An adorable pile of Kelly’s gerbils from Garden of Eden Gerbils.Finally! I’ve found enough time to write about the
2009 New England Gerbil Show!
We had a great time at this year’s show, met new friends, saw old friends, got to see many gorgeous gerbils, and brought two new pups home to pair with our two lone gerbils.
This year’s show was unique, in that it was the first show to feature blue gerbils, which were previously only available overseas. Blue gerbils are not a “true” blue. They are lighter than a slate gerbil and do have a bit of a dilute blue shade to their fur. Although I’d seen photos of blue gerbils before, it was fascinating to see blue gerbils in person for the first time!
Author Holly Robinson meets HermanAuthors At The ShowThis year, there were two authors at the show. First, was
Holly Robinson, author of
The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter, a memoir about growing up with an eccentric father, a navy officer with a secret: thousands of gerbils in the backyard.
I’m reading Holly’s book now and will write more about it when I’m finished. I’ll write more about it when I’m finished.
Author Michael DelaneyAt our banquet after the show, Holly gave an award to a gerbil who touched her heart and “many others around the world.” I was shocked when she gave the award to our very own
Herman. Congratulations, Herman!!
Also at the show was Michael Delaney, author of
Obi, Gerbil On The Loose!. This is a really fun kids’ book. I have read it but want to go over it again before writing a review. I think a lot of kids would enjoy this book. It’t not 100 percent accurate in its details about caring for gerbils, but it’t not meant to be. It’s just a fun story about a gerbil who must use her own creativity and intelligence.
Madeline of Paprika Card DesignsMore Fun At The ShowThere were many other fun things at the show. For instance, Madeline brought a collection of greeting cards, shirts, and mousepads with her own pet-themed designs.
We brought home several of her cards and also several of her homemade gerbil toys, thick cardboard tubes, wrapped in decorative paper, and ready to hang from the lid of a gerbil tank. We have several gerbils who will get these fun toys the next time we clean tanks!
Hamtrack races at the gerbil showIf you’re interested in buying any of Madeline’s greeting cards, you’ll find them in her
Paprika Card Designs Etsy Shop. I’ve also put a link to her Etsy Shop on the
Gerbil Links page at Twin Squeaks.
As usual, the New England Gerbil Show also featured many fun activities for kids, including the Hamtrack races. Gerbils in exercise balls raced around the track for top honors in the pet class!
There was also a mock gerbil show for pets so that kids could see how a real gerbil show works. The pet gerbils at the show went home with many ribbons and a lot of great memories.
Sebastian with his 3rd Place ribbonShow ResultsOur gerbils did very well at this year’s show. Not all placed, but many did.
Sebastian. First,
Sebastian got 3rd Place in the Spot Class. One of the gerbils he placed behind was his nephew GEG’s Diamond. (Diamond is
Hallie’s brother.)
Hallie did not place in the show, but the gerbils who
did place in her class were all relatives! She placed behind her nieces, Sunset’s Annie and Sunset’s Susie, and her uncle BWC’s Keegan.
Polo also did not place in the show, but his brother
Marco did!
Marco with his 2nd Place ribbonMarco. Marco got 2nd Place in the White Belly - Dark-Eyed, Non-Agouti Class.
I was really thrilled that he placed 2nd again at this show. (He also got 2nd Place at the 2008 Midwest Show.) Marco is a Light Dark-Eyed Honey, which is not a standardized color, so it really says something that he’s getting enough points for his other traits despite the fact that his fur is a little bit lighter than what the standard calls for!
Marco’s really a very sweet boy, but I never expected him to do well in show. It’s been fun to see him surprise me at each show!
Gobo with his 1st Place ribbonGobo. Gobo also surprised us by placing First in the Pied Class!
We haven’t taken Gobo to the past couple of gerbil shows, because he was slow to bulk up. (Males generally do not do well in shows unless they are larger than the female gerbils.)
However, Gobo’s really grown recently, so we took him with us to this show.
We were so excited when it was announced that he won 1st Place in his class! Congratulations, Gobo!
Toby with his ribbonsToby. Our biggest news from the show is that
Toby got 1st Place in the Senior Class, giving him enough accumulated show points to earn his
American Gerbil Society Championship!
Previously, Toby won Best of Opposite in the 2007 Midwest Show and 2nd Place at the 2008 Midwest Show. This last blue ribbon gave him the eight points he needed to become a champion.
We are so proud of Toby and feel that this was a real accomplishment for a gerbil who is almost three years old! But we’ve always known that Toby was a handsome boy, and even more importantly, a very sweet and gentle gerbil.
We don’t breed, so I feel very honored that I’ve had two gerbils win championships. (
Herman was the other one. He won his championship last year, when he was almost two years old.)
Toby is now retired from show and enjoying his time snuggling with his brother
Mike and destroying cardboard boxes.
Best In Show, GEG’s Mark
Best of Opposite, JEM’s CalleighBest In ShowAfter thoughtful deliberation, the judges selected the Best In Show and Best Of Opposite winners. This year, Best In Show went to
Garden of Eden Gerbils’s Mark, a very handsome agouti.
Best Of Opposite went to
JEM’s Calleigh, one of the loveliest and most outgoing gerbils at the show!
All in all, we had a
great time at this year’s show and can’t wait for the
2009 Midwest Show in Lincoln, Nebraska. We hope to see you there!
Today’s Featured Rescue Gerbils are Chester and Bryan. 
We let Hallie and Cassie have some time together with the divider removed today, but Hallie still wasn’t ready to accept Cassie yet. Hallie did let Cassie groom her once, but other than that, things were still awfully rough today. Cassie was a little less frightened during the introduction attempt, but Hallie was still as aggressive as last time. 
Just thought this photo was too cute. This is Gobo emerging from his bedding after tunneling underneath it. :)
Hallie & Cassie continue the split-caging process. They’re sleeping next to the divider most of the time, and as you can see here, they often meet at the divider and touch noses. 
Today’s featured rescue gerbil is Rosie. 
Last month, while browsing Etsy for crochet patterns, I stumbled upon this fantastic artist, Cindy Jerrell, who creates custom Victorian-style portraits of your pet. I couldn’t resist and contacted her to commission a portrait of Herman. 
