Just A Quick Note

Hello, fellow gerbil fans. I just wanted to drop a note, because you may have noticed that not much has been updated on the Twin Squeaks Gerbils Web site this week. I've actually been traveling for my good friend Tara's wedding. I've had email access in some of the hotels but not a lot of time so far. I hope to have a chance to make some updates soon. Please check back. I promise that there will be new poll questions, updates to the gerbil care guide, and answers to the letters that Pippi & Nellie have received.

In the meantime, I hope you and your gerbils are all having a great week! :)

Male Or Female Gerbils?

Pippi's just posted her reply to C.N. on the Ask Pippi & Nellie page. C.N. wanted to know whether male or female gerbils are better.

Pippi and Nellie have several other letters they're working on, so if you've written to Pippi and Nellie and haven't heard back yet, don't worry. They'll have a response to your letter soon!

Come See Morro's Photo

This week, Mitch sent us a photo of his gerbil Morro. What a cutie! Morro is featured in this week's Gerbil Picture of the Week.

Stop by to see Morro's photo, and then mail us your favorite gerbil photo, and you might see your gerbil on the Picture of the Week page in the future!

Tank Sizes & Gerbil Names

Be sure to visit the Weekly Gerbil Poll page. You can find out how many Twin Squeaks visitors use a glass tank compared to a wire cage or plastic habitat. You can also find out which sizes of gerbil homes are most popular.

While you're there, take a minute to answer the new question. Let us know how you come up with your gerbils' names.

If you have an idea for a new poll question, email me, and I'll try to use it!

Don't Forget To Vote In The Poll

If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to tell us what type of home your gerbils have. We'll report the results of this poll question on Thursday night. Be sure to check back to see the results and to vote in the next poll.

If you have a gerbil question you'd like for us to ask in our poll, please email me, and I'll try to use it in an upcoming Weekly Gerbil Poll.

See This Week's Gerbil Photo Of The Week

This week, Nellie is the star of the Gerbil Photo of the Week. Nellie's a very photogenic gerbil, and I was really surprised that she was so calm around the camera, even on her very first night home.

Remember that we're just as happy to publish photos of your gerbils as our own, so if you have a great gerbil photo that you'd like to see on the Gerbil Picture of the Week, please send us your gerbil photo.

Send Us Your Gerbil Photos

I was just going through the comments you've all left on our Twin Squeaks Survey and saw that one of the suggestions was that we let visitors send us photos of their gerbils and put them on our site.

You can already do this. :) Just send us a gerbil photo, and we'll consider using it for our Gerbil Picture of the Week. You can see that one week, we used a photo of Kirsty's gerbil, Mulch, and we'll be happy to use your photo, too.

There's also a link at the bottom of the Gerbil Picture of the Week page to send us a photo for the Picture Of The Week.

I wanted to thank everyone very much for all of your wonderful comments on our survey. We're working on all of your suggestions. One of our first priorities is to update the Gerbil Care Guide, because we have a lot of topics to add. The month of June is really busy for us, but just know that we're working on all of your suggestions, and you should see many of the changes and additions to Twin Squeaks within the next few weeks. (Too many friends getting married this month! We've been so busy on the weekends.)

If you haven't filled out our survey yet, please take a moment to let us know what you like about Twin Squeaks and how we can improve. We're always open to suggestions. :)

New Poll Question Is Ready Now

As of this morning, the new Weekly Gerbil Poll Question appears on the page. It looks like the earlier problem we had is fixed. Please stop by and let us know about the type of housing your gerbils have.

If you have an idea for a new poll question, please email me. :)

Apologies For A Problem With Our Poll

I just wanted to take a minute to apologize for the problems on the Weekly Gerbil Poll page. We do have the results of last week's question posted, but there's a bug on our server that's causing the new poll question not to update. We have it ready, though, and as soon as the problem's resolved, the new poll will appear on the page. In the meantime, feel free to read the results of last week's poll. We'll let you know here on the Gerbil Blog when the new question appears on the page.

One Day Left In The Current Gerbil Poll

Just a reminder to stop by the Weekly Gerbil Poll page and let us know how old your oldest gerbil is. We'll tally the results about 24 hours from now and post a new question.

If you have an idea for a new poll question, please email us.

Gerbil Photo Shoot

Maeby, Nellie, Samantha, Pippi, and Hope just got done with their second big photo shoot. Poor Maeby was terrified of the camera. She sat perfectlly still in my hands the whole time, but her little eyes were bugging out. In addition to everyone having their pictures taken with me, Pippi and Hope also had a variety of portraits taken with a bunch of fun props like miniature bridges and pieces of pottery. There should be some good photos there. When I get the photos back, I will post some of them as well as a link to the photographer's Web site. :)

Hurricane Shelter For Gerbils & Other Pets

If you live in Palm Beach County, take a moment to read this article from the Palm Beach Post about Palm Beach County's first hurricane shelter for pets. The shelter will open 24 hours before a hurricane is expected to make landfall. Be aware, though, that the shelter is only open to those who live in mobile homes or those in mandatory evacuation zones, so it's still a good idea to have a backup plan for your gerbils.

News & Thoughts About Maeby & Nellie

Maeby & Nellie were both exceptionally friendly and outgoing tonight. They'd knocked over their exercise wheel, and when I put my hand in their tank to set the wheel upright so that they could run in it again, both girls came running over to me, and they both started climbing up my arm at the same time. :)

I lifted my hand out of the tank, and Maeby and Nellie sat in my hand, side by side, and let me pet them both. Their little whiskers were quivering as they sniffed the air and checked out their surroundings. No sooner did I lower my hand back into the tank than they were both racing to see who got the next turn to crawl up my arm. At some point, I lost count of how many times each of them crawled up my arm and came out of the tank to see me.

It's really great to see Maeby so outgoing, because when she lived with her sister Lindsay (who passed away in early March), Maeby was always the more timid of the two. After Lindsay's death, Maeby was even more jumpy. It's so good to see how living with Nellie has brought Maeby out of her shell and how much she enjoys crawling up my arm and spending time with people now.

On a somewhat related note, the other night, I was watching Maeby and Nellie and realized how big they've both gotten. They're adult gerbils now. Maeby's just over six months old, and Nellie will be six months old on June 29th. It's really great to see how much they've both matured, and I've really watched their little personalities evolve over the past several months. The hard part of it, though, is that when I see how much Maeby's grown, there is part of me that wonders what her sister would look like now or how her personality would have developed had she lived.

One more slightly related thought. I found out last week that Nellie is an aunt again. Her sister Grey just had her second litter of six. Also, Nellie has another sister named Sundae, and she just had her first litter. I gave Nellie the news when I found out, but she was much more interested in the sunflower seed she found than she was in learning about her nephews and nieces. ;)

If you'd like to see photos of Nellie's nieces and nephews, you can see them and follow their progress on Double Star Kennels' Adoption Page. Just look for the pups whose parents are either Steel and Grey or Caramel and Sundae. :)

Hope's Photo Album Is Online

We've just posted Hope's new photo album, which has pictures of her from the past two years.

You'll also find a link to Hope's photo album at the end of her bio on the Meet The Gerbils page. (There are also photo albums for Pippi and Samantha listed at the end of each of their bios.)

The next photo album we'll work on is for Maeby and Nellie, so keep an eye open for it. We should have it ready in the near future.

How To Silence A Squeaky Exercise Wheel

Check out the June Tip of the Month, How To Silence A Squeaky Exercise Wheel. The squeak-squeak-squeak of a wheel spinning at all hours of the day is a sound most gerbil owners find all too familiar. There is a way to keep your sanity, though, and in this month's gerbil tip, we'll show you how.

If you enjoy this month's tip, make sure you also check out our list of past gerbil tips. Also, if you have an idea for a Gerbil Tip of the Month, please email us.

See This Week's New Gerbil Photo

We just posted the new Gerbil Picture of the Week. Stop by to see this week's adorable gerbil.

If you'd like us to consider one of your gerbil photos, just send it to us.

Gerbil Poll Results & A New Question!

It's official. According to your answers to our question, What are your gerbils' favorite treats?, gerbils have sunflower seeds on the brain. In fact, 47% of your gerbils like sunflower seeds better than any other treat. Go to the Gerbil Poll page to see the complete results of the poll.

Also, in honor of our gerbil Pippi, who just turned 3 1/2 years old yesterday, the new poll question is, How old is your oldest gerbil? Please take a moment to cast your vote.

Remember To Vote In The Gerbil Poll

Just a reminder that we'll post the results of the current Gerbil Poll tomorrow night. If you haven't voted yet for your gerbils' favorite treats, make sure you take the time to do it.

Also, check back tomorrow night when we'll post the results of the Gerbil Poll and give you a new poll question.

Submit A Pet Photo For Clark Co., WA Calendar

If you live in Clark County, Washington and have a great gerbil (or dog, cat, ferret, etc.) photo, you should consider submitting it for the Humane Society for Southwest Washington fundraising calendar. If you're in Clark County, Washington, this is your chance to make one of your gerbils a star!

Camp Ruffin' It

I just found this article about Camp Ruffin' It, where kids in Arizona can spend a week getting to know a variety of animals, including gerbils. Some of the other animals kids will meet at Camp Ruffin' It include ferrets, rats, hermit crabs, chinchillas, guinea pigs, cats, and dogs.

See the New Gerbil Picture of the Week

We've just posted a new Gerbil Photo of the Week. Come see this week's photo of Audrey and Ramona.

We'll post another new Gerbil Photo of the Week next weekend. If you have a photo of your gerbils that you'd like us to use, please send it to us, and we'll consider using it. :)

New Poll Question Posted

Stop by and answer this week's new Gerbil Poll question: What are your gerbils' favorite treats?

On the Gerbil Poll page, you'll also find the results of last week's poll, How many gerbils do you have?

Thanks again to everyone who voted in last week's poll!