How do I stop my gerbil biting? :\?

Question

I have two gerbils, I have had them for a few months now. One of them is a normal weight, and doesn't bite, and the other is quite a bit smaller, but very feisty, and he bites and draws blood EVERY time. It hurts, & I've got to the point where I can't hold him because he'll bite for no reason. I don't want it to be this way f'ever. Please help. ): x

Answer 1

Take Him to  the vet i had that problem two with my gerbil. He doesn't bite any more

Answer 2

I'm sorry to hear that.  I had a couple gerbils and one would do that just like yours did.  Mine wasn't THAT bad though.  What I did was lay my hand in the bottom of their cage (away from food, water, nest, etc) and let them sniff it and crawl on it.  They nibbled here and there, but once they realized I wasn't food, they started to back off.  

Still, they need to learn a little trust for you.  Try holding out a carrot for the little one to eat.  Hold it while he eats it.  This sometimes helps an animal to trust you a little more.

Also, be aware of the fact that you might be doing something wrong.  Perhaps try washing your hands before you handle them in case you smell like food (even if you didn't eat any recently).  Try not to corner them or scare them and you might want to stay away from their food and nest if they're protective at all.  

You might want to try feeding it.  If it's smaller, it might be getting less food than the other one and the other one might be picking on it.  This might make it angry and it might just be taking it out on you.

Finally, if it gets bad enough, you could always wear garden gloves.  Make sure they're clean though because if he does biting it, you don't want him to bite something that was plucking poison ivy!  They're fairly cheap, under ten dollars, so you could always buy new ones or just try picking him up with a wash cloth (not wet, xP).  Some gerbils are territorial and will attack when they're in their cage, but not when they're out.  So maybe if you get him out and play with him awhile like that, he'll be a little bit less tense and warm up to you.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else.  I might try googe-ing "gerbil taming" or "gerbil biting" and see what comes up.  Every gerbil is different, so what worked for me might not work for you.  But you can still look for other answers!

Answer 3

This may seem like a cop-out answer, but try looking on TwinSqueaks.com

They have a FANTASTIC section on hand-taming gerbils.

Also, when you pick him up and he bites, keep in mid he may have a sore spot on his body. or be sick- since he is smaller, it could be.

To correct the behavior for now, when he bites, blow a quick puff of air in his face.

It won't work immediately, but each time he bites, puff. And keep holding for a few moments. Once he discovers biting won't get him put down immediately, he may stop.

Gerbils find the puff of air very unpleasant, so to avoid that, he will hopefully stop the biting.

Again, keep in mind gerbils do not like to be held, necessarily. They are naturally inclined to run and explore, not be a lap pet for a human. :]

But really, TwinSqueaks is a great resource. I highly recommend it!

Answer 4

put your hand in the cage with a treat in your palm only for him, when he bites you blow on his face as if you were blowing out a candle, he will eventually learn that biting you is a bad thing