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Post by KatnissUna on Sept 20, 2022 11:15:48 GMT -8
I thought I might just start a new thread. Timmy the rescue gerbil bites me as soon as I try to give him a treat.
any advice? I've been wearing a glove so he can't hurt me, but I have run out of ideas what to do about that. Do I just quit giving him treats for a little while? He literally doesn't even care about the treat; he just attacks my hand. He was taking treats from me without a glove before, but I had to start using a glove because he tried to bite most of the time.
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Post by Markpd on Sept 20, 2022 11:43:20 GMT -8
We'd need a little background info about him to try to give some more specific info, you may have given that info elsewhere, but I for one have a poor memory  . If you do, you could either quote yourself, or just copy and paste it. |
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Post by KatnissUna on Sept 20, 2022 15:06:12 GMT -8
I'm sorry I cannot seem to find my previous post, so I will just recap a bit.
Timmy was a gerbil we rescued from a pet store. No one wanted him because of his biting behavior. He is a relatively normal gerbil, just bites and seems a bit nervous.
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Post by Markpd on Sept 21, 2022 11:12:15 GMT -8
I'll do it for ya this time  (btw you could've carried on in your previous thread, but no worries). ...... They had a sign on his aquarium stating "his name is Dracula, he lives up to his name, ask a worker for more information" or something like that. So I instantly knew he was a biter. I then decided in a heartbeat to adopt him. They had us fill out adoption papers and whatever and charged us a penny. On the receipt, it says "damaged". I have 3 gerbils I have had for almost 2 years, and I have done a lot of research here and there. I have ideas what to do to train Timmy not to bite, such as let him settle in his new home for several days to weeks, whatever it takes him to get adjusted. I know from experience that most gerbils bite when they are scared. This is obviously the reason in Timmy's case. He was terrified at the pet store. I can see why! The worker who helped us adopt him and whatever, literally to show us what he does, she put her hand in the tank in a provoking way, as if to try to make him mad. Timmy of course ran at her hand and tried to nip her. They said they had a vet check him out, and there is nothing wrong with him, he is very healthy. He's just scared, and being scared would obviously make him act out, or be jumpy and whatnot. What should I do exactly? I for now have him in a tank by himself (he was in the tank at the pet store alone), with a box and food and water and whatnot, but how long before I should start like training him, I guess is the word? My goal is to make him more friendly, so that others can hold him. I plan to give him a new home someday, but I may get too attached, but oh well, might just have to keep him. How can I train his bad behavior out of him? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! (I edited it down for this thread)
Strange that he was alright with you initially, then fell back to his old behaviour, I'm afraid I have no experience of aggressive gerbils like this (although a friend's daughter did, she eventually managed to tame him, although I don't know how). I'm afraid I will again have to defer to more experienced keepers here.
For future reference in finding your own posts and threads, click on your name, then at the bottom left of your profile summary are links to posts and threads made by you (and although it says 'recent' posts/threads, unless you have a huge number of posts the history will go back years! When you have it of course). |
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Post by KatnissUna on Sept 21, 2022 16:09:03 GMT -8
Thank you for explaining that!
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. If you do, you could either quote yourself, or just copy and paste it.
), late 70s
(btw you could've carried on in your previous thread, but no worries).