r/gerbil

trying to tie their new hanging toys to the lid and he’s over there trying to escape lol

She and her sister have almost no hair on their noses and I genuinely have no idea what is going on? Is it an environmental thing or is this something for a vets office to answer?

My new pair is adjusting nicely and taming is also going okay, just slower than I'm used to. They're my first pair that isn't food motivated at all. No seeds, fruits, veggies, mealworms or anything I've tried catches their attention. They will grab treats sometimes if I leave it in the enclosure, which I originally didn't do to keep it a "reward" only but I wanted to see if they even liked it. But even then they don't treat it differently than their regular food. It's the same food mix I've been using for all of my gerbils so I don't think it's related but I'm always open to being wrong. There's no treats in their base food.

I know it's not a "must" to have high value treats but it feels like it could make it easier to tame them and also help during weigh ins and potentially future vet visits.

Are there any other food options that could work for them?

Any tips that could make them more food motivated?

Or just general tips to help tame/reward them more easily besides food?

Additional info, they're around 6 months old and I've had them for 1.5 months. They live in a 120x60x60 glass terrarium filled to the brim with bedding. They're active and seem to eat and drink well! I haven't been able to weigh them yet but from what I can tell they're a healthy weight.

Any advice is appreciated!

Just their sandbath, which turned into bedding bath (I had cleaned it all up yesterday 🥲)