Hi all!

Our daughter is thinking about Gerbils.

I looked some Web pages up and there's also a Gerbil forum, but I have now only one quick question about handling them.

Do they like to jump off someone's hands and are they difficult to catch then?

I remember when I had Moorish geckos and Acanthodactylus desert lizards it was always a pain to catch them as they were incredibly fast and clever. You could only catch them by building sort of a trap. Mostly, I left some cloth in the middle of the room, put some transparent plastic tanks in the near and drove them with a stick out of their hide in direction of the cloth.

Is this the same with Gerbils?

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0.0.1 Agrionemys horsfieldii kazakhstanica

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Winston Churchill

the ones i breed have always been really hand happy.. when they are young they are quick yes, but as long as you are steady and calm, they are not bad at all.. you do need to keep an eye on them of course though.. picking them up, if you grab them round the middle from above, they think you are a hawk having them for dinner, so may panic yes.. a gentle lift by the tail is what i use, it worries them far less... most of mine, when i lift the lid, will come out to see me, and if i lay a hand in the tank, many will just come and sit on my hand, run off and on it, run up my arm to explore.. great little guys gerbils are, my first ever pet when i was 5 was a gerbil.. some 28 years ago now!

top tip.. handle them in the bath (empty of water!!) they can't get up the sides if the chain is not in, and you can wash off the inevitable poo and wee they will leave you !! if they jump off you, they can't go far either..

bathrooms, ones with no holes, are good places i have found, for handling small things.. they tend to have less junk in them, are relatively small enclosed areas and often have wipeable floors..

some youngsters.. as you can see i was holding them in one hand, and working the camera with the other hand, so you can see they can be quite ok in hand..















N

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ive heard that rats dont have control over there "calls of nature" but is it the same for gerbils and any other rodent for that matter?

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MSN - nuttybulldog19@msn.com - if you want to add me you can but be warned...i will talk complete and utter random rubbish most of the time.

pretty much yes, some rodents can be semi litter trained in the cage, and most have a favourite poo corner, but when out and about it seems to not count, they will go where they stand, and the conecpt of "holding it" does not seem to occur to them!

you get used to it i have to say, part of keeping them, constantly being poo'd on..

N

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im still umming and ahing on where to go down the rodent route. ive been bitten by cute little furry things before and it bloody hurts

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I DONT REMEMBER ASKING YOU A GOD DAMN THING!!!!

MSN - nuttybulldog19@msn.com - if you want to add me you can but be warned...i will talk complete and utter random rubbish most of the time.

too true, i got choppised by a mouse this weekend on the finger and its still sore now.

not ever been tagged by one of my gerbils tho.. i have nice animals

N

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i shall remember that if i do get into rodents then.

__________________
I DONT REMEMBER ASKING YOU A GOD DAMN THING!!!!

MSN - nuttybulldog19@msn.com - if you want to add me you can but be warned...i will talk complete and utter random rubbish most of the time.