Maeby & Nellie's Photo Album Is Online

We just put Maeby & Nellie's photo album online.

You can see the photo album by clicking the link in the paragraph above or by visiting the Meet The Gerbils page, which has a link to the gerbil's photo album after each bio.

A Word About Exercise Wheels

I've gotten a few messages this month asking about the wire mesh wheels in many of the photos on the Twin Squeaks site. Thanks to everyone who asked about them. It's a reminder that our old gerbil-safe wheels tip is a little bit out of date. At the time that we wrote it, there were basically two styles of exercise wheels: plastic wheels and wire wheels that had ladder-like rungs.

The problem with the rung-style wheels was that gerbils' tails could get woven in between the rungs and get pulled off as the wheel spun. That's why we always recommend covering the wheel with paper if you use a rung-style wire wheel.

After we wrote the gerbil-safe wheels tip, though, Super-Pet and a couple of other companies came out with wire mesh wheels like the ones you see the Twin Squeaks Gerbils using in our photos. These wheels are great. The mesh openings are small enough that the gerbils' tails can't get caught in them. Most of the members of the American Gerbil Society that I know also use the mesh-style wheels.

Today, the mesh-style wheels are widely available. For instance, I know that both Petco and Petsmart carry them. Many online pet supply sites also offer mesh-surface exercise wheels. If you have the rung-style metal wheels, please keep covering the wheels to protect your gerbils' tails. If you have the exercise wheels with the mesh surface, though, your gerbils' tails should be fine.

I do apologize for any confusion that the gerbil-safe wheels tip on our site may have caused. We just hadn't seen the mesh wheels at the time that we wrote that tip back in 2003.

Thanks again to everyone who asked about the safety of the mesh wheels. I really appreciate that several people pointed it out. I'll try to get the gerbil-safe wheels tip rewritten sometime this week so that it includes information about mesh wheels. :)

Finally! An Addition To The Gerbil Care Guide!

We've been slow to get the gerbil care guide posted, and I do apologize for that. However, tonight, we've finally added another chapter to the care guide! Stop by and read about what to do before you bring your new gerbils home. These suggestions will ensure that your gerbils' new home is ready for them to move into when they get to your house. If you have everything ready when your gerbils get home, it will greatly reduce the amount of stress they experience when you adopt them.

We'll work on getting some other chapters in the gerbil care guide posted in the near future. Thanks again for your patience!

Gerbil Makes Appearance In Washington Days Parade In Maine

We just ran across this story about Snowball the gerbil & the Washington Days Parade. It's not every day that you see a gerbil in a parade!

See Nellie In The New Gerbil Picture Of The Week

We have a new Gerbil Picture Of The Week. This week's featured gerbil is Nellie, one of our little darlings here at Twin Squeaks.

If you'd like your gerbil to star in the Picture Of The Week, just email us a photo of your gerbil!

Gerbil Poll Results & A New Poll Question

We're a couple of days late due to all of the excitement with Buster's adoption this week, but we have the results of the poll about gerbil bedding posted now.

You can see the results of last week's poll and vote in the new poll by visiting the Weekly Gerbil Poll page.

This week's question is If your town had a pet shop, a gerbil breeder, and a shelter, where would you get your gerbils? We'll post the results next Thursday night.

As always, if you have an idea for a gerbil poll question, please email me. We're always looking for new poll questions!

Gerbils For Adoption At New York Hamster House

New York Hamster House, a rescue that takes in hamsters and the occasional gerbil, has a new pair of gerbils. If you're in the area of the NY Hamster House and think you might like to rescue a pair of gerbils, you'll want to read about the new gerbils, Vanilla and Chocolate.

Please Welcome Buster To Twin Squeaks!

Hello, everyone! First, I want to apologize for not getting the results of the Weekly Gerbil Poll up yesterday. I'll do that later today.

Things have been busy here, because yesterday, we welcomed a new gerbil to Twin Squeaks! Please say hello to Buster, a male nutmeg who was at the local humane society. No one knows his exact age, but he's definitely less than a year old. His previous owners surrendered him and his sisters to the shelter, because their gerbils had had too many pups.

Buster was the only male gerbil left, so he's living alone right now, but we already have plans to adopt a little pup to befriend him. The pup will be weaned in a few weeks and ready to come home and meet Buster. If all goes as planned, Buster's new friend will be one of Nellie's nephews. :)

BTW, you can read more about Nellie on the Meet The Gerbils page. I'll add a bio for Buster soon.

Buster is one of the nicest, sweetest, calmest gerbils I've ever known. He enjoys being held, and sudden movements or noises don't seem to startle him. He's adjusted to his new home very quickly, and I'm hoping he'll continue to get used to things here at Twin Squeaks.

Of course, until I know that Buster is free of any diseases or mites, he is quarantined in a different room than the rest of the gerbils. (This is always a good idea if you have other gerbils at home, regardless of where you adopted your new gerbil or gerbils from.)

So far, Buster seems very healthy, but I've scheduled a check-up with my vet to be sure. Unfortunately, the vet can't see him until Monday, so in the meantime, I'll just be keeping an eye on him to make sure that he's still doing well. But so far, he shows every sign of being a very active, healthy gerbil.

Please join me in welcoming Buster, the latest gerbil to come to Twin Squeaks!

New Squeaks???

We may have new gerbils here at Twin Squeaks in the near future. That's all I'm saying for now, but if things work out the way I hope, I'll be making an announcement later this week. :)

Pippi Helps A.B.'s Gerbils Learn To Trust Again

A.B. wrote a letter to Pippi and Nellie about how the family gerbils are scared of people now. Pippi wrote back with some ideas for how gerbils might learn to trust people again.

Gerbils Often Available At Larimer Humane Society

Here's an article about the Larimer Humane Society. This shelter in Colorado not only has the more common pets such as cats and dogs, but it also frequently has gerbils available for adoption, according to the article.

Pippi & Nellie Write About Toys & Bedding

Pippi & Nellie have just written a letter to M.W. about great gerbil toys and safe bedding. They also wrote a little bit about how long it takes a gerbil to get comfortable in a new home. Thanks again for your letter, M.W.!

Article About Author Of Gerbil Book

The Nashua Telegraph recently published an article about the author of a book about gerbils. Donna Anastasi is the author of Gerbils: The Complete Guide To Gerbil Care. Most of the gerbil books I've read have had a lot of bad information that isn't right, but Donna Anastasi's book has accurate information about gerbil care.

Gerbils In Minneapolis Area Need A New Home

I just saw this blog post from the Minneapolis area. There's someone there who no longer has the time to care for her two gerbils and wants to find a new home for them. Both are females, and their names are Seeker and Digger. They're both less than a year old and come with a 10-gallon aquarium, exercise wheel, wooden house, wooden tunnel, and a water bottle. If you live in the area and are interested in adopting a pair of female gerbils, you might take a moment to read the blog post.

Nellie Writes About How To Show A Gerbil That You Care

G. recently wrote to Pippi and Nellie and wanted to know how to tell a gerbil that you love him or her. Nellie has written a letter to G. with suggestions for ways to show your gerbil that you care. Hopefully you'll find some great ideas there, too. :)

Rescued Gerbils Need Homes In South East London & Kent Areas

If you live near South East London or Kent, please take a moment to read this article 50 gerbils who were rescued from horrible conditions. Many of these gerbils will have special needs because of the neglect they suffered before. If you live in the same area as the rescued gerbils and think you would like to adopt one of these gerbils, you can find contact information at the end of the article.

See Lando In The New Gerbil Picture Of The Week

This week's star of the Gerbil Picture Of The Week is Leslie's gerbil Lando. He looks like he's really having fun playing inside a cardboard Creamette box!

If you have a gerbil photo that you'd like for us to use for the Gerbil Picture Of The Week, please send it to us. Maybe your gerbil will be the next celebrity in the Twin Squeaks Picture Of The Week?

Pippi & Nellie Suggest Ways To Have Fun With A Gerbil

The latest letter to Pippi and Nellie is from V., who wanted to know what activities he can do with his gerbil. Pippi and Nellie had a lot of ideas, which you can read in their letter to V..

If you have your own ideas for fun activities to do with your gerbils, please email either me or Pippi and Nellie.

Results Of The Gerbil Sandbath Poll

The results of the latest Gerbil Poll are in. Stop by and see how many gerbils like to take sandbaths. We've also included a couple of links to more information about sandbaths on the Gerbil Poll page.

Also, you can vote in next week's poll. The new question is What type of bedding do your gerbils have?

We'll post the results of the bedding poll on Thursday night, July 27th.

Nellie Writes About Sandbaths

Pippi and Nellie are still getting caught up on all of the letters they received in the past month. One of the letters was from R., who wanted to know if gerbils really take sandbaths. Stop by Pippi & Nellie's page to read Nellie's letter about sandbaths.

Nellie included a link to our Sandbaths For Gerbils tip, where you can read more about sandbaths and even see a movie of Suzie taking a sandbath!

Pippi & Nellie Write About Food & Bedding

Pippi and Nellie have just written a letter to M., who wanted to know about the best food and bedding for gerbils.

Pippi and Nellie also wrote a little bit about some of the best treats to hand-feed your gerbils. :)

As always, kids are welcome to email Pippi and Nellie with questions about gerbils.

Finally! July's Tip Of The Month Is Online!

Great news, everyone! We finally have July's Tip Of The Month online! Sorry that we were a couple of weeks late with it this month. We've been busier than usual lately.

This month's tip is about how many gerbils you should adopt and how many can live together peacefully. If you're considering adopting gerbils, this is a very important tip to read. Gerbils are social animals and love to have company, but it's important to adopt the right number of gerbils so that they get along with each other.

By the way, you can also find our collection of previous tips on the Gerbil Tip Of The Week page. :)

Daisey Is Featured In The New Gerbil Photo Of The Week

Come see the latest Gerbil Picture Of The Week. This week's photo is of Julia's gerbil Daisey.

It's always great to get photos of your gerbils to use for the Gerbil Picture Of The Week, so if you have a great gerbil photo that you'd like for us to use in the future, please send it to us, and we'll consider making your gerbil a star on the Gerbil Picture Of The Week page!

Gerbils Sleep In All Types Of Places!

We just posted the results of the past week's Gerbil Poll. We were surprised to see how evenly the answers were distributed among in a fluffy nest, in a nesting box, and somewhere different every time.

This just goes to show that gerbils are individuals. Every one has his or her own unique personality. So while Maeby and Nellie are curled up in a fluffy nest they made, maybe your gerbils are sleeping inside a wooden house. Pippi likes sleeping in a large cardboard tube, but maybe your gerbils prefer to sleep under their exercise wheel. Maybe your gerbils roam around and choose a different place to sleep every night. I think it's very interesting to see what varied preferences our gerbils have in where they sleep!

The new poll is also online now. This week's question is, "Do your gerbils take sandbaths?" Please take a moment to vote in the poll and let us know if your gerbils like to roll in the sand and clean their fur!

If you have an idea for a poll question, please email me, and I'll try to use it in the coming weeks!

Pippi Writes About Whether Two Female Gerbils Can Get Along

C.N.B. wrote to Pippi to find out if a pair of females would get along as well as a pair of males. Also, C.N.B. coulnd't find a gerbil breeder and wanted to know if pet shop gerbils can be healthy. Pippi offers some advice about finding a breeder or shelter. She also has some tips for choosing a healthy gerbil.

Pippi & Nellie Write About A Gerbil With A Sore Nose

If you've had a gerbil who's lost fur from his or her nose, you should read the latest letter from Pippi & Nellie. N.'s gerbil has been losing the hair off of her nose, and she wanted Pippi and Nellie to help.

If you've written a letter to Pippi and Nellie and they haven't answered yet, please be patient. We've been running a little bit behind here ever since I took time off to drive to California for my friend's wedding. But Pippi, Nellie, and I are gradually catching up on our email. You will get a response from us. :)

Photo of the Week: Prince

There's a new Gerbil Photo Of The Week! Stop by and see the photo of Rebecca's gerbil Prince.

If you have a gerbil photo you'd like to see on the Gerbil Picture of the Week page, please send us your gerbil photo.

Results of Gerbil Naming Poll

Be sure to stop by the Weekly Gerbil Poll page to see the results of the poll about how you name your gerbils.

We've also posted a new question. This week, we'd like for you to let us know where your gerbils sleep.

If you have an idea for a gerbil poll question, please email me. I'm always looking for new questions for our poll!

We're Back!

Well, I'm back from my road trip to California! Thanks to everyone for your patience the last couple of weeks. I know it was a long time with no site updates. You should see the Gerbil Poll results and a new Gerbil Picture of the Week sometime today. I also have a few other things I'm working on for Twin Squeaks Gerbils and hope to have more site updates ready soon. :)

If you've written to me, Pippi, or Nellie in the past couple of weeks and haven't gotten a response yet, I'd like to offer a personal apology. Internet access was a bit spotty during the trip, and time was even more limited. We're catching up on email this weekend, though, so you can expect a response from me, Pippi, or Nellie very soon.

Hope you and your gerbils have been doing well the past couple of weeks. It's great to be back. :)