To want them to die?

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Stupidly and in a moment of weakness, I gave in to dd's requests and got her a pair of gerbils. they are horrid fuckers. Cute to look at but both me and her are scared of them and the only person willing to handle them is dh. They only need cleaning once a fortnight and so that's the only time they leave their cage. I do feel sorry for them, no handling means they are probably scared of us. so, is it unreasonable to either want them to die or try to rehome them given their lack of human contact. i suppose that they are lucky inasmuch as they have each other, but.
I have made a mental promise that she is never having any more pets after the debacle with the stick insects.

tell us of the stick insect debacle

though i agree gerbils aren't the nicest of creatures

lol
i got some once and dad got rid of them when i got bored of em.
mine were called sniffles and snuffles

rehome them

bad karma man htough

you do realise the gerbil protection league will be on here wanting you to die

Oh no. YAB a bit U I'm afraid, wanting them to die, but rehoming might be a good idea.
Gerbils ARE horrible though, yuck.

Mine were called Gerry and Billy (geddit??)

They were quite difficult to love.

I think our cat done one of them in.

rehome them and let them have a lovely new owner

I felt exactly the same about the two goldfish that DH begged me to let him have. Oh yes thought I, thinking the buggers only live for about 6 months. 9 fecking years!!! We've only just flushed buried the last one. Thank God. Pointless little bleeders.

Poor little fuckers. Re-home them with someone who'll look after them properly and let them out of the cage more than once a fortnight.

YABU.

YANBU, pets always seem such a good idea at the time dont they? Bought my DS a hamster for his birthday this year and the novelty very soon wore off.
I end up cleaning it out every week and letting it out, other wise DS forgets about the poor little thing.
have to admit though I've become quite attached to the little fella
I would just rehome them if I were you.

50/50 split it seems. I will try to rehome them but fear their lack of handling will make them unsuitable as pets. I may ask at her school if they want them as classsroom pets, but then the handling issue will raise its head. Possibly I'll try to track down a gerbil rescue where people who ren't scaredycats with more experience will know what to do.

petsrus shop rehome animals...they may be ok with someone who is very gentle and patient and gets them used to being handled?

Our hamster was taken back to the shop because it bit the owner.
We had the hamster and she has never biten any of us and has settled in really well. Let them hae a chance of anohter home, it maybe someone older that takes them (my collegue at work is well over 60 and has lots of rabbits and gp she loves them)

Gerbils are gorgeous! OK, they breed like rabbits, but and at wanting them to die, poor things!

I'm with you on stick insects though

Oh no don't wish ANYTHING dead!Find someone to take them they are sweet

Ivykaty our closest petsrus is a long way away, we live in central switzerland.
Skip - ours can't breed they are boys (although there was a couple of hours of panic when nobbles was mounting nibbles).
I'll put a sign up at school this afternoon, I do feel bad about it, not to mention stupid.

My Mum bought us 2 male gerbils when I was 10, only it turned out they weren't both male......you can guess the rest.

YABU wanting them to die, poor things. Find a new home for them.

I would rehome them if i was you, we had to do this with our G-Pigs, dd1 wouldn't touch them, the dog wanted to eat them and the poor things never got handled . They went to a great home and now get handled every day.

They can be tamed but it takes a lot of dedicated handling. My sister used to rescue small rodents that people didn't want and rehome them. Lots of people get themselves into the situation you're in it would seem - especially with gerbils! They're just not that fluffy and the tails seem to put people off.

She used to handle them with woollen gloves to start with and then go down to cotton ones and eventually bare skin but she rarely got bitten actually.

YAB a bit U wanting them to die, but I hate them too so I can see where you're coming from. Someone will want to love them (just not me!).

I think your just making excuses

My brother got some gerbils as a child and my mum had to look after them. She didn't really want them, but she reckons they were the longest living gerbils in the world . She thought they would never die (although she did not wish them dead). I woudl try and rehome them in your position as they can live a few years.

Rehome them.

Get a dwarf hamster instead!

Definately try Petsrus - I was in there once when someone brought a psycho rabbit in - apparently it bit anyone who came near it and they took that in. I wanted to bring it home cos it looked so sad but DH wouldn't let me

The best rodent pets for children are Rats. They are so loving, they run to see you when you get home, come when you call them and also if they get scared, they are absolutely gorgeous ( i've had 8 ). Male ones are the best ( the girls are a bit more nervy ) and they don't bite!

I know IABU wanting them to die, but I must stress how scared of them me and her are. they do get let out more than once a fortnight, my dh puts them into thebath to run around. We feed and water them but just can't bring ourselves to love them.
Rats are virtually unobtainable and she has had dwarf hamsters. The problem with the hamsters is their nocturnal habits. They are awake when she is asleep.