Ask The Gerbils

Dear Herman,

I got a new gerbil yesterday. . . When I brought her home to her new cage I let her do her share of exploring and I just sat back and watched without interfering so she could get used to her habitat, but I noticed she was having troubles learning to climb up some of the steep tunnels in her cage and this seemed understandable because she had no tunnels in her cage at the pet shop so I figured she would learn on her own.

She learned how to climb up one of the tunnels but was afraid to come back down so I opened the cage and gently gave her a little “tap” down the tunnel and she was going up and down gladly after that. The other steep tunnel I had to help her get up to leads to a running wheel, which she seemed very happy to find. . . She has now learned how to get down but often stays up there for hours until I get her down myself. I have noticed that she just lays on her stomach when she is up there to leave her territorial scent, but she does not come down though she knows how.

Also she runs away from me when I try to catch her and I have not yet seen her drink from either of her water bottles. Is it something that I am doing wrong or does she just need more time to adjust?

From,
-S.


Dear S.,

Thanks for writing, and congrats on your new gerbil!

If she knows how to get down, she's probably staying up there because she likes it there. In fact, if it's an area that is hard for you to get to, she may have decided that it's a nice, safe place to rest. Is she using that area to sleep?

As she gets older, she'll probably start chewing on things more. Make sure that she doesn't start chewing through the plastic tubes in her habitat. If she does, you'll need to move her into something escape-proof, such as a glass tank with a screen lid. (It's easier to tame gerbils in a glass tank, too, because we can't run up a tube every time you put your hand in the tank. We get used to your hands quicker that way.)

We gerbils don't drink very much water, so your gerbil is probably drinking from her water bottle when you aren't looking. Does it look like some of the water has disappeared?

If you think that she doesn't know how to use the water bottle, try to tap the end of the water bottle when your gerbil is nearby. Then hold your finger close to her nose so that she can see that you have a little drop of water on your finger... Then slowly move your finger back toward the water bottle and tap the end of it again. You can also rub a little bit of water on the side of the habitat, right under and next to the water bottle. This should help your gerbil explore the area, looking for more water. She should figure out how to use the water bottle pretty quickly.

Good luck! I hope that you and your new gerbil have lots of fun together! Tell her hi for me!

Your pal,
Herman