gerbil brothers

Question
Hello, I just got two 4 month old gerbils last week.  I have heard a lot of good things about them.  However, it seems that they are way too hyper.  Will they calm down at all.  I have been introducing my hand calmly in the cage daily.  Yesterday i let them play in the bath tub on a towel and they never stopped running around going crazy trying to escape.  Help!

Answer
Hi Tara

some gerbils are incredibly hyper - I understand totally what you mean as I've been in this situation too.  Some gerbils never totally calm down, in that they are much faster than hamsters (my speciality).  The only way you will make a difference is to keep on handling them.  They like routine and regular contact.  If you don't handle them for a few days, they will forget and be hyper again.

I'm afraid there is no quick and easy solution - try and handle them as often as possible.  Every time you see them out and about, talk to them so they recognize your voice.  This will be reassuring to them, and when you handle them they will start to recognize you.  I like to hand my gerbil treats - this helps tame him so that he will approach me when I go near the cage.

Are you giving them loads of cardboard to shred?  If not, I recommend you do - this helps them burn up energy - I get all my friends and work colleagues to save their toilet roll tubes for my gerbil and he can get through one in about 5 minutes!  He then turns the shredded cardboard into bedding and has fun burrowing.  Gerbils aren't like hamsters who sleep all day and come out at night - they have short bursts of energy, therefore I've found that if you occupy their attention (with shredding cardboard) so they don't get bored, this helps burn up some of the energy.

Good luck with this - I hope you get on OK and have fun with them.

Regards