[Gerbil]

I had Dudley for about three weeks now (I think) but today we had a bit of a setback where he bit me for the first time. It was my fault for waking him up during the day (I suddenly realised I hadn't changed his water for a few days) and the bite wasn't bad, but it bled quite a lot and I must admit I'm a little shaken by it.

He had actually approached me and started sniffing my hand rather than me bothering him, so I was quite surprised when he bit as I thought he would have stayed away from me if he felt threatened. I guess I could have smelt like food but I washed my hands with unscented soap beforehand as always, so I don't know.

I don't want to set our progress back so I don't know whether I should handle him any differently for the next few evenings or treat him as normal. Before today, he seemed very calm and would happily climb into my hand and let me cradle him against my chest.

I actually feel a bit silly posting this, but this forum has been super helpful and I'm hoping that someone can reassure me that I haven't done his confidence any long-term damage