Post by stellamaris on Oct 7, 2021 15:56:26 GMT -8
Scooby lives alone due to Covid. He’s 8 months; I’ve had him for 5. He lives in a 15 gallon tank with a topper. When I first got him, he was quite skittish, but has become more confident and relaxed. He climbs around on me during floor time, and allows me to pick him up as long as I have a treat in my hand. 
He sits on my knee and lets me pet and ‘groom’ him. Mornings, he’s usually in bed, but will come up to his topper and step out onto my hands for a treat.
One morning this week, he was atypically sitting right at the topper opening. I assumed he was just feeling good and wanting a treat. Now, however, I think he was looking for a fight. I opened the topper and he came onto my hands for a treat as usual. He sat on his glass shelf to eat, while I took his sand bowl away to sieve it. I put it back and began to wipe his wheel where he’d pee’d. He charged over to my hand, looking like he was going to bite me. He didn’t, but he moved so fast, he easily may have put his mouth on me without me noticing. The charge didn’t strike me as playful, but as an attack. I didn’t flinch (didn’t have time!), but pushed him back to where he’d started, while ‘boxing’ him with my fingers. He charged again. I boxed him back. Another charge. Another box. He ran ‘downstairs’ and under his bendy bridge.
I found his behaviour disturbing, but carried on with my usual morning tidy of his topper. I took his water bowl out to refill it. When I came back, he was, once again, sitting at the edge of his glass shelf near the opening. I reached in to replace his water bowl (other end of the topper - my arm was a foot away from him), and he charged all the way across the topper and ‘attacked’ my hand again. Once again I ‘boxed’ him back. He ran downstairs under his bridge.
Next, like every morning, I took out his glass shelf (covered in pee and poo) and cleaned it. When I was putting it back, he came charging up the ladder to attack my hand again! I boxed him back down the ladder, thought “enough of this!”, and my hand followed him down into his bin. I began digging in the substrate in front of his bridge, where he’d retreated, to see if he’d attack. Yes, he would. I boxed him back and kept digging. He kept attacking and I kept boxing, maybe another half dozen times, all around his tank. He ran under his bridge again, and I made a big fuss of ‘kicking’ substrate all over - even into and over the bendy bridge where he was hiding. He didn’t come out again.
Throughout, I was trying to imitate what a dominant gerbil might do if challenged. Neither Scooby nor I were hurt in any way; it seems like it was all a dominance display on both our parts. I’ve never had a gerbil before, so was going on instinct and my past experience (with dogs - also hierarchical pack animals). I didn’t want him to think it was ok to attack me, even if he didn’t bite - this time.
Normally, I put a hay-filled roll of cardboard in his bin for his morning entertainment, so I did the same after our ‘fight’. I had to reach down the ‘stairwell’ to place it, but he stayed under his bridge. As I walked away, he came out, gave the cardboard a couple of chews, then went and buried himself in his bed.
That evening, during floor time, we both acted as if nothing had happened. He’s been acting pretty normal ever since. I’m guessing he’s reached the age when gerbils ‘try it on’ with each other to see who’s dominant. Since he doesn’t have a buddy to harass, I guess I was ‘it’.
Has anyone else had something like this happen? How did you handle it? What were the results?
He sits on my knee and lets me pet and ‘groom’ him. Mornings, he’s usually in bed, but will come up to his topper and step out onto my hands for a treat.One morning this week, he was atypically sitting right at the topper opening. I assumed he was just feeling good and wanting a treat. Now, however, I think he was looking for a fight. I opened the topper and he came onto my hands for a treat as usual. He sat on his glass shelf to eat, while I took his sand bowl away to sieve it. I put it back and began to wipe his wheel where he’d pee’d. He charged over to my hand, looking like he was going to bite me. He didn’t, but he moved so fast, he easily may have put his mouth on me without me noticing. The charge didn’t strike me as playful, but as an attack. I didn’t flinch (didn’t have time!), but pushed him back to where he’d started, while ‘boxing’ him with my fingers. He charged again. I boxed him back. Another charge. Another box. He ran ‘downstairs’ and under his bendy bridge.
I found his behaviour disturbing, but carried on with my usual morning tidy of his topper. I took his water bowl out to refill it. When I came back, he was, once again, sitting at the edge of his glass shelf near the opening. I reached in to replace his water bowl (other end of the topper - my arm was a foot away from him), and he charged all the way across the topper and ‘attacked’ my hand again. Once again I ‘boxed’ him back. He ran downstairs under his bridge.
Next, like every morning, I took out his glass shelf (covered in pee and poo) and cleaned it. When I was putting it back, he came charging up the ladder to attack my hand again! I boxed him back down the ladder, thought “enough of this!”, and my hand followed him down into his bin. I began digging in the substrate in front of his bridge, where he’d retreated, to see if he’d attack. Yes, he would. I boxed him back and kept digging. He kept attacking and I kept boxing, maybe another half dozen times, all around his tank. He ran under his bridge again, and I made a big fuss of ‘kicking’ substrate all over - even into and over the bendy bridge where he was hiding. He didn’t come out again.
Throughout, I was trying to imitate what a dominant gerbil might do if challenged. Neither Scooby nor I were hurt in any way; it seems like it was all a dominance display on both our parts. I’ve never had a gerbil before, so was going on instinct and my past experience (with dogs - also hierarchical pack animals). I didn’t want him to think it was ok to attack me, even if he didn’t bite - this time.
Normally, I put a hay-filled roll of cardboard in his bin for his morning entertainment, so I did the same after our ‘fight’. I had to reach down the ‘stairwell’ to place it, but he stayed under his bridge. As I walked away, he came out, gave the cardboard a couple of chews, then went and buried himself in his bed.
That evening, during floor time, we both acted as if nothing had happened. He’s been acting pretty normal ever since. I’m guessing he’s reached the age when gerbils ‘try it on’ with each other to see who’s dominant. Since he doesn’t have a buddy to harass, I guess I was ‘it’.
Has anyone else had something like this happen? How did you handle it? What were the results?
), late 70s