I am on my third pair of gerbils now, (the first pair got wet-tail and died on me...sharp lesson there. :P ...and the second set died of old-age) a pair of lilac girls. (The new ones, not the dead ones! <G>)
The question I do have, and hopefully someone can offer some advice...is what to do with a rather nasty gerbil?
I've been working with this pair for a couple of weeks now, and they were quite young when I bought them. Not long away from their mother. I worked with them consistently after the first couple of days, even to the point of just being in their cage picking chips out of their food, and such, so they can deal with me being in there, and one of them tamed down quite nicely. She's bright, and alert and fairly friendly. She eats from my hand and when I put my fingers in her nest, she only pushes me away with her nose or feet.
The other, however...seems to have a mean streak, if its possible for animals to have such. she has never been friendly from day 1, and acts like I'm trying to murder her whenever I put my hand in the cage or go near her. I hoped that if I worked with her a bit, and she got used to it that shed settle down and realize I wasn't going to hurt her. Apparently not, tho. Over the time I have worked with her, she has gotten nastier and the last week has brought her peeing in my hand when I pick her up, and nipping at my palm and fingers while I'm holding her. She doesn't try to jump from my hands or anything, just runs as most of them seem to. But the last few days have brought a nastier streak out and today has been the worst.
Some days she has been out and out vicious. Attacking my hand when I go in there, even if I'm offering her seeds..she'll come and sit on my hand, sniff at the seeds, then bite at my fingers and run off. When I tried to hold her, she drew blood.
I can't say I'm overly impressed with her behavior. I've treated her no differently than the other gerbil and the taming technique has always worked before. I'm no stranger to animals and I realize that usually when they bite its because they're afraid or upset...but she shows no signs of being afraid...and why she would be anyway, i don't know...and doesn't seem particularly upset.
I considered just leaving her, and more or less ignoring her while I continue to work with the one that is friendly, but its fairly hard to get your hand in there with any sort of comfort when she tries to bite you when you do. So, frankly, I don't know what to do. Its quite depressing really. I was looking forward to having gerbils again and its crushing when things turn out like this.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with her? OTHER than putting her down and trying again? Some way to rehabilitate her? She does get along with her sister, they play together quite nicely and don't fight.
So that can't be it.
My last batch of gerbils (a mother and two daughters) I had great success with. The babies were bred after I bought the mother and father, and the three of them lived together great, and I had NO problem with handling any of them. (Except the youngest who was a bit epileptic and got too excited being out sometimes. :P)So I'm totally out of ideas here. Suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thank you so much!
friends,
Ciara
,)))))))),,,
,(((((((((((((((, O sweet and far from cliff and
scar
)\`\)))))))))))))),
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
*--===///`_ ```((((((((( Blow, bugle, blow,
set the wild echoes flying,
\\\ b\ \
``))))))) And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying.
))\
| (((((((( ~Tennyson~
( \
|`. ))))))))
\,
/ ) (((((((( ICQ UIN# 2398270
`" / ))))))) AIM Anokin
/ ((((``
| `))Estrian CrossRoads
