I'm a first time gerbil owner with two male gerbils about 4 months old. I have two questions: 1. Up until a week ago they were very gentle and curious, though I didn't train them to be hand-held much. Last week I had to go to a conference out-of-town and gave them to my parents and sister to care for. I noticed upon return that both were very skittish, easily startled, and overall not behaving normally. After two days one settled down and is back to his old self, but the other has developed a tendency to attack and bite my hand. He still eats food from my hand as before, but otherwise he'd suddenly rush at me and bite aggressively. Why and what can I do about it? I no longer allow them to run free in the apartment as I worry about what may happen when I have to get them back into their cage. (The only cause I can think of might be that my sister did force them into their exercise balls which they hate every night, as my mom won't have them run free.) 2. I was both told and read in books and the internet that gerbils can get exercise either by being let free in the house or in exercise balls. My sister's hamsters love going into their balls and eagerly rush in, but my gerbils positively hate them. They refuse to go in to the point where even if we trap them in a pot and the only way out is into the ball, they'd hang on for dear life even as we slowly upend the pot. However I can't let them run free in the house because of both the question above and I cannot gerbil proof my apartment well enough. But then how can they get enough exercise and how can I ensure they stay healthy? Amy
