I am On a Knitting Podcast!

I was interviewed via phone a couple of weeks ago about my knitted gerbils for a knitting podcast. Since they do have gerbils on the show occasionally. It was perfect. She found me through my Etsy store. The podcast is called The Savvy Girls Podcast. This was first interview ever!

My interview is about 10 minutes into the podcast. Her gerbils do a a little bit close to end of the podcast. It was Melanie's Birthday so she could do critters to her hearts content.

Listen to Episode 15 also. There some very cute gerbil bits.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

My New Gerbil Esty Store

I just opened my new store today. I have 3 of my knitted necklaces for sale and my hamster keychains. Go take a look. I will be having more items in the next few days. Excellent Holiday gift items and stocking stuffers.

Store Name: Squeaky Knitting Designs

What do you think? I welcome opinions and suggestions.

Gerbil and Hamster Update

Just an small update on my babies.

Sam is doing fine alone. He does get a little bored. He recently started purring when we take him out to play.

Bud is thriving on being alone. Not at all depressed.

Spot and Little bear now a tad over 2 years old. Starting in the senior realm of gerbils. Spot recently started jumping into my hand and climbing onto my shoulder without any bribery. Little is starting to do the same.

Toby and Dexter are doing just fine. We still need to work with Dexter more. Still a little skittish. Toby is as friendly as he can be.

Mona and Simone are also a little over 2 years old now. Simone still has her nose problem but it is under control. Mona is now a good friendly gerbil. I can pick her up with no problem. Simone loves to be picked up.

Fred the Hamster is now abut 1.5 years old now. He is still going just fine. Still loves his ball. Loves to be brushed. With his long hair. He needs it.

Bud and Sam Not Meant to Be

Poor Bud and Sam. Putting them together was not meant to be. Their personalities clashed. They won't even interact when I held each one in my hand. They have been in a split since the end of the July.

Last night Bud went to his own digs. I took the divider out and gave Sam the big 20 gallon for now. I will just have to give them extra toys and stimulation. Bud was always good with the ladies. I might get him a senior female to love. I might do the same with Sam later on. Male to female bonding seems to always work better.

Bud is about 1 1/2 feet away from the other two boys. At least he can smell them and know they are around. I am planning on putting Sam in the 15 gallon (where Mona and Simone are currently located) and give the girls the big 20 gallon to romp around. That sounds like the best option I have right now. This is my first failure in try to put two gerbils together.

Also, while I was cleaning an extra small cage, I found Trixie's last thing she chewed. A partial paper plate. It brought sadness to my heart.

Bud and Sam Intro Round 2

Well...this past Saturday on the 29th I tried another intro.

It went a little better. I managed to keep them together for about 1 1/2 hours before they wanted to hurt each other. I really thought it might work today. The split tank was cleaned out. It had to be cleaned. A tiny bug problem. There are wheels on both sides of the 20 gallon split now.

They seem to want to be together. They sleep in each others beds. They like the scent of the other gerbil but when face to face. Nope. They are both dominant type gerbils. One of their fights, I got bit hard with the gloves on from Bud. I think Bud got bit in the rump. No blood but it is tender to the touch.

The neutral territory seems to work for the short term. What do think? If anything, the split can be permanent so at least they won't be totally alone. I will still do the flip flopping and the butt sniffing.

Will keep on trying every weekend. I have never had failure of putting two gerbils together.

Gerbil Updates

It's been awhile since I posted. A bunch has happened over the month. A couple of days after this last post, Trixie passed on. She developed pneumonia.

We didn't want Bud to be left alone. So we got three wonderful 8 week old pups on July 24th.. We thought we might make a foursome. It wasn't to be. The pups were all too old to be put together. So we left two pups together. The other pup we are split caging with Bud. The pups names are Dexter (after the tv show), Toby, and Sam.

Bud and Sam have been in a split cage for almost 4 weeks. I swap sides regularly. I tried an intro last week. They ended up in a gerbil ball. No blood drawn. Alot of back arching and shoving and
tense nose to nose sniffing. Lucky I was wearing gloves. These two want to be dominate gerbil. Sam is over 12 weeks old now and Bud about 2 years old.

I know they want to be together but someone has to be the boss. Bud needs the company of another gerbil. Bud started purring in my hand when I take him out now. He really wants company. Even little Sam sometimes purrs when I take him out to hold.

I try using "hand" intros but they seem to don't want to really interact in my hand. There is plenty of butt sniffing though. They are both sleeping near the wire almost everyday now.

Any suggestions to help? By now, they have to smell alike. I want to try again this weekend. Would doing brief intros at night for a few minutes help? I have never had a split cage go this long.

Trixie's Weekly Update

Trixie is holding on. She still weighs about 60 grams. She has slowed down. Breathing is becoming more labored. She is still eating and drinking on her own with supplement food from me. She starting to like bread crust. So I have been feeding that also. She now likes to sit in my lap in her pouch where it is nice and warm. She is losing some muscle mass.

She still likes to chew on paper plates. She still grooms Bud. Bud grooms her and trys to keep her warm. I am still giving her twice a treatments. She is still peeing and pooing. The poo is getting a little less. Trixie will tell me when it is time to go. Not today.

I have not seen her in the wheel in the past couple of days. She is still very spunky. Eyes and ear bright as ever. Still purrs when I hold her. She still likes to sit on my shoulder when she wants to. She will sit there for minutes. My shoulder must be a warm place.

I know her time is coming soon. Her fur is starting to shed a little. Why do gerbils have such short lives? I wish Trixie could live to four (December 8 birthday) but I know that is not to be. I will cherish everyday that she is here with us. Trixie loves being with her people.

Send her comforting wishes.