At 12:03 PM 8/10/00 -0400, ANDREA SPIEGLE wrote:
>I realize I'm relatively new to gerbils, being as this is only the
>second pair I've ever had, but these two seem to be acting kind of
>strange (for gerbils anyway). To start with, they seem to be extremely
>jumpy and nervous. In other words, whenever I come in the room it's like
>they dive for cover. If I stand there they'll come back out but then if
>I move they'll run again. When I put my hand in the tank they'll hide as
>I take the lid off and then come out and sniff and sometimes climb on my
>fingers. One seems to be braver than the other, most of the time when I
>look in on them during the day it's that one that's out and about. The
>other only really comes out at night and in the morning. The other thing
>is this morning I was changing things around in their tank a little
>trying to find a quieter layout (they'll squeeze between their can and
>the glass and dig against the glass and it makes pretty loud repetitive
>banging noises). They came out and were all curious as I rearranged
>things and moved some bedding around (they had bald glass on one side
>and Mt. Everest on the other). They sniffed at me as I had my hand in
>there and then one of them took what I guess could be called a nip. It
>wasn't a legit bite, I know that, this didn't really break the skin,
>just in a little spot. It freaked me out nonetheless. Was it because I
>had moved things around and they don't like that? Or was it just a
>slightly over-enthusiastic taste? They're really small so they must be
>pretty young, and they're from a pet store. Could that be why they're so
>jumpy and jittery?
That's probably exactly it. I doubt they have been handled much at all so
they really don't have a clue about humans. The one that nipped you was
probably just investigating. You might try blowing air in their faces when
they do that, they don't like it and may get the idea that nibbling isn't a
good thing to do. I don't know, though, as I always started way earlier
with my pups. Anyway I'd give them a few days to settle in, then start
spending some time with your hand just in the tank so they get used to
you. Have treats in your hand sometimes, but not always. You don't want
them to get the idea that hand=food! And always make sure you wash your
hands first, especially if you have been handling food.
Tana and The Little Rascals
http://thesanctuary.tripod.com
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