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Do not pick up your gerbil by his tail. Refrain from picking up your gerbil from above. Avoid placing your gerbil on his back. Do not punish your gerbil.
This cannot be emphasized enough! Gerbils have very thin skin on their tails. If you try to lift him up by his tail, the skin would slip off of his tail, exposing the bones. If the skin comes off, your veterinarian would need to amputate that portion of the tail. Otherwise, the damaged portion of the tail would slough off. The portion of the tail that you grab may actually break off as a defense mechanism. In the wild, this allows gerbils to slip away from predators that grab them by the tail. Unfortunately, your gerbil’s tail will not regrow once broken off. In the wild, a predator bird will swoop down from overhead and scoop up a gerbil with its claws. If you reach down and wrap your hand around your gerbil, he will probably think you’re a predator. To avoid being seen as the bad guy, scoop him up from underneath, rather than grabbing him from above. When you have picked up your gerbil, do not try to lay him on his back in your hand. In the wild, gerbils typically do not lie down with their bellies in the air. If you try to put your gerbil in this position, it will feel very uncomfortable to him. He may struggle so much to get out of the position that he injures himself. If your gerbil starts to nibble at your hand or looks like he wants to jump, do not punish him by yelling at him or flicking his nose. Punishing him will serve only to make your gerbil fearful of you, which would weaken your bond with him. Instead, give him a gentle puff of air.