Gerbil Hand Taming

In order to hand tame your gerbil they must feel that their bond with you is strong, usually a gerbil will not want to be picked up by a complete stranger, this can cause them to panic and try to get away. Before you attempt to pickup your pet gerbil you should first observe how they act with each other, watch closely how they play, groom and cuddle each other, you should behave in a similar fashion. While it’s obvious you cannot behave exactly like a gerbil, you can mimic a lot of their actions like petting, playing & eating.

A great way to start to tame your gerbil is to take advantage of its natural curiosity. As they approach you, pet them behind their ears and on their cheeks, just as they would do to each other, notice that gerbils enjoy being petted and they will start to trust you more.

To get your pet gerbil used to your hands inside their cage you can start by feeding them treats from your hand. Place a food treat in your hand and hold it in the cage and wait for them to take it. Do not chase them around the cage with the treat just hold it in your hand and keep still, they will soon come and collect it and start to associate your hand in the cage with getting a treat or play time.

You should always tame your gerbil inside their cage with your hand before you attempt to hold them outside of their cages. Once they are happy to go on your hand and eat from your hand inside their cage you are ready to move onto taming them outside of the cage with your hands.