Gerbil Help ASAP! 10 points?

Question

I recently adopted a gerbil from Petsmart. HE is a tanish color. I don't know how old he is (the sales man was really helpful) He is bigger not full size but close. The guy said He can be a nipper. I have 3 questions:

Question 1:

What should I name him?

Question 2:

How do I train him?

Question 3:

How do I over come my fear of him bitting me?

Question 4:

What's your favorite name out of this list:

DG(darn gerbil)

Jack

Tucker

Gunther

Simba

Kewjo

Joel

Pierre

Sweeny

HE is a male gerbil!

Answer 1

1. You need to decide what to call him. You know what his characteristics and personality is like.

2.You cannot train a Gerbil but they can be tamed. The easiest way to train a Gerbil is by laying your hand out flat in his cage with him. Let him sniff and investigate. Eventually he will get used to your scent and will willingly crawl onto your hand (and possibly up your arm!).

3. If you are afraid of him giving you a nip, just simply follow the instructions above but wearing a thick glove instead.

4. I prefer Kewjo out of all of them...But that's just because I love weird names for pets!!

Also, yes Gerbils need to be in a same s*x pair or group. A single Gerbil is a lonely Gerbil. They can become very depressed and this may as well be the reason for his biting problem!

They don't necessarily need to be from the same litter (although it's alot easier). You can buy Gerbils from different litters and have them live together but you do need to be very carefull when introducing them. The fact that you don't know his age makes it a little more difficult (adult male Gerbils rarely get along with younger males).

The safest way of introducing a pair or group of Gerbils is the Split Tank Technique. This is just simply a piece of wire mesh dividing the cage into two. Place a Gerbil either side of the divide and let them get used to the smell and sight of each other. Withing a couple of days they may start sleeping next to each other, this is when it's the right time to remove the divide.

Hope this helps with your problem, any more questions email me!

Answer 2

1: whatever you want!!!

2:you cant really train them

3: just pick him up  and if he bites then you know if it hurts, then if it does, wear gloves the next time

4: my fave is sweeny

Answer 3

Gerbils are very energetic and a lot of fun. Your gerbil is probably no more than a year old. As far as your fear of him biting you, there are a couple of things to know. There will always be a chance of being bitten, but there are ways to lower the likelihood. I have only been seriously bitten by a gerbil once, and it was my fault. Get to know him slowly by letting him sniff you, offer less sensitive areas of your hands and not the fingertips. Make sure you wash your hands after eating anything that may smell good to the gerbil, apples especially! They do not have the ability to distinguish between something that smells like food, but really isn't food. Overall, get to know him and let him get to know you...just make sure your hands don't smell like apples. Training is difficult, at least in my experience. It depends on what you want to train him to do. Use treats when he does whatever it is. Also use some repetition and keep the action to something basic. It works best on any animal if you are consistent, they know what to expect. As far as names...I like Pierre, it's really cute!

Answer 4

1 is up to u.2hold him pet him dont play with his tail.3 they dont bite hard and u usuoly get used to it.4dg or if he bites u alot and likes gtting on ur shoulder then call him sweeny tod lol                        it was a rely ****** up movie.

Answer 5

lol I actually just adopted a gerbil a week again, mine is a female and gray in color, I named her Urma.

Question 1:

What should I name him?

name him whichever you like, they cant really learn to respond to their names anyways.

Question 2:

How do I train him?

again, there isnt much you can do to train them, but if you notice they he messes in a certain corner of the cage (most will) you can buy a corner potty thing, much easier to clean..

Question 3:

How do I over come my fear of him bitting me?

I had this same fear, what I did was instead I picking her up I would let her climb into a toilet paper roll and then scoot her out onto my hand, she got used to me holding her real quick, and if they do bite, its generally very light nibbles.

Answer 6

1. i like sweeny and pierre...gunther is cute too.

2. just dont disturb him in his cage for awhile (like 48 hours after you get him) to let him adjust to his new home. then just put your clean hand into the cage (to make sure you dont smell like a treat...) and be very still. let him come to you. gerbils are curious... and he will come over to see what is going on. just dont panic... let him sniff you. he might bite you... but it most likely wont be hard. just a little nibble. it wont hurt.. i promise.

3. the more you handle him, the most friendly he will become. if you are scared to pick him up from the cage (never pick up a gerbil by the tail or by coming from above to grab him. this mimics a bird of prey... so their instinct will be to bite or wriggle) then grab a cup and wait until he goes in , then lift him out. then he will be most content playing on your arm or in your hands. just don't try to constrain him or he may get nervous and bite. good luck!! i have four of the little critters... and they are all very good pets. hope you have fun with yours!!

Answer 7

Name him whatever you want.

You can't really train them to do anything.

Wear gloves when you handle him.

And my fav is Tucker.

Answer 8

? 1. Ben

? 2. idk i have never had a gerbil & none of my friends have 1 either.

? 3. once you get bit by him you will see that it doesn't hurt that bad & won't be afraid of him biting you again.

? 4. Tucker

Answer 9

1. Tanner

2. I'm sorry, I do not know.

3. You will eventually get over it once your little companion has actually bitten you... that's what happened to my daughter. But hopefully, he won't bite you a lot, just make sure not to handle him while he's eating or if he just woke up.

4. Tucker

Answer 10

1.Lance

2.Sorry not sure. Visit a bookstore or local library to find a book that tells you how.

3.My hamster when I first got her did that.  The way I trained her was putting my hand in her cage and letting her inspect it.  When she tried to nibble my finger I flicked my finger up.  This showed her that it wasn't food.  Now when I stick my hand in she just come up and sniffs it .

4.Simba

Hope this helped.

Answer 11

you should first just start by petting him for a few days and then get some kind a container and wait until he walks into it and and then put the opening of the box next to your hand and it will climb into it.  That's how I tamed my hamster but I think gerbils are the kinda the same.

Answer 12

Question 1: It's really up to you. A name should be something special you choose. I have two gerbils, and I chose their names based on my first initial - K. So, their names are Kassie and Kali.

Question 2: There are several methods you can use to train him. One is to earn his trust by giving him treats. Put some good treats in the palm of your hand, and lay it flat on the bottom of his cage. Since gerbils are naturally curious, he might come over and investigate. Sooner or later, he'll learn that good things come with your hand and will be looking for you. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before handling him. If they smell like food, he might nip you.

Question 3: Overcoming that fear is a little hard. I was SO scared my gerbils would bite me when I first got them. I just worked on it day by day. After the first few times my gerbils nipped, I wasn't as fearful. Instead, I just didn't want them to bite me. You can usually see when your gerbil is about to bite. Just watch carefully. When you're putting your hand in the cage, he might sniff. If your hand happens to go under his nose towards his mouth, just slowly lift your hand up so that he can't reach it. Take it slow. There's no rush in overcoming this fear.

Question 4: Out of all those, my top two choices are Sweeny and Tuckey.

Yes, gerbils should be kept in same s*x pairs. They're social. They should, generally, come from the same litter. However, it IS possible to introduce a younger male gerbil to him successfully that isn't from the same litter. You'll just have to use the split cage method to carefully introduce them.

http://www.agsgerbils.org/Gerbil_Care_Ha...

Answer 13

I wish my parents would let me get a gerbile! Okay here is my answer...

Question 1: My opinion, I like Pierre and Sweeny.

Question 2: I'm not sure how to tame, because I've never had a gerbil.

Question 3: Don't walk up to your gerbil all intence. Animals know when your stiff and afraid. Just walk up to him and have a good time. If he nips, I don't believe it will be very hard, considering it's not a big pet. If he bites you, jut put him back and try later.

Have fun!!!

Answer 14

pierre i like its frech , and most male gerbils dont bit if they do then start tapping his nose and saying "no!" eventualy he'll stop theres lots of ways of training him and training him gets him focused on something new and entertains him and can get him to stop biting ,  heres how to train get a long thick rope and hang it to something atleast a few feet above the floor train him to come to you by him walking on the rope to you when he finished give him a treat like a chunk of cheese this is an accurate training session that will teach him many things. good luck!

Answer 15

1&4. Name him anything you think suits him. Out of the ones you listed, I especially like the name Tucker! I had a Degu named Tucker once.

2. Taming gerbils is all about getting them used to you being around, and being picked up. Out of a gerbils whole life, the number one time you are likely to be bitten is shortly after you bring him home. He'll still be scared and unsure of himself, and he might not know that you aren't trying to hurt him. Using treats like sunflower seeds and moving slowly are good tips. Check this site out for some good info!

http://www.agsgerbils.org/Gerbil_Care_Ha...

3. Taming him to the point that he isn't biting any more is sure to be helpful. :) But it might also be good to remember that he isn't biting you because he's mean, he's just doing it because he's scared. Gerbils are curious and outgoing and he WANTS to be your friend, he just might not know how yet. And just remember that all you need to do is give him time and patience and he WILL get better. That link I posted should help a lot.

5. No, he doesn't HAVE to have a friend to survive, but since gerbils are very social animals, they seem to do better (live longer, better temperament) when they have a cagemate or  three. :P Since you can't get one of his littermates, or a gerbil he has already met, you will have to take some extra steps to integrate him with a new buddy. The same site with the training tips can help you with that. And DONT get him a female. Males are the least territorial out of the two genders when it comes to gerbils.

Good luck!

Answer 16

Well I don't know about you but Pierre is a wonderful name. To train your gerbil is tough but if you get a small cage or a container will tall sides that is large and comfortable maybe will shavings or newspaper in it the gerbil will eventally feel like its cage is where it does its business like its home. Sooner or later the Gerbil will stop biting and get comfortable with you and if you are really worrying about the gerbil bitting you use gloves until he is comfortable.