Help My Shelter Win a Makover!!

Friendship Animal Protective League, Elyria, Ohio

This is a legit cause. Go vote.

Fred's New Hamster Cozy

Fred recently received this wonderful play pouch for him to play in when he comes out to play. It is now one of favorite toys next to his ball. he got this from a recent craft swap on Craftser.com. The maker of the pouch decided to use Fred's picture with him playing in the pouch as a model for her blog on how to make the pouch. With my permission of course. Fred is now a famous hammie! Click on the link in the header to see the whole article.

Isn't he the most adorable hamster in the world? I love him so much. So gentle. never bitten once. Now I have two famous crittters. The first was my gerbil Buddy. His picture was shown on Cleveland's Fox 8 news last year and now Fred!

Spay Day 2009 - Vote for Fred!

The Humane Society of the United States' and Humane Society International's Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest! To support Spay Day, The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International host the Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest $1.00 a vote.

Isn't Fred the cutest hamster in the world! Go here and vote for this cutie.

Hamster - Feed Him

I found this cute little guy in google widgets. To feed him, jsut click on an empty space.

My First Swap on Craftser

My first swap on craftser was a Mini Holiday Swap. It was so much fun. I made my partner a pair of slippers, a gerbil stuffie in her favorite color, and some slipper ornaments in her favorite colors.

I got these from my first swap:

A little blue mouse stuffie, mouse earrings, a mouse stamp pin. The pretty little Christmas mouse card came with the package. Adorable! You can never go wrong in giving me a stuffie.

Meet Buddy 2 "Bud"

This is Buddy 2 "Bud". We got him from Pet Supplies Plus on December 16, 2008 at night. I was cleaning another gerbils tank when I realized I was out of corncob bedding. We were planning on getting Bud on the 17th but I was in the store Tuesday night and decided to get him. According to the store clerk. He is about a year old. I have been watching him for months since our Buddy died. He will be the perfect companion for Trixie. We lost Zoey recently and quite suddenly. I might give him his birthday to be the 16th. He is a sweet little boy. The clerk let me pick him up out of the tank. Bud didn't nip once. He is calming in quite nicely. We setup his temporary tank home right next to Trixie so they will be able to see and smell each other. We will do the normal introductions when we get back from vacation. I was afraidthat he might get scooped up for the holidays.

He loves his wodent wheel. He can't get enough of it. I also noticed that he likes to hold his tail up.

Since Bud is about a year old, my gerbil friend said that this gerbil might be from her line before she sold her gerbil kennel about a year ago. The AGS mentioned that he looks good enough to be in a gerbil show. I hope so but most importantly....a grooming Buddy for my 3 year old Trixie.

Click on he header link to see his photo album so far.

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.

Loss of Zoey

I lost my beloved Zoey yesterday morning. It was very sudden. She was fine the night before and Wednesday morning my BF found her breathing hard, clicking and cold to the touch. I got her and warmed her up which I think helped. I got to my vet ASAP. The took an X-ray and could not see any fluid in her lungs. Not a respirary infection. I wish it was. Zoey had a mass in her abdomen which was pushing on her diaphram. The vet perscribed some medcine but I think he new she wasn't long for this world. Her breathing kept getting worse and worse. She died an hour later after bring her home from the vet. I has Zoey since she was 6 weeks old. Just a little baby! She was still my baby. She liked me holding her. She was my cuddle gerbil when Buddy died. A beautfil slate little girl. Hardly any white on her. I never got the chance to show her. Her companion Trixie is now alone. Zoey was going to be 2 years December 28th. She was named after a character in "Serenity". Above isthe last picture I took of Zoey on Halloween.

I made a photo tribute to Zoey. View it here.

Dream Hamster

This cute little robot hamster is the newest release in Sega's "Dream Pet" series. It is made in Hong Kong. I bought one off ebay. It takes one AAA battery. I am totally in love with this little guy. It got the one pictured above in that color. There are 3 colors available. The one color a above is the Golden Hamster. Everyone that I showed this too loved it. It does have that Awww factor.

Specs:

Measuring 55 × 55 × 90mm (width x depth × height), the "Dream Hamster" fits comfortably in the palm of your hand and runs on four alkaline batteries. The rest of the Dream pet series features the "Dream Cat" and "Dream Chick".

Sega Toys have launched the 'Dream hamster' toys that scream cuteness. Named the "Dream Hamster," the product would be released on August 8, 2008 for approximately $12 per robo-pet. Just press the switch on its abdomen and hold the Dream Hamster on your hand for it to start moving. Yeah that's all it does, what were you expecting for $12? It wouldn't help you with your chores. There are three different types available for purchase: the Golden hamster, Roborovski hamster (light grey) and the Jangarian hamster (brown) which is especially famous in Japan." Website

If you know anyone that loves little critters. These are the perfect holiday gifts.

Patches Passed on

Patches was a little trooper. Yesterday, he stopped eating and drinking at about 11am. He passed in a lap at 3:50pm. He lost weight overnight. The stroke was too much for him. I really thought he would make it. He is now up there with his cagemate and my Buddy.

I lost my Buddy on the 5th. He was over 4 years old.

Patches - Day 3 Recovery

This little gerbil ceases to amaze me. He was very hungry when I got up at 5:30am to check on him. He ate quite a bit from the syringe and was thirsty. He basically slept most of the morning. I held him in a towel for part of the time. I really thought it was his time to go with his shallow breathing but no. Right after lunch, Patches perked right up in the afternoon. He wanted to go. I had him propped up on the side of my sofa chair and off he went. His front paws were moving and pushing with his back legs. He was like this for a couple of hours. This is how a young pu is learning to walk. He was trying to doing the gerbil head butting that they like to do. I put him back in the small carrier of towels. He was strong enough to prop up his head a bit to drink a little bit from the water bottle. I saw three little bubbled come up in the bottle. I knew he was drinking. He also ate a little bit of baby food on a piece of paper plate with me holding the plate.

This doesn't look like a gerbil that wants to give up. I started a journal to keep track. He currently weighs about 52 grams right now. It will be my only indication if he is getting better or worse. I will also put blog entries here on his progress.

Patches the Gerbil

A new gerbil came into my life yesterday. A 3 year old male name Patches. I am fostering him as he is very ill and his owners can't give him the 24/7 care he needs right now. He suffered a stroke over a week ago and might have had a relapse Saturday night. They couldn't cope so I offered to care for the little guy since I am working at home for the time being. He lasted the night so I got him in to see my vet this afternoon. His teeth needed clipping. I think that would help him overall. Patches is helpless like a young gerbil pup. I have been feeding him with a syringe and his liquids also. He has responded well. He is much more fiesty than yesterday afternoon.

I got him to drink from the water bottle for a little bit. That is progress. I am switching his Karo/water solution to organic baby apple juice. He is still getting baby food with a syringe but I am hopefully once he gets strong enough that he can lap up baby food on his own.

I will keep all of you posted.

Gerbil Surgeries

I have had a couple of gerbils go in for surgery recently. A couple of months ago my little slate girl Zoey had a lump on her ear that was removed. I sent it in for lab work. It turned out to a melnoma (can't spell). She is perfect fine. The vet joked that now she is half doberman.

Our four year boy Buddy developed a abcess on his scent gland that got infected. The vet though at first it was tumor but it was a nasty abcess. He had to have stitches. The doctor prescribed Metacam antibiotic for his recovery. He came through great. healing nicely. Play with his boys. He is an older schimmel. His orange faded into white as he got older. The only indication of orange is at the base of his tail. He is "our" boy.

Gerbils, Hamsters and Knitting

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. The gerbil show was fantasic! My knitted gerbils and rats were a big hit. We came home with a new baby hammie named Fred. This is what Fed looked like when we got him home in May. My thumb has healed from all the knitting before the show. I am knitting again but not with as much fury. Now I am getting ready for the local fair and the fall craft shows. Here is a link to the crafts I have been working on this year. I recently finished up 2 knitted guinea pigs and a fun fur rat. I welcone you opinions on them.

No Way! Knitting Injuries

I just can't believe this. I have knitted so much lately that I have a knitting injury.

Have you ever gotten a knitting injury? My left thumb hurts. I must have poked it one to many times. I use wooden knitting needles. The skin is peeling off on the cushy part and there is a sore at the joint. I have neosporin on it now with a band-aid on it. I still want to knit so I either would have to take a break or I wrap up my thumb so I can knit. Any suggestions/opinions?

Come To The 2008 New England Gerbil Show!

The American Gerbil Society's 2008 New England Gerbil Show is rapidly approaching! This year's show will be in Nashua, New Hampshire and takes place on May 17th.

Gerbil breeders and owners from around the country will be at the show to show off their gerbils, sell gerbil merchandise, and even adopt out gerbil pups! It's a great opportunity to learn more about gerbils.

AGS members can also enter their gerbils in a gerbil show (just like a dog show, except with gerbils). Although judging occurs behind closed doors, at the end of the show, winners are announced.

There is a wonderful pet class where kids can bring their pete gerbils and compete for fun. Prizes awarded for best chewer, shoulder sitter and lots more.

Click the banner below to learn more about the New England Gerbil Show. Hope to see you there!

I will be there showing off my two little girls Simone and Mona. I will also be selling my knitted rodent merchandise (rats, gerbils, mice) in honor of the Chinese Year of the Rat.

Mona and Simone

Knitted Gerbil Stuffies Finally

I finally found a pattern on crafster.org for knitted gerbil toy stuffies. It is a variation on a bunny pattern. The orange/rust colored one is the first with worsted weight yarn and the second one is made from white cotton yarn. Still works in progress. Still need to work in it. What do you think of them?

Year of the Rat (2008)

Happy Chinese New Year. It is the year of the rat. Yippee! I love all rodents. Mice, hamsters, gerbils, rats. I have a hamster and seven gerbils. I used to have a mouse.

I also knit. I have been into making knitted toys lately. Especially mice and rats. Check out my 2007 projects link to see some pictures of my work. I found this picture while surfing. A hamster knitting! Too cute. Fits right into my blog.

Rat Knitting Pattern I have changed the ear pattern a little bit. I like it better. I use fishing line for the whiskers. They look so cool now.

Henry won 3rd Place

I am so proud of my hamster Henry. On Sunday January 27, 2008, he won third place in our local APL's 2nd annual pet photo contest fundraiser. He has such the cutest face. This is photo that he won with. His prize is a pet photo shoot with a professional photographer.

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.