How tame are my gerbils?

[mafff]

I have my gerbils 4 a month now and when i put my hand in the cage they come and snif around.

I also useualy put some food in my hand and they sit and eat it very relaxed.
Sometimes I pick one of them up and take him out of the cage and let him walk over my bed and i can see that he likes it, but when i want to get him and put him back he runs like hel is there a way that i can let them come to me couse chacing them is not the sulution atleased i think.
they also don't walk up my arm if i put my hand in the Cage is it just that they don't want to or are they 2 scaed?

must I give them more time or anything?

Tips are veryyyyy welcome.

Ty and Greetz Arne

[Ritzie/Admin]

They are not very scared of you, but they can get more tame. I have to say that this depends on each gerbil's character and age.

The only thing you can do, is to let them get used to you! Just handle them a lot! After some while they will not run that hard away from you anymore!

[moghedien]

Also, it definitely depends on the character of the gerbil.

I have a mating pair of gerbils, the male was a result of my own breeding and was thus handled from birth, and the female is from a petstore.

Oddly enough, the female is more tame than the male! He's not afraid of me, but he doesn't crawl up my arm either. She sees my hand the second I put it in the cage and proceeds to run straight up my arm to my shoulder!

Luckily, it seems to be her personality that the pups have inherited. I wouldn't breed the male except for the fact that he has several recessives (a, e, c[chm], p) and thus produces a variety of pups.

[sweetie]

Hello,

I agree that it is the character of the gerbil. Sweetie, who is a petshop gerbil is my tamest ;D. I have 1 gerbil I got from a breeder (out of my 8) and he is tame but not as tame as Sweetie.
she does not run up my are but she does not mind being held and often has antics to get my attention when she feels she has been ignored.

Gerbils are curious creatures and unlike rats, cats and dogs, will not sit still long enough for a pat. They are high energy, inquisitive creatures not lap animals. Some of mine wil allow me to *pat* them but it is not for long.

[Ritzie/Admin]

True about the character! The last two Mongolian gerbils I have nowadays, two males, were both born at my place. One is very tame, but the other less, he will also not crawl on my arm or hand. The tamest does.

[tasha]

You should try in the evening. Mine are much more relaxed and cuddly after about 7pm then they are in the day time. They are much more skittish in the middle of the day. One of my three sisters is also tamer than the other two. At night she won't let me put her down -- she jumps back on my arm when i try to close the top of the tank!