Sad News At Twin Squeaks

We’ve had a sad couple of months at Twin Squeaks, with two of our older gerbils passing over the Rainbow Bridge.

Our gerbil Maeby, who was nearing three years of age, had an abdominal tumor and passed away on August 23rd. The photo to the left is the last picture of me and Maeby together. It was taken just a couple of days before she passed away.

I consider it a real blessing that Maeby continued to be active and have a love of life up until the end. The last time I saw her alive was on Friday night, August 22nd, when I fed her and her tankmate Nellie. Maeby darted right over to the pile of food and eagerly grabbed a pumpkin seed. She was in the corner happily munching away on her snack when I went to bed that night.

Maeby passed away during the night. In the morning, I found Maeby and Nellie curled up together in the nest. Nellie was draped protectively over Maeby, who was in the same position she usually sleeps in. Nellie woke up and started grooming Maeby, as if she didn't know yet that Maeby had died. It was heartbreaking but also very sweet.

Maeby was buried at the pet cemetery, next to her sister Lindsay. Maeby and Lindsay originally came from a pet store, and Lindsay had a genetic defect that took her life when she was only three months old. As sad as I was to lose Maeby, it made me feel a little bit better to see Maeby and her sister Lindsay together again.

A month after Maeby’s death, we lost our beloved nutmeg gerbil Buster, whom we adopted from the Humane Society in 2006. Since he came from the shelter, I never knew his exact age but estimate that he was over three years old when he died. Buster had been showing gradual signs of aging since early in the year. His coat had been getting lighter and lighter, and he’d been gradually losing weight.

Still, he remained active and healthy until the last couple of days of his life. When he showed the first signs of lethargy and difficulty eating, I took him to the vet, where he had fluids injected to help with some dehydration. It helped briefly, but later in the night, he was in bad shape again. Buster made it through the night but died the next morning, within 20 minutes of when I woke up. It was as if he was waiting so that I could be there when he left. His tankmate Gobo was also with him when he passed away.

Gobo was fantastic and took such wonderful care of Buster at the end. It was very heartwarming to see, because Gobo was only a pup when I introduced him to Buster. And of course, Buster being the wonderful adoptive father that he was, took Gobo in right away and was very caring and protective of him. It was nice to see that at the end of Buster’s life, Gobo returned the favor and was every bit as caring as Buster had been with him.

The photo to the right was taken of Buster last winter. He was also laid to rest at the pet cemetery. The weather was beautiful that day, and I couldn’t have asked for a more lovely burial for such a wonderful gerbil. Buster was slow to trust people he didn't know, but he was always very loving and trusting with me. In fact, he was one of the calmest, sweetest gerbils I’ve had, and he will be missed.