Tips to prevent a gerbil from biting will come in handy if you’re a gerbil owner. You can keep a gerbil from biting you by keeping it happy, free of stress, and healthy. You can never be sure that they’ll not bite you.
Also, using the following tips and techniques, you can reduce your risk of getting bit by a gerbil.
How to Prevent a Gerbil From Biting
1. Change the Way You Pick Them Up
You can easily pick up your gerbil by reaching into the cage from above. This is similar to the incorrect way a claw picks up a toy in a claw machine.
Your gerbil will feel like a bird of prey when you do this. Eagles and other raptors hunt on wild gerbils.
Thus, they naturally respond negatively when picked up this way. Hold your palm flat in the cage so that it can climb on there instead of doing so. Alternately, grab it with one hand on each side and with both.
Also, you want to warn your gerbil before picking it up. It will become frightening if you sit calmly before grabbing it up fast.
So, walk up to your gerbil and move slowly with your hands. After that, grip your gerbil firmly but not too tightly.
2. Don’t Touch Them When They Bite You
The best thing you can do if your gerbil bites you is to calmly and quickly put them down. This action enables them to release your grip and assists in their rapid de-escalation.
You risk scaring your gerbil and getting bitten again if you move quickly or react unexpectedly. Placing your gerbil to relax in its secure tank after a bite is often a good idea.
When upset, most gerbils bite, so giving them some alone time will enable them to behave better when you handle them again later.
3. Gently Push Their Nose
Take a finger and press it against your gerbil’s nose the next time it bites you. Be gentle; don’t act as if you’re pushing it away. Just give it a little poke.
You shouldn’t, for instance, punch it forcefully or flick its nose. Push forward while placing your finger next to its nose to release its bite. Your gerbil won’t enjoy it because it’s also a little irritating to it.
Gerbils dislike this since it is their typical behavior. The second gerbil may gently touch the first on the nose if it acts in a way the first doesn’t like.
4. Don’t Act Up when Bitten
Don’t be concerned if your gerbil stops nipping but still bites once in a while. You can also prevent regular and more forceful biting.
The secret is to keep your reaction under check. It’s normal to feel stunned after being bitten. To avoid additional harm, your body tells you to avoid the “danger.” So, after being bitten, you might:
- Yell out in a fury or raise your voice loudly.
- Pull your hand swiftly away as you cringe.
- Due to the pain of being bit, jump.
Each of these simply increases the likelihood that your gerbil will bite again. For instance, raising your voice conveys a threat. Gerbils are among the creatures that generate loud noises to intimidate other animals.
Your gerbil believes you are acting in such a manner. This also holds for flinching.
If he weren’t already on edge, your gerbil wouldn’t have bitten you. He then notices your rapid arm movement. He might believe you’re going to strike.
So, manage this response. You should maintain as much composure and stillness as possible when your gerbil bites you.
Avoid shouting, yelling, and backing away. Additionally, this will demonstrate to your gerbil that the bites are not painful. So, going forward, it won’t bite as much to defend itself.
5. Make Slow Movements Without Disturbing the Gerbil
Gerbils have lasted for a long time because of their caution and ability to avoid danger. Even in the comfort of your own house, where you are the only living thing in the area, abrupt movements can stress or startle your gerbil, causing it to bite you in revenge.
You can easily scare your gerbil and get them to bite you by reaching for them suddenly, especially just after they’ve woken up. Remember to avoid chasing your gerbil around the tank if they actively avoid you when you put your hand in their tank.
6. Gently Blow Gerbil’s Face
Immediate corrective behavior differs from punishment in that it is tied to what your gerbil is doing incorrectly. There are two different types of corrective conduct you should try to use.
Gerbils don’t enjoy having air blown at them, so you can softly blow into their faces. Blow a soft puff of air into your gerbil’s face as soon as it bites you.
This will prevent your gerbil from biting in the near run, even if it might quiver somewhat in response. If you respond to it every time it bites, it will eventually learn to equate biting with this activity.
Conclusion
Don’t worry if your gerbil is biting you right now. There is a reasonable probability that you can use a solution to stop the behavior and find an explanation for why it occurs.
If your gerbil has a history of misbehavior or if you recently acquired your gerbil, it can take some time before you see any changes. But following these tips is crucial to prevent a gerbil from biting.
