I had a gerbil like that once. She was a real sweetheart from birth... but
she would get really excited when it was "play time" and she'd start
nipping....and it eventually progressed to the point where she'd draw blood
everytime someone got near her....we never did figure out what her problem
was, but she eventually got over it...it was really weird...
We kept her separated from the other gerbils for several weeks so nobody
woudl get hurt when we played with the other gerbils....until she quit
biting people.....and then she was re-introduced to everybody again and
everything was fine...
I also had a rat that used to do that...but that was a slightly different
case because we knew why it bit people - the poor thing had been abused.....
My suggestion to you would be to split the cage. That way you arn't totally
separating the two gerbils so they still have each other's company(and you
won't have to worry about having to re-introduce them to each other later),
but that way you can concentrate on the friendly one and give the 'nasty'
one some time to herself.
Give her a couple weeks in the split cage and only go into the cage when you
have to (i.e. change the water/food, etc.) But don't totally ignore her,
either - after a week or so, try seeing if she wants to play - but be sure
to wear a pair of gloves (preferably ones that smell like both you and her
so that she isn't faced with some totally new/scary smell)...they don't have
to be really thick gloves either because you can hurt the gerbil if you
can't feel how tighly you're holding it, but just enough that if she did try
to bite you again it woudln't pierce your skin.....and more importantly so
that you don't pull away when she bites....if she learns that your hand
leaves whenever she bites it, then whenever she wants you to leave, she'll
bite......
If she does bite the glove, don't immediately put her down....instead wait a
minute first and then put her down and leave her alone for a while.....If
you're not holding her when she bites (for example, your cleaning her cage
and she runs up to you) don't completely remove your hand from the cage
immediately, but do something else - move to a different corner of the cage
(away from her)and continue what you were doing....and then when you've
finished, again, leave her alone for a while.....Other than that, treat her
as though nothing was different (except for the fact that you're wearing
gloves and she has less play time and more alone time)....even offer her
favorite treats (with the gloves, of course)....
If/when she quits biting the glove and acts completely normal around you,
then try offering her a treat without the gloves, but odn't immediately try
to pick her up and play with her....(do everything gradually).....after a
while, try petting her....and then when both you and the gerbil are totally
comfortable with each other again, you can allow her to play with her
cagemate again.....
This is just a suggestion! Hope it helps...
-Adie
----Original Message Follows----
From: Ciara Randor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: Ciara Randor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Hello, and help!
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2000 20:18:50 -0600
Hello, all. Just wanted to drop a note and say hi. I'm new to the group,
and am looking foward to some gerbil related talk.(Or reading, as I tend to
be more of a lurker than talker - though I do chip in from time to time.
:)) So far, I'm the only one I know of that has gerbils...or even likes
them. (Never have figured out why people are so fussy about rodents. They
are so cute!)
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
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