How to Hold A Gerbil

Gerbils are very easy to hold as pocket pets go – just imagine that they don’t have a long tail.

Just as with all animals with tails – you should never use this to pick up your pet – but seeing as they can be quite fast little things – people are often tempted to grab it.

However, gerbils tails are very delicate and are liable to fall off if they are pulled.  Yes, you can pull your gerbils tail completely off!

Sometimes the whole thing breaks off – sometimes just half comes loose in your fingers.  Sometimes the skin completely comes off – like a tiny glove leaving the flesh and bones exposed and if you are REALLY lucky – you might only break your gerbils tail.

So, just before you consider picking up your gerbil by their tail – imagine how much any of those options would hurt them.  

Then hopefully you won’t do it.

Gerbils Don’t Bite – Don’t be Scared
Gerbils are really friendly little critters and don’t really bite people – however, most people are blighted by the memory of a hamster biting them when they are holding it – and so people are a bit wary of gerbils.

For no good reason it turns out gerbils are just different.

Gerbils don’t all willingly jump into your arms – unless you have a really tame or naturally friendly one – but when you do catch them and hold them in your hands – they are super nice.

Like I said – gerbils rarely ever bite.

If you assume that they ARE NOT going to bite you then you will be much more confident in picking them up and holding them correctly – rather than thinking that holding the tail is the only option.

They also don’t kick or scratch you like other pets like rabbits might do either – they really are quite harmless.

The 5 main ways to hold a gerbil:
Depending on the gerbils age, its character, your location and your own abilities, there are several options for holding gerbils, and you can move between them easily depending on where you are and who THEY are.

1 – The ‘In A Pot’ Method.  This really is what it sounds like.  If you are unsure about the character of the gerbil, are worried about getting bitten or are dealing with young pups – this is the only recommended way to safely hold your gerbil.

It is also a method that allows the gerbil to keep all 4 feet on the ground to help relax them – perfect for these types of gerbils.

Let your gerbil wander into the pot of their own accord while they are still in their own tank, and once inside, cap the top off with your own hand or another flat surface like a book, and then carry the gerbil like this over to the place you want to play with them – ideally somewhere on or very close to the floor (incase they jump).  

Only play with these types of gerbils in a secure location with a solid boundary – as if they do run off – you need to be able to catch them again in the pot to get them back in their tank.

2 – The Double Hand Cup.  For a human version of the above, use both your hands to cup around your gerbil and carry them to somewhere safe.  

This isn’t always easy to maintain for long as your fingers have gaps all over the place, but it is always recommended for a pup that could suddenly jump if you don’t have a pot to use.

3 – The Semi-Secure Hold.  This is a way to hold your gerbil where you are cupping your hand around your gerbils’ waist and holding it more like it is standing on its back feet like a tiny human.

This hold is similar to if you were holding a pole, where your hand as it would be if it was curved around a tiny cup.  The gerbil looks like it is sitting in that tiny cup with their head and front feet sticking out the top, and their little toes and tail hanging out the bottom.

You can only really see and stroke your gerbils head like this, not so fun for them or you, but at least they can’t accidentally fall while you are moving them from one place to another.

4 – The Secure Hold.  This is a way to hold your gerbil where you need to make sure it can’t leap away – but also the perfect hold to give your gerbil a health check.

This hold is where you are cupping your fingers around your gerbils’ shoulders and body and sort of holding them on their back.  They are slightly upright like they are on a teeny reclining seat with their front paws sticking out front.

Imagine this just like you are holding your mobile phone – your fingers are stretched out from your gerbils shoulders to their rump and your thumb (and thumb pad) is on the opposite side holding them in place – very securely – but not squished of course.

This version is best for examining your gerbil safely and quickly, for example when you are sexing it and checking their teeth, etc.  You are basically holding the gerbil totally still for this one and so you don’t want to do it for long or over a great distance.

5 – The Confident Hold.  Once you are confident that your gerbil either can’t or won’t hurt themselves – you can go for the flat hand hold.

This allows your gerbil to wander about your hands and arms willy nilly.  At full human height you would only use this with sensible well-known adult gerbils in your own home, but while sitting on the sofa or in the bathtub or at ground level – this can be used for all gerbils (as if they jump – it won’t be far to fall).  

It is a great way to gain confidence with your gerbils as you aren’t having to grab them at all or chase them around – and they can get off at any point.  This hold can also be done totally in the safety of their own tank as well – with your arm hung on in from the side.

Once they gain confidence in your hands and smell and the feeling of floating on your hands, you can progress on with taming and befriending your gerbils.

Once you are Holding Your Gerbil:
Generally, thought once you have your gerbil in your hands with the confident hold – they will not leave the safety of your body.  

They will certainly be their usual nosy selves and have a good look around, crawling up your arms or body if they can, and even onto your shoulders and into your hoods where available.

Gerbil are not generally in the habit of jumping off you – and so you can have much more confidence when handling them than you can with other small animals.  This allows you to have them moving around a bit without you having to hold them securely all the time.

However, if they are pups: pups popcorn!

Never trust a gerbil pup.

Gerbil pups can jump at any time and in any direction and from any height.  And they can do it without warning and can leap really far for their size.  

It is a huge risk to use the confident hold to transport a baby gerbil around at full height.  

They have no sense of height or safety for themselves – they just have a ‘scared’ or ‘not scared’ response to new things.  Therefore you should never hold a baby gerbil loosely on your hand more than 5 inches above a soft surface.

If you don’t want to view them in their own tank for whatever reason, ideally you would use the ‘pick up in a pot’ method to move the pup from the home tank to the area you want to view them in, that way, they will not be at risk of injury or death from falling or hitting a hard surface as you walk across the room.  

Believe me – you can’t always see it coming when they pop!