gerbil acting unusual and biting?

[gerbilord]

Hi, Pippin has recently starting biting us. I'm not sure why, it is not a sharp bite like she's trying to draw blood, but more a "clinging on" bite - on Thursday she bit my brother and he lifted his finger and she dangled (not far off the ground) holding on to it with her teeth. 
I'm confused because its a very sudden thing, she's never bitten anyone before Thursday, and it makes me upset to think she might become aggressive if the behaviour continues.

I don't think she was trying to eat anything that might have been on our hands, on Thursday we picked her up after washing hands, today I fed her a grape before but she's never tried to eat me before even if I have touched food beforehand so I'm stumped.

Any ideas what could be making her so bitey? Also how can I prevent this behaviour and is it something to worry about? (her sister is acting normal)

Many thanks x

[betty]

Sudden character changes and becoming 'bitey' are usually signs of pain in an animal. It doesn't have to be pain from a noticeable injury and could also be caused by loss of sight or hearing or 'stress' from something in the set up.

There isn't anything you can 'do' to change that behaviour itself - just things around it.

So, you can potentially get rid of or lessen the pain (vet meds for starters - as if the pain meds change the behaviour you know it was defo pain/discomfort of some kind) or start handling them in a different way to how you currently are. For example; if you currently reach in from the top to hold/stroke them, perhaps catch them in a pot first - if you currently hold around the body, perhaps only hold underneath - basically if they only nip when you do X - stop doing X for a while.

How old are they now and has anything else changed in the past few months? New food, new enclosure, etc. Also, have them run around in a small no-substrate container with a sheet of paper on the base to see what their poo looks like and to check if their pee is still clear?

[gerbilord]

Thank you for the reply.

They are now 1 and a bit more than half (born in February last year) and have been on the same diet. They haven't moved enclosures (yet), I haven't changed anything except move them from the lounge into the conservatory, but they have been there before with no problems?

She wasn't biting us because we were touching her in a specific place - yesterday she was biting me out of her cage when I put my fingers in, and the other day she was biting my brother while she was sitting on his lap, but he wasn't cuddling her.

I will have a check for poo and pee in the play pen today or tomorrow if I can.

[betty]

Ok - well it could still be pain of sorts just not something that is triggered by the act of handling, but could be more something that is causing irritability perhaps?

It is never easy to try to guess these things, and it might be quite hard to narrow it down too if it wasn't a touch-based pain - that is often easy to remedy.

Perhaps as well as the poo/pee test, start watching for behaviours in the tank and out on the run (as some balance and physical issues can't easily be seen in a multi-layered enclosure - but running in a straight line on a flat surface can sometimes highlight these much more clearly). See how the two sisters interact mow and has anything changed between them.

No need to check if her front teeth are still there with this one!!!

[gerbilord]

I had a check of her poop today and it looks normal, I haven't had a chance to look at the pee today so I will let you know tomorrow when I put her in the run. I will also look at how she is running about in the pen and see if I can spot any unusual behaviours.
She has not bitten us today, I will be keeping a note of her behaviour and her interaction with her sister in the upcoming week.

If it comes to it, do you know any good vets near me (High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) that are very experienced with gerbils and small pets? We have a veterinary centre near here but they hardly ever treat exotic pets, mainly cats, dogs, and rabbits, so I don't think I'd trust them to give a good result for my fur babies.

Thanks again for your help x

[betty]

No I don't - but perhaps we could start up a new 'good vets thread' so that it is up to date and doesn't have all old comments in it - the perhaps it will be easier for everyone to refer to?

[Markpd]

Yea the old one's op needs updating, but we're stuck their.

A new thread would be good , but do you have the powers to stickify and unstick threads?

gerbilord

How's she been behaving the last couple of days?

Not quite the same thing, but I'm having the problem with Blake nipping me as he always thinks I'm offering food when my hand is near him! (that was the case), I think he nips my fingers to make sure it isn't food! lol. I'm sure he's got a really poor sense of smell, if he drops food he has to sniff around to find it even if it's right under his nose! Anyway, I've started presenting my hand regularly without any food, hopefully he'll learn! Avon doesn't have a problem, he sniffs around my hand then leaves without nipping. Oh btw, I had Blake hanging off my little finger on 2 occasions!

[gerbilord]

Betty has created a thread on vet lists already: gerbilforum.proboards.com/thread/34438/recommended-gerbil-vets-2020-uk?page=1&scrollTo=294635

Pippin has been acting much more usual and calm now (like she's had a nice warm bath and a hot chocolate), I think it could be partly due to the storms and she was feeling agitated?
She has not nipped me since Saturday, even when I was feeding her.
I will wait another week or so before assuming all is well though, and I'm taking notes of her behaviour very often. She has been in the playpen, haven't found any trace of pee though :/
she is walking very normally and quickly and can still jump out of the pen very easily (too easily if you ask me).

[Markpd]

Just seen it, thanks anyway .

Sounds good so far, fingers crossed!

[gerbilord]

update: Pippins acting very normal - she's been allowed to run around on my desk whilst I work and has been very calm, no biting. I managed to take a picture of her pee whilst she was on my desk. It looks quite yellow: imgur.com/a/gK9EakC

Should I be concerned about the colour or is it quite normal?
Thanks x