In November of 2008, I was contacted by a lady who had a lone male Gerbil who was around one year old. He was a pet for her son, who unfortunately wasn’t very nice to him. This resulted in the Gerbil being very aggressive and the lady felt they couldn’t keep him any longer.
With us being in Scotland and the lady much further down south, we had to organise transport to get this little lad to us. With the help of a few kind volunteers, the gorgeous Damien, who was a lovely Silver Nutmeg colour made his way to Indy’s Rascals in the December. He had a couple of stopovers to break up the long journey and I’m always thankful to the people who helped get him to us.
A tall wire cage had been Damien’s home, with no toys or other stimulation. Thankfully one of the kind volunteers had popped some old hamster toys they had lying around in so he had something to do until he got here. He had part of his forepaw and hindpaws missing and it broke my heart to see his little stumps falling through the wire floor. I instantly moved him into a storage tub I had converted into a tank and gave him fresh food and water and some toys to hide in. I filled the tub with substrate to make him feel more secure as his eyes were staring and he looked very on edge.
After letting him settle in for a couple of days, I went to give him some more food. I let him sniff the back of my hand and he lunged at me. I had what seemed like a mini pitbull latched onto me and he didn’t want to let go. He tried this with the slightest movement in his tank and would often fly up to the surface in full attack mode. From that moment on I was very careful when I went near him. My best friends were two gardening gloves which helped with his taming! I knew I had a tough job ahead of me and was looking for a suitable name for him. That’s when I came across “Damien” and at the time i thought it ironic as the meaning is “to tame”.
I slowly began to built up trust with Damien. I did exactly as my step by step guide on “Gerbils who bite” details and although it was a lengthy process, my patience and hard work did pay off.
I realied that a lot of Damiens problems were due to insecurity, so I decided to introduce him to a friend. A Light Colourpoint Agouti called Angelo who was 6 months old at the time and also on his own. The split went well and the two boys got on well together.
Seven months after Damien came to us, I was able to stroke him, and do anything in or around his tank without fear of being bitten. The change in him was remarkable. I never expected him to make such a turnaround and was so proud of him. A few months later, I was able to pick him up with no problems at all and in the end he turned out to be one of the most tame Gerbils I have ever had.
Unfortunately, after two years of being together, something upset the bond between Damien and Angelo and they had a large fight and had to be separated. I managed to pair Angelo up with a young male I had who was on his own, and Damien was introduced to two young male pups who were around 10 weeks old at the time. They got on well and there were no problems.
Unfortunately, a number of weeks later, I felt a hardening on Damiens scent gland. My worry that it was the beginning of a Scent Gland Tumour were confirmed by the vet and Damien had to undergo surgery to remove it. He was so good for the vet and never attempted to bite even throughout the pre-operation check. We got him home safely and he continued to enjoy his life with his two friends, Ludo and Chess.
A few months later, I went to feed the boys. Damien wasnt in his normal spot waiting for me and his treats. I searched through the substrate and with great sadness I discovered his little body. He had passed away in the night. He was around 3 1/2 years old.
Damien will always be special to me. I learned so much through all my experiences with him and I really did love him dearly. He is very sorely missed, but I hope w ith sharing his story it can help people understand that if a Gerbil has behaviour problems, even as severe as Damien’s then they can be worked on and have a fantastic outcome for all involved.
Sleep tight little man. You will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for trusting me and allowing me to learn so much. xx
Nicki, thank you for taking this little fellow on and giving him the enrichment and encouragement he needed to come out of his shell. All pets should be so lucky.