Looking for advice with a severe biting problem

[westkhost]

So, I've had gerbils for quite some time. It's always been an absolute delight and while so we're more stand-offish than others, I had never met a "mean" or even an I'll tempered gerb in all that time.
Until I somewhat reluctantly purchased two from petco about 3 weeks ago. They appear to be relatively young (still a little gangly and uncoordinated) they are agouti females and the reason for the sort of spur of the moment purchase was out of sympathy. They both had very obvious signs of fighting, mango (the sweetheart of the two) had a nearly bald nose and tail and Rya (the topic of this post) had a pretty deep cut on her face and some hair missing on her tail and they both looked so sad and just unwell overall. I had seen them a week prior buying toys for my two girls at home and mentioned something about their tails to my friend and she Jokingly suggested I should buy them. Come back in and see them the next week, with additional injuries and my heart simply wouldn't allow me to leave them there after telling an employee a week ago and seeing that it had been ignored and both were now suffering more.
Mango is a sweetheart and smaller of the two, she looked like she was coming off much worse in the fighting which started again the second we got home after scrambling to clean out my spare tank from the basement and get it set up. They were in the tank maybe 5 minutes when Rya started and chased mango around any time mango moved more than an inch.
I ended up separating them despite knowing they would likely be upset by this. But they needed to rest, rather than complete separation, I happened to have some Lexan and made a divider for the 40G ("breeder" to use the term it.wqs sold under, just longer instead of higher) they seem to want to be around one another but that's where my personal issues start.

Rya absolutely CANNOT be picked up with leather gloves on. She will bite. There's no maybe. There's no procedure to prevent it. Even when you allow her to step into your hand because she wants to go home from being out, doesn't matter, she's going to make you bleed.
Her teeth are so small and sharp and she commits 1000% that when she bites with everything she's got, not only does it puncture, but it cuts and I'm talking CUTS. I've bleed more in the past 3 weeks than I probably have in 3 years. I'm a practical mechanical engineer/designer and Machinist at a metalworking company, I handle metal every day and most of its rough cut with sharp edges and I frequently misplace my gloves. So when I say she easily has drawn more blood in that time. It's not an insignificant amount.

I won't give up on her. I just can't do that to anyone. I've had a couple more difficult gerbils and animals overall in my life but never one that seems so outright "MEAN" because there's doesn't appear to be any panic involved. It just seems to me that it's her immediate response to everything to bite and bite hard then hold.



Sorry about the long post but I felt some context was appropriate.
Any help anyone can offer, I appreciate.
I'm still working with her as I can and as she will allow but my wits are fraying and my band-aids and Neosporin dwindling. I either gotta find a solution or buy stock in Johnson and Johnson so I can see the impact of bulk band-aid purchases in a positive light and maybe recoup a little of the cost after a while.

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

Hello, Westkhost.

Congratulations on the new gerbs! I'm so glad you could get them out of Petco and give them a good home, and also good on you for not giving up on Rya!
I actually have a very similar situation, in which I bought a gerb from Petco that has an extreme biting problem. Unfortunately, the source is different due to the fact that he's terrified of humans, and it doesn't seem yours is. I'm sure you're right, it sounds like she's not being malicious, but she just seems to feel like it's the only answer to anything.
I would guess one way of taking care of this would be to find something to associate with biting that she doesn't like.
One trick I used for a particularly bitey gerbil, was blowing air in his face the same moment he bit me. He eventually associated the two and stopped biting, since he didn't like the puff of air and put the two together. I'm not sure how well this would work for Rya however because if she bites any moment, any time, whenever your hand is in teeth range then it sounds like it's not a 'when I'm frustrated' bite it's more a 'there you are' type of bite. If that makes sense.
One question I have, is she biting literally anytime you put your hand in the tank, or only when you pick her up?
I might try to get her to eat out of my hand, so that she's in company with it while focussing on something else. This could also help her to associate positively with you. I would use a food that she really likes so that you can ensure that. I would guess that the main thing would be to get her to be able to sit in your hand without biting.

Those things would be what I try but maybe you should wait for some more ideas to pop up in this thread

[tanzanyte]

Oh gosh, it's so hard when you are used to chilled out, sweet gerbils. I used to work with metals so appreciate how bad it sounds if it's worse than the cuts you get through work.
I have a slightly difficult gerbil in that Mymble will nibble, nip and occasionally bite with intent and draw blood. We have to be careful when we pick her up. I will always rub my hands through her bedding so that I smell more normal to them. I will, as Jamie has mentioned, have a favourite treat immediately on hand. I also have her low down close to her enclosure and also tend to crouch and after picking her up I let her run on my legs as she is happier like this because she is in control. We have noticed sometimes it depends on how she is held as to how much she nibbles. She doesn't like us touching parts of her body - her feet are a no go, so we have learned along the way.
It might be worth trying different holds to see if it makes a difference, although I appreciate that's hard if she is biting instantly and you are having to wear gloves.
I also tend to pick Mymble up and put her down very quickly. It's taken a while but quite often she wants to come back out and go back home again and come back out again. Although she doesn't show it, she is anxious and doesn't like being out of her enclosure for long and has to know it is nearby.
I hope you manage to get something sorted. Keep us posted as to how it's going.

[betty]

Gerbils are very much back and forth - that is their nature, so sitting still on us is all very strange for some of them.

If you ever are trying to catch an escaped gerbil you can see their true behaviour much more clearly than when in an enclosure. They bob back and forth, a bit further each second or third visit. Never staying still too long (unless eating). The patience you need for catching a loose gerbil is something we have all to acquire (and endure).

I have helped a few people with biting gerbils and often it is clear that it is the glove that they are then reacting to - not the person - which unfortunately makes them look even more rabid over time.

If you want to handle them (rather than just watch and admire them) then smaller enclosures, catch pots, a run you can sit in, and endless patience are all you need for taming. It won't be something over a week or two, it won't all be perfect, but if you are thinking of things only from the gerbils point of view at all times, then you will soon start to see positive results.

Baby steps for sure - but you will start to appreciate them more as an individual with regular one-to-one sessions - which can only be a good thing anyway. Good luck to you both...