New gerbils behaviour issues

[Elsbelle]

Hi, while I'm waiting for approval to the forum, I could do with some advice, please.

We got 2 young brothers from p@h a week ago. They have a big ferplast cage with hiding places and enrichment which is in one of the kids' bedroom at the top of the house where it's quiet.
When they first arrived, they checked out their new environment, did a lot of burrowing and seemed generally active and curious even coming up to the cage bars to sniff a finger out two.
Since then things have changed, however; they spend most of their time hiding and the braver one ventures out every now and again for food and a sand bath. I think the other one comes out when no-one is in the room but dives back to safety as soon as he hears us coming. - This is all okay, I get it, it's early days etc.
But two days ago, for the first time, the brave one stayed out for quite a while, so my daughter placed her flat hand into the cage with a treat and waited. The gerbil approached her and sniffed, went off again, came back, sniffed, climbed onto her hand, went off again etc without showing any signs of distress. Hurrah - however, yesterday she did the exact same thing but he sniffed her hand and bit her. Same today.
So now, daughter is scared and very disappointed, and I am at a loss as to what to do to make things better. The shy gerbil still doesn't show and the brave one seems to have taken a step back. Are we going to fast? Help, please!

[Thea]

Just to let you know that biting isn't always aggression at the start of owning gerbils, it can be more a way of investigating. If the gerbil drew blood then it was probably scared - this wouldn't necessarily be anyone's fault, but I would be scared if I went to a new place that I didn't know! If it was a smaller nip, it's probably the gerbil investigating - to see what your daughter's hand actually is. Gerbils often do this when you first own them, it's pretty normal. I wouldn't worry, even if it was a proper bite these will probably stop happening soon if your daughter is gentle, which it sounds like she is. One thing: are you there with her while she is putting her hand in?

Do you mind me asking what ferplast cage you have? I don't know much about them but I'm just concerned it may be a little too small. There is a ferplast gerbilarium so I'm guessing you might have this. It is quite small so I would upgrade when they are a bit bigger to a tank or something else. The absolute minimum for a gerbil is 10 US gallons per gerbil, but I personally think 15-20 gallons per gerbil is better. You can find out how many yours is from lots of websites online where you can put the measurements in  and an edit: there are loads of second hand fish tanks that are really cheap. I got a second hand display cabinet which I turned on the side for £20, and it's around 70 gallons. There is a lot you can do for not a lot of money!

[Markpd]

I've had my boys 6mths now (time flies!), and I find how tame they are does seem to fluctuate over time (not that mine are very tame anyway!), but some days they seem extra skittish!.
And like Thea said, if it was just a nip (no blood drawn), then he may have just been investigating. I found with my Blake that he couldn't tell the difference between my hand and his food! lol (I swear he has a rubbish sense of smell!), so I gave up on palm feeding and just fed him with finger and thumb, didn't have that problem with Avon.
Oh, what could also make nipping more likely is if your hand smells of food! So if she'd recently handled other food then that might explain it, if she has recently eaten something before feeding the gerbils, it might help to wash her hands beforehand (although it didn't help me with Blake!).

[Thea]

Yes - the food was something I was going to suggest too. I wouldn't suggest washing your hands beforehand at least for now, because they need to get used to the actual smell of your daughter not your handwash! So there isn't much you can do.

[Markpd]

Oh yea, good point! Perhaps just rinse your hands then?? i.e no soap.

[Thea]

Yup sounds good

[yeti218]

Some people will put their hands in the gerbil bedding before handling their gerbils so they smell more neutral. Im not sure how much this helps, but i've done it.

I do have one gerbil that likes to inquisitively nibble at my hand. He starts gentle (doesnt break the skin), and if i dont pull my hand away he'll increase the pressure until he does. In his case, i think he just likes to chew, and doesnt really treat a hand any differently than he would anything else.

So, if a gerbil starts nibbling, gently pull away. If he gives no warning and just goes in for a real chomp, i cant really provide any insight. Good luck though.

[Markpd]

Good point about rubbing hands in the bedding.

(ah, this is where I answered! ).