So blessed to have a Dad who helps me with the ideas I come up with to make caring for my fur babies easier. Today, shortly after two of my six week old girls got picked up by their new mommy (YAY!) my dad and I went to Home Depot and got $15 worth of wood to build this shelf system for my largest bin, a 110qt tub. LOVE how it turned out! Perfect hight, lots of storage space. Very excited. ^_^
Thought you all might enjoy a few pictures of the Happy Gerbil’s bachelor pads, homes of the permanent residents of The Happy Gerbil!
The boys are spoiled!
Bachelors! (Technically The Doctor is a widower 😦 )
Stormy loves to run!
The Doctor and Alfie
Being that I’m the one running around with an “I *Heart* Gerbils” sticker on my truck, my manager at work asked me to adopt a gerbil who has severe bedding allergies today, and I said yes.
SO! Soon (probably not until this end of this month or later) I will be bringing home a nutmeg male gerbil who has bad damage to his nose and a bit of a temper after having been treated with meds for a while. But, I decided that I will attempt to pair him with Oliver, and thus won’t rehome Oliver once Henry is paired with Clara (I’m a gerbil match maker, apparently).
Not sure what I’ll name him yet, but I want to continue my British and/or Doctor Who theme. Any ideas?
Quick Note on Bedding Allergies
Though often misdiagnosed, bedding allergies are caused by excess dust and/or oils (such as cedar, pine and sometimes-though rarely- aspen), the symptoms are sneezing, itching of the nose/face, and loss of fur to the nose/face. Some gerbils are particularly sensitive to bedding, and have to be kept on special, nearly dust free bedding in order to heal their noses. Such as Oliver and this new guy I’ll be taking on. Oliver has permanent scarring to his nose and one of his ears from this, and this new guy will as well. He’s even rubbed his paws raw from it. Poor baby. Gerbils with allergy issues should not be bred, as this sensitivity to bedding will likely be passed on to their offspring.
Y’know, like Eye Of The Tiger! Funny right? Right??….. Hello??
Anyywaayyyy, the babies eyes are open!! And one of them is NOT a Siamese like I expected, but a Dove. Her ruby eyes give it away. 🙂 Also, first bedding change!!
Five healthy gerbil pups were born last night! They are much bigger than I had expected, all peeping and squirming and being adorable. ^_^ River Song is being a very good Momma and when The Doctor “stole” a pup, she went and retrieved it right away and tucked it back in with the others. So excited! Can’t wait to see who will have spots!
Also, I think it’s great that I literally cleaned their tank YESTERDAY. So these pups were born on the freshest bedding possible. That makes me extremely happy. And it’s much easier to see them on this white bedding. Success.
I have recently discovered a miracle in bedding!!
If you’ve ever owned a guinea pig or rabbit, you know that the ammonia smell they can produce is pretty pungent. I clean my piggies cage every four days to help prevent this, but even so, two days after I clean it, I can generally smell it. That is, when I was using Carefresh bedding or Kaytee bedding. However, my pet store recently ran out of my choice bedding, and I needed more! So I went out on a limb and tried a bag of this:
It is amazing! I was sick with flu-like symptoms last week and wasn’t able to clean the pigs cage on the fourth day as usual, and though it was definitely in need of being cleaned–lots of poo scattered around– even my mothers sensitive nose could not detect a hint of foul smell! I will still be cleaning every four days, but I am pleased to say that I will no longer have to put up with the strong ammonia smell! It’s a few dollars more, but it’s totally worth it. I still use a handful of Kaytee bedding on top, so I don’t have to use quite as much of this more expensive bedding per bedding change, but I will never go back to just Kaytee or Carefresh for the guineas. (My gerbils however, have no smell and thus will not be put on this bedding.)
Once a week you should offer your gerbils a dust bath! Gerbils cannot be bathed with water, as they have difficulty drying themselves and can become sick if wet for too long. In the wild, gerbils roll in sandy, dusty earth to clean the excess oils and possible parasites from their fur.
Chinchilla dust is the best option for your gerbils. It is affordable and long lasting!
Place the dust in a container such as a glass bowl, mason jar, or gerbil bath house.
Allow your gerbils at least ten or fifteen minutes to frolic in the dust and groom themselves. I personally enjoy using a mason jar on it’s side for their dust baths, so I can watch them roll around and clean their faces. Once finished, they will be soft, fluffy and cuddly again! (They may leave tiny, dusty footprints on your clothes!)
The Happy Gerbil 