Our First Gerbils. Twin Squeaks got its name from our first gerbils. Audrey and Ramona were a pair of red fox gerbils from the same litter (hence the Twin
in Twin Squeaks
). We adopted them when they were about 6 to 7 weeks old, and they were the perfect first pair of gerbils. They got along with each other great, they loved being held and interacting with people, and never once did either of them so much as nip.
Ramona was named after Ramona Quimby from Beverly Clearey's children's books. However, she had little in common with Clearey's spunky character. Ramona was a very calm and patient gerbil. She always calmed her sister Audrey, but she also was a very perceptive and affectionate rodent who could also calm her human caregivers. Among Ramona's achievements was her blue ribbon for Best Opposite Sex in the Self (aa) Class of the AGS' (American Gerbil Society's) 2003 Virtual Show.
Audrey and Ramona were very much like peas in a pod, so it's not surprising that Audrey shared many of her sister's personality traits. Audrey was slow to understand the concept of an exercise wheel. However, once she learned how to run in the wheel, she never stopped. In fact, Audrey was still happily running in her wheel just hours before her death. Audrey shared her name with my late grandmother.
Both of these sisters lived to a really good age for gerbils. Audrey lived to almost 3 years and 3 months, and Ramona was just three days short of turning 3 1/2 years old when she died. As my first gerbils, Audrey and Ramona have a special place in my heart, so it is only fitting that this Web site is named after my original “Twin Squeaks.”
Our Current Gerbils
Maeby, a black gerbil, is one of the youngest gerbils here at Twin Squeaks. We adopted her in January, along with her sister Lindsay. Unfortunately, just a couple of weeks later, Lindsay started to show subtle signs of a genetic defect. Despite our best efforts and excellent treatment from our vet, Lindsay did not pull through. During her five-week illness, however, Maeby took excellent care of her sister by keeping her warm, bringing her treats, and keeping her groomed when Lindsay was too weak to do it herself.
We adopted Nellie as a new friend for Maeby. After a careful split-cage introduction, Maeby and Nellie became friends. Maeby is a very petite little gerbil, and she loves to crawl into your hand and come out of the tank to cuddle with you and to take a piece of Kashi from you.
Click here to see Maeby & Nellie's photo album.
Nellie, a spotted slate, was born on December 29th, 2005 at C & J Kennels. Nellie befriended Maeby and helped her through the death of sister.
For the first year of Nellie's life, she was antsy when she was outside of the tank and wanted to go back home. However, when she was about a year old, her personality abruptly changed. Now, there is nothing Nellie enjoys more than coming out of the tank just to be held. She enjoys just sitting in my hand, giving me little gerbil kisses on the nose, or crawling back and forth on my arms. She is now the most “snuggle-able” gerbil at Twin Squeaks. A real sweetie!
Nellie also competed in the American Gerbil Society's 2007 Virtual Show, where she won Honorable Mention in the Spot Class.
Click here to see Maeby & Nellie's photo album.
Buster, a male nutmeg gerbil, came to Twin Squeaks in late July 2006 after we visited him at the Capital Humane Society. Buster's previous owners had more litters of gerbils than they could handle, so they surrendered Buster and his siblings to the Humane Society.
Buster is a very laid-back fellow who enjoys jogging (rather than sprinting) in his exercise wheel. He doesn't let any wooden block in his home last long. He gnaws apart chew blocks faster than any gerbil we've ever known. In fact, he's currently hard at work destroying the wooden house that he shares with his tankmate.
In August 2006, Buster got a little friend named Herman. Herman was just a pup at the time, and Buster loved taking care of him. They were an adorable pair for quite a while, but unfortunately, they decided months later that they no longer wanted to get along.
In May 2007, Buster was lucky enough to meet a new little pup from Autumnglory Gerbils named Matey, or as we've nicknamed him, “Gobo”.
In October 2007, Buster traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, for the American Gerbil Society's 2007 Midwest Gerbil Show, where he won Best In Class in the Self Class. (The Self Class is for gerbils whose bellies are the same color as the fur on their backs.)
Click the links to see Buster & Herman's photo album and Buster & Gobo's photo album.
Herman is a dark-eyed honey gerbil from Double Star Kennels. Herman came to Twin Squeaks when he was just 5 weeks and 2 days old.
Herman's mother is Nellie's younger sister Sundae, and both Herman and Nellie were born and raised at Double Star Kennels. Herman's father was a very sweet and special gerbil named Caramel, who unfortunately died before Herman was born. Among Herman's six siblings is a twin brother, Herbie, who still lives at Double Star Kennels.
Herman lived with his big adopted brother Buster for quite a while, and they complemented each other very well. While Buster was very laid-back and calm, Herman was a wound-up little guy, who loved running in the wheel as fast as he could. Herman also was eager to jump right into your hand when he was a pup. Sadly, Herman and Buster no longer get along, and Buster now lives with Gobo instead of Herman. However, Buster and Herman had a blast when they did live together.
Herman is filling an important role on the Twin Squeaks Web site. Pippi, who has been answering kids' letters on the Ask Pippi & Nellie page for over two years, decided in mid-2006 to retire and devote more time to running in her exercise wheel and eating Cheeerios. Pippi handed over the letter-writing to her friend Nellie and to little Herman, who now helps Nellie answer letters. Herman loves meeting all of the great kids who visit TwinSqueaks.com! You can visit Herman & Nellie on the Ask Nellie & Herman page (formerly the Ask Pippi & Nellie page).
Herman is announced as the winner of the White Belly Class at the 2007 New England Show. (Photo courtesy of Donna Anastasi of ABC Gerbils)Herman also holds a special honor at Twin Squeaks. He was the first gerbil of ours who's competed in a national gerbil show. At the 2007 American Gerbil Society New England Gerbil Show, Herman placed 2nd in the White Belly Class.
Herman has gone on to compete in other AGS events. In September 2007, Herman was in the AGS' 2007 Virtual Show, where he won three major awards: Best In Class in the White Belly Class, the People's Choice Award, and Best In Show!! A month later, Herman traveled to Omaha for the 2007 AGS Midwest Gerbil Show, where he won Best In Class in the White Belly Class.
Herman also met his wife Kadence (“Kaden”) at the Midwest Show. Kaden is Gobo's third cousin. She won Best Of Opposite Sex at the Midwest Show. Herman spent 2.5 months in Missouri vacationing with Kaden at her home at Black Wolf Clan. They raised a family together while Herman was there, and at the very end of 2007, Herman came home with his son Sebastian, who is his new tankmate.
Herman (left) and his mate Kaden (right) were the first mated pair in American Gerbil Society history to both win a Championship. They both achieved this honor after their wins at the 2008 New England Show.In May 2008, Herman and Sebastian traveled to the 2008 New England Gerbil Show, where Herman once again won Best In Class. This gave him enough show points to win an AGS Championship. Herman will receive a Champion Certificate, and he will retire from showing to give other gerbils a chance to win a Championship.
Kaden also won her Championship at the 2008 New England Show. This made Herman and Kaden the first mated pair of gerbils to both get Championships in AGS history.
Herman and Kaden's children also did very well at the 2008 New England Show. You can read more about their accomplishments in Sebastian's biography.
Congratulations on your many awards and your outstanding family, Herman!
Click the links to see Buster & Herman's photo album and Herman & Sebastian's photo album.
We adopted Mike, a spotted burmese gerbil, and his brother Toby at the American Gerbil Society's 2006 Midwest Gerbil Show. Mike and Toby were bred by Jo of Black Wolf Clan in Missouri.
Mike and Toby were born on September 3rd, 2006. At first, Mike was the more outgoing of the two. He enjoyed hopping into hands, coming out of the tank, and standing up in my hand while eating a Cheerio. It was very cute. Young Mikey also had a habit of sleeping on his side as if he were dead. For this reason, his nickname when he was little was “Zombie,” because he kept “rising from the dead.” ;)
Now that Mike's grown up a bit, he has a much more mature personality and appearance. Today Mike is a big, bulky male gerbil who no longer hops into hands. However, when you lift him out of the tank, he sits calmly in your hand and will even stop, tilt his hand to the side, gaze at you, and pose in your hand. He's quite the charmer these days!
Mike competed in the 2007 AGS Virtual Show, where he won Best In Class in the Pied Class. Mike also traveled to Omaha for the 2007 AGS Midwest Gerbil Show, where he won 2nd Place in the Mottled Class and 3rd Place in the People's Choice Awards. He also went to Nashua, NH for the 2008 New England Gerbil Show, where he won 2nd Place in the Mottled Class.
Click here to see Mike & Toby's photo album.
Toby is a lightly mottled black gerbil who came from Black Wolf Clan in Missouri. We adopted Toby together with his brother Mike at the 2006 AGS Midwest Gerbil Show.
As a pup, Toby wasn't quite as adventurous as his brother, but you'd never know it now! Toby loves to scamper up my arm and come out to play. Once you spend a little bit of time playing with him, he gets really wound up, and he just sprints across the tank to run up your arm and come out to play. :)
Toby participated in the 2007 AGS Virtual Show and received Honorable Mention in the Pied Class.
Toby also went to the 2007 AGS Midwest Gerbil Show with his brother Mike. Toby did great, winning Best Of Opposite Sex in the Mottled Class.
Click here to see Mike & Toby's photo album.
Matey, or “Gobo” as we've lovingly nicknamed him, is a pied black gerbil that we adopted at the 2007 American Gerbil Society New England Gerbil Show. Gobo was bred by Chris of Autumnglory Gerbils in Connecticut. She did an excellent job. I was amazed by how tame and friendly all of the gerbils in Gobo's litter were. They were all scampering in and out of my hand when I met them, and Gobo just kept jumping into my palm and crawling up my wrist and onto my arm. He stole my heart, and I knew that he would be the right match for Buster.
Gobo's friendly disposition and outgoing personality have really rubbed off on Buster. Since Gobo moved in with Buster, Buster's been a much calmer, friendlier gerbil. He was always laid-back and friendly, but now he also calm and affectionate when you lift him out of the tank. Before Buster met Gobo, he didn't enjoy coming out of the tank all that much.
Gobo also spends a lot of time sprinting in the exercise wheel. His other favorite pastime is burrowing. Although all of our gerbils enjoy digging in the bedding, only Gobo likes to dig way down under the bedding and burrow under the surface. He's a lot of fun to watch!
Click here to see Buster & Gobo's photo album.
Grace is a red fox gerbil who we just adopted with her sister Tori at the 2007 AGS Midwest Gerbil Show. Grace is a night owl who is up almost all of every evening, obsessively running in the exercise wheel. She is very adventurous and enjoys exploring outside the tank during supervised playtime!
Grace is also the most enthusiastic sand bather that we've ever seen! Every time I place their sand bowl in their tank, Grace leaps into it and rolls and rolls and rolls! You can see a video of Grace in her sand bowl on YouTube.
Click here to see Grace & Tori's photo album.
Tori is Grace's littermate. She is a spotted red fox. Tori is incredibly sweet. She will calmly sit still while you lift her out of the tank and just sit in your hand while you talk to her and pet her. When I lift her out of the tank, she always greets me by standing up on her hind legs to touch her nose to my face.
Grace and Tori have both grown up to be very beautiful adult gerbils. Their personalities are still evolving, and they both get sweeter every day!
Click here to see Grace & Tori's photo album.
Sebastian is a very special pup, because he is Herman's son! Herman spent 2 1/2 months at Black Wolf Clan Gerbils in Missouri, where he raised pups with his wife Kaden. One of these pups was Sebastian, a little spotted nutmeg who was, at first, just the spitting image of his daddy.
Because Sebastian is a nutmeg, he started changing colors when he was about 6 weeks old. He now looks a lot more like Buster than like his dad Herman, although if you look at his face, he has his dad's charm. :)
Even though Sebastian is much darker than his dad now, he is still very much like him! They have the same mannerisms and the same curious personality. Sebastian also enjoys perching in my hand while he poses for photos.
At the 2008 New England Show, Sebastian's family swept their class. Third Place went to Sebastian (left), Second Place went to his sister Jaden (center), and First Place went to their mother Kaden (right).Sebastian accompanied Herman to the 2008 New England Gerbil Show, where he received 3rd Place in his class.
What was really exciting, though, was that his mother Kaden won 1st Place in that class, and his sister Jaden won 2nd Place in that class.
So the family swept the class, winning all three ribbons.
Click here to see Herman & Sebastian's photo album.
Marco is an adorable little pup who comes from Black Wolf Clan Gerbils. He and his brother Polo came home with us from the 2008 New England Gerbil Show.
Marco and Polo's mother came from Garden Of Eden Gerbils and shares the same name as me!
Marco and Polo's father has ties to Herman's family, although he is not directly related.
Click here to see Marco & Polo's photo album.
Polo is Marco's brother. We adopted both of them from Jo of Black Wolf Clan Gerbils.
You can read more about Marco and Polo's family background in Marco's biography.
Polo is a honey cream gerbil and is very friendly. He loves to hop right into my hand when I place it in their tank. He is also trying to crawl up my arm, but he's still learning how to do it. It will be a lot of fun to watch Polo and his brother Marco grow up!
Click here to see Marco & Polo's photo album.
In Memory
A collection of memorial photos of our gerbils who have passed away is available at our dotmac site and our Smugmug galleries. All of our gerbils have left pawprints on our hearts, and we will always miss them and cherish the time we had with them.
© 2003 - 2008, Twin Squeaks Gerbils
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