cute little story!

[ratbrat21]

Hey! I don't own any gerbils as of now but i was thinking about a cute little story about what my first gerbils did and was wondering if anyone elses gerbils did the same thing. I use to breed gerbils and my first mating pair was simba and nala. They were both sweet and loveable. And nala trusted me so much that when i would put my hand in their cage she would have a baby in her mouth and drop it in my hand and let me hold it. Then i would put my hand back in the cage and she would run over, take it back and put it back in the nest. She never hurt any of her babies ever and would always do that whenever she would have a litter. I was just wondering if anyone elses gerbils ever did that or you know someones gerbil who did that? :) :innocent:

Joelle

[stfats]

Awh thats so cute, cool and cuddly. I wish my gerbil would even get into my hand

[ratbrat21]

yeah it was weird cuz simba and nala were my sweetest gerbils. All my other gerbils were mean lol and would bite me. THey would just latch onto my finger and not let go. Thats why I don't have them anymore. But simba and nala were the best. Oh and the babies were also sweet but anytime i would get a gerbil from the pet store they were mean, always biting! But gerbils are very adorable! In my opinion i think gerbils are nicer then hamsters. I only had 1 hamster and i swear she was evil. I would just walk by her cage and she would jump at me and try to bite me through the cage. It was a wire cage too. anyways i just wanted to share the cute story. I miss having gerbils now lol maybe i will ask my hubby if i can buy one.

Joelle ;)

[callimico]

My gerbils do almost the same thing :lovestruc mom and dad will groom the pups in my hand, but I've never had a mom pick up a pup and carry it anywhere except back to the nest. I've seen some gerbils at certain petstores with bad temperments, a few would even lunge for your fingers if you tried to hold them!:shocked: I've only been bitten by a gerbil twice- once breaking up a ball fight between two strange females, once by a pup at Petsmart.

don't forget to buy 2 if you get gerbils again, they're very social animals. There's some good breeders in Ohio to, maybe you can find one close to you with some interesting colors.

[Jiffykat]

Minerva never trusted me. She wouldn't let me near the first litter until she was trying to wean them. Then she was get them out of here! I am getting jumped by five little beasts. Lucious however was all I must show off my offspring, look at them, aren't they cute?

[ratbrat21]

I might try and talk my hubby into letting me have a couple gerbils. They are really cute and i miss having them around, but i don't miss the biting lol. I will see if there are any breeders around me. I really hope so cuz the ones from pet store are mean. The other day i saw this little girl who wanted a gerbil and the guy working there picked it up and the little girl took it out of the box and it bit her. But it was probably just scared poor little gerbie hehe. Hmmm maybe i will even start breeding again, i dunno. I loved breeding and selling my baby gerbils. Ok im gonna go now :)

Joelle

[Cornflakes4ever]

You've been bitten by gerbils? I have been bitten maybe once.. by a scared gerbil. Every gerbil I've ever picked up that I was foreign to never bit me.. weird!

[Chaos]

My Smudge did that with her litter (syrian hamster, not a gerbil, sorry). She would carry one of the babies and drop it in or near my hand, then try to climb up my arm. Hamster moms are known for killing their young if you touch them, guess Smudge is an exception.

[ratbrat21]

I was always bitten by gerbils. I just had to train the ones i got from pet stores alot more. They needed more handling but they were nice....kinda. They loved latching onto my fingers and not letting go lol. But I still loved them. Simba and nala only nipped though and it was kinda like love nips lol. All animals are different too. Some gerbils are nice and some arent. But I did love my gerbils alot. I had so many beautiful ones. A long time ago i even had a blue baby but her mommy ate her. I got so mad, she was only 2 weeks old too, i named her blueberry. But that was the only blue gerbil i ever had. I had mostly yellow foxes and red foxes. And some black, grey, white, dove, lilac, agouti gosh i know i had more but i forgot the colors lol. Ya'll got me missing breeding gerbils now or at least owning them lol.
Joelle

[Jiffykat]

I've only been bitten badly by gerbils twice, once I was breaking up a fight and the other time, I scared one really bad and she bit me.

[stfats]

Ive only been bit once that was when i was changing tails and i had here in a empty toilet roll holder. Now all she bites is my watch :P

[dnott]

I miss having gerbils now lol maybe i will ask my hubby if i can buy one.

Joelle ;)

I know a couple of breeders here in Ohio that have gerbils if you are planning on getting a pair.

Diane

[Jiffykat]

I've only been bitten badly by gerbils twice, once I was breaking up a fight and the other time, I scared one really bad and she bit me.This is actually pretty good since I currently have 15 gerbils and all of them are either pet store gerbies, accidental pet store babies, or humane society rescues.

[ratbrat21]

Yesterday i went to the pet store and they had this gerbil in a cage and it said free gerbil with purchase of cage so i got him lol. But hes evil lol. He already latched onto my finger. But the poor thing was scared so im not upset. He seems to like it when i talk to him he will sit still and just look at me. I am not for sure what color he is, he looks like an agouti but he has alot of golden color in him too. Hes very cute though. I felt bad for him cuz i think he was the last one and they got in a new shipment of babies hes full grown too. So its gonna take some time taming him but its worth it. I just need to find a name for him, i wanted to name him cujo cuz he bits lol! If anyone can think of a name let me know!

Joelle

[Jiffykat]

Why son't you call him Cujo? Or Kojak. I don't actually know who Kojak was/is, but it is a cool name.

[dnott]

used to be an old tv show. It's a good name.

[ratbrat21]

hmmm you know i might name him cujo, its cute even if he does turn out to be a nice gerbil. The poor little fella is so scared though. I have gotten gerbils at pet stores before and they were never this scared. I wonder if someone did something to him. It wouldnt surprise me, people can be very cruel. He wont even come up and sniff my hand or take treats. But i will let you know when or if he ever starts to trust me.

Joelle ;)

[Jiffykat]

Hopefuly he just needs time to realize he isn't going to be abused by you.

[ratbrat21]

Well little cujo is starting to trust me. He now comes up to me and sniffs my hand. When i first got him he wouldnt even come up to me. HE still doesnt take treats from me but i think he will in time. Hes so cute and sweet. But at least he is starting to trust me. I will keep you updated on what happens!

Joelle

[dnott]

That's a good start. Keep us posted.

[ratbrat21]

Cujo is alot better now! HE now takes treats from my hand and sniffs me and lets me put my hand in his cage. But he doesnt want me to touch him or pick him up but hes doing alot better then when i first got him! I will let ya'll know when he lets me pick him up or he wants to come out of his cage! :)

Joelle

[Frost Indri]

Pet stores, at least where I am, seem to have little idea of what to do with gerbils, or any small pet for that matter. (I've yelled at store people for picking the gerbils up by the tail before.)The gerbils are likely to be mean because the people taking care of them didn't know what they were doing, and either didn't handle them enough or handle them poorly. Even now Onieros (a pet store gerbil) doesn't like being held. Took us a year, but he doesn't bite either. Granted, he's a bit of a special case because his response to anything new is to bite it. Its just how he explores the world.

Keep in mind that biting isn't neccissarily mean. Often times if they are biting it's because they are afraid. Sometimes because the are curiouse (as in the case of Onieros).

My expiriance is that you need to let him get used to your hand slowly. Leave your hand in the cage with some food in it for a while. Do this unti the gerbil actually will start eating the food. If the gerbil bites, try not to jerk back or react violently (hard, I know!). remember, those teeth are tiny, even if they are sharp. It's hard for one of them to do you much harm. They'll eventually come around. :)

[ratbrat21]

Cujo is getting better! I know what you mean about pet stores. I have never gone to a pet store that knew how to take care of any rodent properly. The thing that bugs me is cujo is meaner then other gerbils i have gotten too. I use to get gerbils from pet stores all the time and they were never this mean. But like you said i don't think its that hes mean but maybe scared. HE is a sweet little guy and loves to sniff my hand and takes treats from my hand. But he wont let me touch him. But he probably will come around. HEs such a beautiful gerb too!! I will let all of you know when he lets me hold him. :)

Joelle

[Jiffykat]

I hope he comes around. They are so much more fun when you don't have to be scared for your hand around them.

[ratbrat21]

yeah i know what you mean. I use to breed gerbils and i had alot of them. I just stopped owning them because they would bite. The babies wouldnt cuz i would play with them alot but then i had to give them up and sell them to good homes. I did keep alot actually i had 40 gerbils. But Cujo is such a cutie pie. I put my hand in his cage today and he loves to sniff it and take treats and he actually alomost got onto my hand. But then i think he got a little to scared. But he kinda marked my hand too. If i remember right...tell me if im wrong the little mark on their tummys is what they use to mark with right? And he was rubbing that on my hand lol. So i guess maybe he likes me i dunno but i will keep you all posted about cujo!

Joelle

[ratbrat21]

i will get a picture of cujo sometime here when hes not so scared of me. But i was looking at the gerbil palette (sp?) and he looks like hes a nutmeg. I might be wrong but i am pretty sure he is a nutmeg. But that will give you a hint of what he looks like anyways just thought i would put that lol.

Joelle

[Zouave]

That was a cute story about the gerbils and the babies.

You've been bitten by gerbils? I have been bitten maybe once.. by a scared gerbil. Every gerbil I've ever picked up that I was foreign to never bit me.. weird!

I had ONE gerbil of dozens over years who ever bit me - Chrissie, Crystal's sister. She was a cream, and used to climb on me; one day she sat in my palm as she had countless times before. . . and sun k her teeth into me, hard. Hours later, after I washed my hands, I tried it again, but the same thing happened. I wore a leather glove for months, and when I took it off she was OK.

I never knew why that happened.

Chrissie is long gone; her sister, Crustal, over three years old, is just fine.

[ratbrat21]

thanks! I always loved it when nala would bring the pups to me. She wasnt the nicest gerbil. She loved to nip me, but it was more of love nips. And only a couple times she sunk her teeth in me, 1 time was when she was in my pocket and i guess she didnt like that. And i dont remember the other time lol. Poor little cujo doesnt know whether to trust me or not. He kinda starts to jump out on my hand then he goes back like he forgot hes suppose to stay in the cage or something lol.

Joelle

[Jiffykat]

Sounds like he is starting to come around.

[ratbrat21]

yeah cujo is coming around. Hes so funny he cracks me up all the time. He runs up to me like hes all excited then he acts like he wants to come out then has this weird look on his face like hes saying, oh yeah i forgot im scared of you lol! He actually came up to my hand today and licked me, i was shocked but he still wont come out on my hand but he might soon!

Joelle