Gerbils...pointing out the obvious

[elevatethis]

So I'm over at a friends house this weekend, and she has a pet gerbil. I joke with her saying my pet would win a fight with her pet....then mine would eat hers to boot. I then proceeded to attempt to handle the gerbil and found out why it would be incredibly stupid for anyone to attempt to feed a live gerbil to their bp.

I put my hand in the cage. The gerbil came up to my finger, and starts biting it. I retracted my hand, and the thing came after me. It then bit my wrist, and drew a little bit of blood.

Appearantly they just walk up to things, and bite them just to check them out. I could imagine it doing that to my snake's back or neck.

Just giving a heads up, and be careful if you ever are forced to offer a gerbil to a stubborn eater.

[Wizill]

I then proceeded to attempt to handle the gerbil and found out why it would be incredibly stupid for anyone to attempt to feed a live gerbil to their bp.

i appreciate your concern but don't tell people that what they do is 'incredibly' stupid'. i know a lot of people that feed live gerbils, me being one of them. if you've ever had a snake that wouldn't eat then you'd know how big of a relief it is to see it eat. and if a live gerbil is what it wants, and won't eat anything else, then i see no problems with it as long as it closely suprevised.

[iceman25]

LOL! Gerbils will bite if they smell food on ur hands, feel threatened, or do not have something to bite on to keep their teeth from growing onto the floor! A happy gerbil is a friendly Gerbil I say :wink: I know so, cause I have one for a pet.

[Ironhead]

I joke with her saying my pet would win a fight with her pet....then mine would eat hers to boot.

I think the gerbil understood what you said about it and it was showing you what it thought. :lol:

[The_Godfather]

I feed gerbils to Monty exclusively, and to Goldy when she is being stupid and not eating (killed). Monty will eat nothing but gerbils.

And yes, I've seen them nibble on Monty. However, it is just that, I always check and they never even scratched him. They only bite to break skin when pissed. And typically, after the first nibble, Monty gets pissed off and gives them a big hug to show them what's up. I know it sounds awful... But like will said, when you have a ball python that has been fasting for 6+ months it doesn't really matter, but it's a big sigh of relief to see them eating again.

[Marla]

I then proceeded to attempt to handle the gerbil and found out why it would be incredibly stupid for anyone to attempt to feed a live gerbil to their bp.

i appreciate your concern but don't tell people that what they do is 'incredibly' stupid'.

A mighty strange thing to see coming from someone who has recently been criticizing others' actions as 'stupid' and 'retarded'. Fair is fair. I agree that feeding live, unstunned gerbils is stupid. Incredibly stupid, I don't know, but stupid, sure. But sometimes we do stupid things because they seem like the best option at the time, and each of us, as keepers, has to make our own decisions. The rest of us are here to offer information, support, socializing, and ideas about alternatives (which, hopefully, makes us less likely to try something stupid the next time we have the opportunity).

[elevatethis]

Haha it looks like my choice of words has heated up the thread a little bit...all I was trying to say was to use caution, that biting things is in the nature of gerbils when they interact with their surroundings. I'm slowly learning how to "speak" on boards, so many different people from different backgrounds, people interpret the same phrase in two totally different ways. I didn't mean to put down anyone who has had to offer a live gerbil.

[First_time_herp]

it looks like my choice of words has heated up the thread a little bit

Seems like thats been happening alot latly. Misunderstandings and such.

[steelsack]

Ever notice how threads get more aggressive on hot days? LOL, look at trouble nations that have unrest and fighting all the time......they're just too damn hot :wink:

[The_Godfather]

Godfather gets the final word before this thread gets locked. I know this is a fight waiting to happen.

First of all: Gerbils are vicous beasts. Not something you want to feed live without just cause. They're probly 10 times as vicous as rats, and could be fatal if not watched. Yeah, it is stupid if you're doing it just for fun.

But then again, as with Will and I, when you have a ball python who has gone anorexic for months on end, refuses everything, feeding a live gerbil is worth it. There is always the risk there. But it's far better to feed live gerbils then to watch your snake lose weight and wither away while you're pulling your hair out. Put in the same position you'd do the same. Hell, Will only started on gerbils after I recommended them. Standing from the side lines and saying "Man, gerbils are vicous and you'd have to be stupid to feed them to your python" is fine. But once you've experienced a fasting bp and you find that one miracle, in this case a gerbil, you change your perspective. Before this happened to me, or Will probly, we probly would be singing the same tune.

Then again... nobody is hoping on the hordes of people on these forums who feed live without a justified reason for doing so.