Gerbils are well known for their social nature, and that is why they are often kept as pets. Then what happens when your gerbil bites you while petting it?

Does it mean that it wants nothing to do with you? Read along to understand why your gerbil bites and what to do about it.

Five major reasons gerbil bites.

1) It does not want to be petted.

Often, humans are over-excited when they get pets and in hand, they over pet them. As a way to show that they do not want, gerbils bite when they feel like they are being petted too much.

The big question then remains, how will you know if your gerbil does not want to be petted?

Gerbils when enjoying being petted, they normally vibrate to show excitement. If your gerbil does not vibrate, then it is not enjoying the petting and therefore biting is about to happen to you.

2) It is defending itself.

When a gerbil senses danger; it becomes afraid and threatened and it therefore bites as a way to defend itself.

3) There is too much noise.

Gerbils dislike loud noises and that is why when you are petting them, it is advisable not to make noises like screams as it will think there is danger and bite.

Children are most likely to be bitten because overexcitement makes them make noise while petting the gerbil. If you are looking for a children friendly pet, then gerbils are not it for 5 year olds and below.

4) You are a stranger.

Gerbils are smart; they know their owners. When an unknown person tries to handle the gerbil, it may think that it is being attacked and will react by biting.

5) You handled the gerbil badly.

If a gerbil is grabbed by force, it will resort to biting the one grabbing it as it thinks it is being attacked.

From all the reasons above, it is evident that gerbils bite as a form of self-defense. Knowing how gerbils should be handled will reduce the chances of cases of bites for you. 

Is the bite of a gerbil painful?

Gerbil’s teeth are sharp and often, the bite from it can be extremely painful and lead to bleeding. The sharper the teeth, the more painful the bite from your gerbil will be. 

The intensity of the situation causing the gerbil to bite can also affect how sharp it will bite. For instance, if your gerbil senses danger extremely or are irritated extremely, then be assured of a painful bite. 

Did you know that a gerbils tooth can grow up to an eighth of an inch. 

Does the bite of a gerbil carry any transmittable diseases?

The bite of a gerbil can carry diseases, especially if its mouth has bacteria. The bacteria from its mouth can infect the wound. 

How to care for your wound when bitten by your gerbil.

If your gerbil bites you, the first action you should do is flood the wounded area with running water. This is to wash away the bacteria and prevent them from moving deeper into the skin.

Once you are done washing the wound, cover it with a cloth to prevent further bacteria from infecting the wound. 

If symptoms persist, seek medical advice. 

If your gerbil bites you, be on the lookout for signs of swelling around the infected area, pus oozing out from the wound, or redness around the wound, as that would mean that your wound is infected by the bacteria that were on your gerbil’s mouth. 

How to prevent your gerbil from biting. 

To prevent gerbils from biting, you need to know what causes it to bite. Now that we already know what causes it, we need to work on how to prevent it. 

You should do the following to prevent your gerbil from biting:

• Socialize with your gerbil- love on, care for, feed and spend time with your gerbil to familiarize yourself to it and it to you so that you are not a stranger to it. 
• Reduce noises when handling your gerbil- Gerbils don’t like noise as they think they are being attacked hence threatened. Avoiding loud noises like shouts and screams when handling your gerbil will prevent it from biting you.
• Don’t irritate your gerbil- Understand your gerbil’s body language so as to act accordingly, not to irritate. For instance, knowing at what point you have over petted it and such. 
• Handle your gerbil with care- Don’t grab your gerbil, just pick it up slowly as though you are scooping it. 
• Take your gerbil to the vet- You can opt to take your gerbil to the vet to trim their teeth and for overall checkups often because the biting may be a response to an internal irritation.

Note : If your gerbil is becoming too much to handle as concerns biting, put on protective clothing such as gloves. 

Other Questions

Do gerbils carry diseases?

Gerbils, just like other animals, can be infected by diseases such as digestive diseases like diarrhea, skin problems like patches on fur or hair loss, muscle problems because of injury, and other internal organ diseases. Not all the diseases they may have are transmittable to humans, but some are, so yes! They are carriers of diseases. 

Some of two common gerbil’s diseases that can be carried to human beings are: 

• Leptospirosis- This is transferred from sand from the farm to the gerbil’s cage. It is transferable to humans when they are changing the sand of the cage. 
• Salmonellosis- This is a digestive infection and is transferred when the contaminated stool of the gerbils touches food or you when handling. 

 Ensure that you wash your hands before and after handling anything related to your gerbil and keep your gerbil away from food to be consumed by humans. 

Do gerbils like to be petted?

Gerbils are social and they like to be petted however petting them has to be done with caution lest they think you want to harm them and end up biting you. 

Top three tips when petting your gerbil.

Wash your hands well before petting- This is to prevent diseases to and from your gerbil. Also, when your hands smell like something tantalizing, the gerbil may end up biting you. 

Spend time with your gerbil daily- This is to avoid it thinking that you are a stranger that wants to harm them.

Remove slowly from the cage- When you grab your gerbil or don’t handle it with care, it may think that you want to harm it. Pet it from the cage before picking it up.

Keep an eye for the vibrating or lack thereof, as mentioned earlier as a sign that your gerbil wants or does not want to be petted.  

How smart are gerbils?

Gerbils are ranked among one of the smartest and intelligent rodents. I know you are wondering, why both smart and intelligent? Smart is often used to refer to something learned, while intelligent is used to refer to when it is inborn. That is true with gerbils, some are smart, some are intelligent and some are both. 

Gerbils are easy to train as they take a few trials to learn something new. They have a sharp memory and therefore; they remember things quickly. 

In a case where they are faced with danger, gerbils know how to distinguish danger from non-danger and they act swiftly accordingly. What makes it smarter is that they can distinguish danger from not only fellow animate objects but also inanimate ones. 

They are also socially intelligent as they easily interact with human beings. 

It is important to note that different gerbils are different and therefore some may not be as intelligent and others. Take time to learn your pet and be patient when training them.