Taming a Gerbil

[Hellow]

Does anyone have any advice on taming a 2 year old grumpy, lonely gerbile? :confused:

[Chilli]

How is s/he like around people? Does s/he act aggressive or just submissive?
Usually, to tame most any smaller rodent, just daily handling gets them to warm up to you. Thats how I've taught older mice & rats to become more tame.
If s/he's aggressive, then I usually try to bribe them with treats. =] Yogies worked well when taming some of my rats. Usually animals associate food with trust, therefore, if you have food, they learn to trust you.

If you need further explanation or have any more questions, feel free to ask!

[IRescue452]

Chilli said it right, that's about all you can do. Gerbils are not overly friendly rodents to begin with, so you might be out of luck ever taming an older unfriendly gerbil.

[sweetpatata6]

I use Nutra Puffs, which got my gerbil acclimated to me, she would have to come and get it from my hand. I also taught her the difference between the red and blue puff ((diffrent flavors to her)) and I would set out two of my fingers and say "Valintine! Red ((and wiggle one of my fingers)) or Blue ((and wiggle the other finger))" And she would put her nose to the one she wants. Then I take a random handful of the treats and say "Valintine pick the ((red or blue one depending on what she chose))" and she'll come up and pick that color from my hand. She can also "give kisses".

[Miss Z]

I've always found that with taming any rodent, using the back of your hand with your fingers closed is the best start. Offering them a hand in this position makes them feel safer, as if they jump on it you cannot suddenly grasp them and hoist them away. They'll get used to your scent and the presence of your hand in the cage. In time, you will be able to turn your hand over and practice lifting them a little off the ground.

Rodents are also naturally inquisitive, so I suppose basically, make being with you interesting! The obvious thing to use is treats, but you can experiment a little with things to chew and maybe even toys. The day that you have a pet that actually wants to come out to see you rather than you having to disturb it is the day it's truly tamed. ;)