Loss of a pet - Mike

We lost a loved one recently. It was Mike. He was a little over three years old. He was a wonderful little black gerbil. He started developing teeth problems so he had monthly visits with the vet. Then he started to develop a tumor on his belly. We was on meds and goop on his belly for awhile. It helped for awhile but something else must have been going on inside. He suddenly wasn't feeling like himself. Got into the vet the same day. He already started to feel cold in my hands. So we said goodbye. His brother Ike will miss him. They were separated a few months ago. Ike attacked Mike. Now we know why. Ike was always near. Ike hasn't been himself since Mike passed. That day all the gerbils were strangely quiet as if they knew. This is how I want to remember Mike. He loved playing with his wicker ball toys. He couldn't chew but he did try. Bless his heart. he enjoyed the gerbil life the best he could.

Meet Storm and Orion

My newest little girls.  New England Gerbil Show 2016 in Seekonk MA.  Storm and Orion.  Storm has two very white claws on left paw.  They also won ribbons in the show.  1st and 2nd.

Gerbil Update

It has been awhile since I posted.  Much has happened in the gerbil world. Lost a few.  Got a few.  Very recently I lost my agility gerbil Dixie.  Then little Oscar.  He was very tiny for six months old.  He was the runt of the litter.  I put Sam and Felix together.  They are best buds.  I have Spot and Chewie together.  Chewie is my rehab gerbil.  I will tell his story in another post.  I currently have nine gerbils.  One girl Spot and the boys: Mike,  Ike, Jaime, Tyrion, Chewie, Felix, Sam and Connor.

Knit Gerbil Baskets

It has been awhile since I posted anything knitting or gerbil related so here is both. I have been making these cute gerbil knitted baskets as play carriers. They help you pick up a gerbil when you can't yet. They really love them as you can see from my models Mike and Ike. They make perfect play baskets when they are playing on your lap. They love to jump in and out of them. Sometime they chew it but not for long. They look so cute in them. I am planning on having them for sale at my Etsy Store Squeaky Knitting Designs. They will also be at the next AGS New England Show in May 2015.

RIP Dusty

We lost our little Dusty today. Parents found him this mornng. They are caring for the gerbils while on vacation. There was red discharge coming from his anal area. I got him a little over a year ago from Donna at the New England gerbil show.  He was not a show gerbil but he made up for that in personality.  I will miss him so much! He was a silver nutmeg. He was1 yr 8 months old. He was a tiny pup. Took him and Chip awhile to get together. Dusty as a pup decided when he wanted to meet Chip. Dusty open the small cage door to let himself out. They have been best buds ever since.

Adopted Pip Today

I have been fostering the little guy for the local APL for two weeks now. He was surrendered to the APL because of too many animals in the home plus he had a bad sore on his behind. It is slowly healing. So after a couple of weeks, we deicided jsut to adopt Pip officially.

He is a wonderful friendly little hamster. He is abut 1 1/2 years old according to the paperwork. he loves to come out and run around in the ball. This picture (above) was taken the day we brought him home November 1st.

This is what he looks like today. Taken 11/16/2013. You can tell by his grooming that he feels much better. Pip is my first foster.

AGS New England Gerbil Show May 4 2013

Love gerbils? Come to the American Gerbil Society Gerbil Show! Saturday, May 4th, 11am-5pm, Middlesex Community College, Bedford, MA. Gerbil owners and fans are invited to this family-friendly event. Serious gerbil owners and breeders may compete in official judging for the Best-in-Show honors. A fun Pet Class competition for kids gives awards for pets' endearing characteristics. There will be Gerbil Olympics events, exhibits on gerbil colors, gerbil art, other pets, specialty merchandise and a Parade of Gerbils. Admission is just $2.00 (maximum $10.00 per family).

http://www.agsgerbils.org/index.php

Another very sad month

We lost two wonderful little gerbils this month. They were my senior gerbils Toby and Dexter. They would have been 4 years old this May. Toby and Dexter have been for quite some time. Toby had some kind of respiratory problem that he could not shake.  Dexter had a tumor. One was removed and another grew in its place.

Toby was a show gerbil. Just one ribbon away from being a champion. Toby was my ambassador gerbil. He was the one I pick when I want to show a friend a friendly gerbil.

Toby passed first on March 16th at the vet's office. Dexter got really depressed after Toby's passing. They have been together since they were pups. They were very close. They were always happy to see each other. Dexter passed on at the vet's on the 21st. He was very anemic and dehydrated plus I think he missed Toby terribly also. Dexter was on pain meds for awhile. It worked for awhile while Toby was alive. I think Dexter gave up.

Goodbye little ones. You will be missed.

Looking for Vintage Gerbil Photos 1950s-1970s

My new project for the 2013 New England Gerbil Show is a collection of vintage gerbil photos dating from the 1970's and back. I found a good collection on Ebay and now I want to expand it.

Did you have gerbils growing up in the 1960's and 1970's? I would love a copy of a photo of your gerbils with a story about them.

I am even looking for old newspaper, magazine, catalogs articles about the "new" pet. Gerbils came tothe US in the 1950's as laboratory animals but people soon discovered how they make wonderful pets in the home and classroom. Many people had "gerbil farms".  One such book is called "The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter". I highly recommend reading this book.

Emal me or comment here if you can help.

New England Gerbil Show 2012 - Winners!

I attended the new England Gerbil Show in Nashua NH May 19, 2012. I entered 5 gerbils in the main competition. All 5 got ribbons!!

First off. The Senior class. This is where gerbils that are 2 1/2 years old and older compete. My wonderful 3 year old Agouti Toby won his second Blue Ribbon.

Next is my 1 year old Lilac Male Bobby that I bred myself. Bobby won his second 2nd Place Red ribbon in the Self Class. It was broken into categories. Bobby was in the Self/Red Eyes.

In the same class, Bobby's brother Rocket took third also. This is his first ribbon.

Last are my two girls Chole and Aster. They are Argente in the White Belly Class. This is a very competitive class. Aster got third and Chloe got an Honorable Mention. This is their first ribbons also. Chole and Aster are from the same litter as Bobby and Rocket.  Maybe I have something here?

I am so proud of my kids. Lastly I brought home a new baby boy to be paired up with Chip. He is a 7 week old Silver Nutmeg. Isn't he the cutest? We named him Dusty.

Sam is a Winner!

On April 1, 2012, Petco was have a Small Animal Picture Day that weekend for two days. They had various backgrounds. All you needed to do was bring your little pet, camera and some props to have fun taking pictures. I brought my gerbil Sam to the local Petco and had some fun. Later, you uploaded one of the pictures to the Petco site to vote. Most votes overall was a $500 Petco Giftcard and the runner up was $250 in each category. Guess what....My little Sam won for having the most votes in the gerbil category! He won me a $250 Petco giftcard to spoil him rotten.  He was a real good gerbil at the store. Kids came up asking to pet him. He  was so sweet. He will be 3 years old May 18th.

12 Day Old Pups

The pups are now 12 days old. Fully furred in their premolt colors. Two orange girls are possibly argente and one gray boy probably sapphire. Sapphire is a beautiful color. It is lighter than lilac but darker than dove. The mom Clarice is a Dove.

Gerbil Updates

It's been awhile since I posted. A bunch has happened over the month. A couple of days after this last post, Trixie passed on. She developed pneumonia.

We didn't want Bud to be left alone. So we got three wonderful 8 week old pups on July 24th.. We thought we might make a foursome. It wasn't to be. The pups were all too old to be put together. So we left two pups together. The other pup we are split caging with Bud. The pups names are Dexter (after the tv show), Toby, and Sam.

Bud and Sam have been in a split cage for almost 4 weeks. I swap sides regularly. I tried an intro last week. They ended up in a gerbil ball. No blood drawn. Alot of back arching and shoving and
tense nose to nose sniffing. Lucky I was wearing gloves. These two want to be dominate gerbil. Sam is over 12 weeks old now and Bud about 2 years old.

I know they want to be together but someone has to be the boss. Bud needs the company of another gerbil. Bud started purring in my hand when I take him out now. He really wants company. Even little Sam sometimes purrs when I take him out to hold.

I try using "hand" intros but they seem to don't want to really interact in my hand. There is plenty of butt sniffing though. They are both sleeping near the wire almost everyday now.

Any suggestions to help? By now, they have to smell alike. I want to try again this weekend. Would doing brief intros at night for a few minutes help? I have never had a split cage go this long.

Trixie's Weekly Update

Trixie is holding on. She still weighs about 60 grams. She has slowed down. Breathing is becoming more labored. She is still eating and drinking on her own with supplement food from me. She starting to like bread crust. So I have been feeding that also. She now likes to sit in my lap in her pouch where it is nice and warm. She is losing some muscle mass.

She still likes to chew on paper plates. She still grooms Bud. Bud grooms her and trys to keep her warm. I am still giving her twice a treatments. She is still peeing and pooing. The poo is getting a little less. Trixie will tell me when it is time to go. Not today.

I have not seen her in the wheel in the past couple of days. She is still very spunky. Eyes and ear bright as ever. Still purrs when I hold her. She still likes to sit on my shoulder when she wants to. She will sit there for minutes. My shoulder must be a warm place.

I know her time is coming soon. Her fur is starting to shed a little. Why do gerbils have such short lives? I wish Trixie could live to four (December 8 birthday) but I know that is not to be. I will cherish everyday that she is here with us. Trixie loves being with her people.

Send her comforting wishes.

Trixie - Weekly Update

I am going to keep a weekly posting on Trixie's progress of her condition. She did well this past week. We are still feeding her the extra food she needs to stay active so she can do as near normal gerbil stuff as she can. Trixie is still eating, chewing, playing a little with her buddie Bud. She gets cooked noodles everyday (one noodle at least 3-4 times a day) with a little bit of her favorite baby food. Gerber's Oatmeal, banana and apple.

She is still getting her twice a day treatment of her medicine and the Povidone Scrub for her sore. She still loves to come out and climb all me. Lately, she has been loving just to perch on my shoulder. She purrs more often now.

I think she is losing a little bit of her muscle mass in her back legs. She has to struggle just a little to climb on their wooden house. Trixie does not climb the Crittertrail tubes anymore. She trys to jog in the wheel a little.

I weigh her every week now. She is still maintaining her weight around the 60-62 gram mark. She has not lost weight since I started feeding her the extra food. She does eat her normal gerbil food when hungry. She loves her pumpkin and sunflower seeds (unshelled). I did see her drink from the water bottle so I know that she is not getting dehydrated.

Merry Christmas! Gerbil Snowflakes

Merry Gerbil Christmas and a Furry New Year! My wonderful little gerbil boys made me this wonderful gerbil snowflake. It is so cute! Spot is my maniac gerbil chewer. He did most of the work. Little Bear helped. This is wonderful way to have your gerbils interact with the kids. Fold up a piece of whit computer papers. Have the gerbils chew for a couple of minutes and VIOLA! A Gerbil Snowflake. Watch this cute gerbil christmas video.

Happy New Year and Gerbil Family Expanded

My gerbil family has now expanded to seven gerbils and a hamster. I did want to mention that I also had a little baby gerbil Stewie. He was a very small little gerbil. I think he may have been the runt of the litter. He was a beautiful gerbil. A rare color also. i got him on December 14th and he passed on December 18th. Mostly likes from respiratory infection. He never made it back from the vet. This is baby Stewie. I will always remember you.

This is my new baby gerbils. Meet Little Bear, Spot, Simone and Mona. All their birthdays are in October. Spot and Simone are Halloween gerbils. Little Bear and Spot are with Buddy.