? Do they come out a lot in the tank? Are they nocturnal? Never wake them up, but if they are sleeping through the day when you need to tame them turn the hoover on to wake them up gradually, leave it a few minutes and wait for them to come out of the nest. If they are biting your hand when you put it in the cage then stop doing so until they get used to you via the methods above.
Look around this forum - there are people who have asked similar questions and there are threads that will help you!
Please give the gerbils a second chance! I'm sorry it took so long to get a reply!
Hope this helps - Becky.
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Post by GerbilGal on Jan 7, 2010 8:51:24 GMT -8
I agree. It is going to take time.
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Post by question asker on Jan 7, 2010 14:31:43 GMT -8
Thanks alot for the help!
I'll try it. They are not shy and have sessions of sleeping and then doing stuff and back and forth. So i'll try those methods
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Post by bexpetz on Jan 8, 2010 10:33:02 GMT -8
Hope I helped. Keep trying! They are really enjoyable.
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Post by GerbilGal on Jan 29, 2010 11:00:39 GMT -8
How are they doing?
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Post by question asker on Jan 29, 2010 14:29:18 GMT -8
thanks very much for caring! Unfortunately they cannot be held. They are more used to me but the older one is more timid. It is a little hard though b/c they are not familiar with human interaction (from young age) so they tend too bite. I have tried the trick with the jar, I do it low so they are not scared or get hurt, but they just bite, and its hard. They also enjoy chewing on anything (including my shirt). I am so happy that you ask, you are very considerate! Since my progress isn't growing, I am trying to give them the best life possible. I am hoping to mount a metal cage on top, but first I need to buy the cage (probably a bird cage) and get my dad to help get it available to them but not escapable. It will also help to hold the water bottle. Right now, molding is holding up the brace (that usually goes on wires) and i have molding stopping the bottle it self from falling through the brace. I am very sorry if that doesn't make sense. If it helps, it is attached to the aquarium wall . Oh and also my dad and I made a background picture. It is made of 4 sheets of paper (because one piece is too small for 30 inch). It is a desert scene. Well anyways, I like to type and I am stunned by hwo caring you are. Thanks ;D
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Post by freedom on Feb 2, 2010 16:16:40 GMT -8
I know that you have already gotten an answer, but I thought I would add some advice of my own xD I have read somewhere that if your gerbil bites you, blow a quick burst of air at them every time they bite. If you blow on them every time they bite, they should eventually learn that you are not something to eat. I have done this with my two gerbils that I am trying to tame, and it has been working so far.
Let us know if you get to the point where they stop biting!
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Post by question asker on Feb 14, 2010 8:41:53 GMT -8
Ok the taming hasn't progressed but there might be a problem (i really dont know ) yesterday i noticed that my grey gerbil (patched lilac-3.5yrs old) was sleeping under the water bottle on the bare aquarium floor while the brown one (red eyed honey- 1.5/2yrs old) as in the nest on the other side. I haven't seen any signs of agression and now they are sleeping together but ther won't be a declanning right? also they seem to be quite sleepy lately-especially the grey one, he is coming to his lifes end and i haven't seen a tumor(i only can tell from when he tries to sniff my hand, and i look) neither does the other one.
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Post by snowtball on Feb 15, 2010 13:00:08 GMT -8
Hey! I'd suggest signing up for an account and posting in the Behavior and Introductions forum, which gets much more publicity and will get you an answer faster . BTW, do you give your boys a lot to chew? My girls can devour a toilet paper tube in 5 minutes (No Joke!!) and a macaroni box in ten. Without something to chew, they go crazy!
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Post by question asker on Feb 15, 2010 15:23:40 GMT -8
first of all i am not old enough to join and my parents won't let me
and second i do give them alot to chew. they have a big block of wood that they chew and also mine can chew as good as yours if not better
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Post by snowzball on Feb 16, 2010 8:30:29 GMT -8
;D Gerbils are so crazy!!! I'm sure you have the same problem I do of getting enough for them to do! Well, I hope that you can solve the problem of your little chomping guys. Sorry you can't post elsewhere, but hopefully you can still get some good answers here.
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Post by question asker on Feb 16, 2010 14:34:58 GMT -8
;D ;D thankfully my family is decent sized (6) and we eat alot of things in cardboard boxes. we save everything and usually have enough. i like giving them egg cartons (only if they are clean-no broken egg etc) because they chew them into little peices the size of their bedding (walmart's brand of care fresh) and it looks cool. i also give them alot of shredded paper because, being a kid without a job (babysitting doesn't count : i cannot afford to buy alot of bedding so yeah shredded paper works great oh and do not worry i only give them good paper, not with toxic ink and all that now down to the problem, i have this water bottle (which is explained on how it is held, above) and it leaks alot. i am sooooo sorry that a keep having all these proablem but i couldn't find any help (its funny because i never thought about all these questions when i made my 'guest name' ;D) anyways it is one of those ones with the ball. it is pretty big and the gerbil could fit in (not that that would happen ) and it is plastic except for the ball and tuve or whatever at the end, it is metal. i introduced it to them a while ago by keeping it there with the wtaer bowl. they started chwing it but if i see them chewing it then i blow on them and it actually works (discipline ) they haven't chewed on it since. how can i get it to stop leaking out!?!?! they drink out of it but it always makes the bedding wet and i filled it half before i went to school this morning (7:00) and now at 4 when i looked it was empty with wet bedding all around which i cleaned etc. i am again so sorry for all these questions and long posts! ;D
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Post by murphybuddy09 on Feb 19, 2010 3:50:09 GMT -8
I'm not sure if there is a way to stop the bottle from leaking...it may be easier to just buy a new one and attach it to the aqarium the same way as your current one?
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