The gerbil chronicles
Cayla has been wanting a pet of her own for some time. We decided to look into hamsters and gerbils because my niece Jessica has a hamster. I was advised to go with gerbils because hamsters are nocturnal. A co-worker has gerbils and said that they need to have a companion or they will get sick and die.
So, we decided that Cayla could have 2 gerbils - of the same gender, so they won't breed. Gerbils can breed about every 24 days. (Eek!)
Another co-worker, Andrea, who spends her days off in Iowa City and belongs to the Iowa City Freecycle group (which allows listings for pets), said someone on the Iowa City Freecycle needed to find a home for four gerbils. I said we could take them, thinking how much harder could it be? Yeah, great thinking.
Andrea called tonight. She's bringing the gerbils to me tomorrow (well, Tuesday, since it's nearly midnight now). She was uncomfortable calling me but had to let me know. The former owner had told her that the gerbils were all boys. They aren't. The proof is in the babies. So, we'll be getting four adult and two baby gerbils, if the mother doesn't eat the babies because she's stressed out or she doesn't chew a hole through the box that Andrea has her and the babies in. I didn't think to ask Andrea what kind of box - if it's cardboard, we may be in trouble ...
A bit of good news - we'll be getting a tax refund this year after four years without. Yeah, the student loan that was in default has now been paid off in full. In my naive younger 20s, I attended a so-called business school in Chicago that was not worth the time, effort or (especially) money. However, it was good enough to get student aid for and have to pay back. So, I'm all done with that and we should get some money back this year, which will help enormously with the gerbil colony. We'll need another cage with wire sides, so the gerbils can be close without being close, if you know what I mean.
I'm sure I will take pictures and post here - I mean, what good is a digital camera for if you can't post ridiculous pictures? Kent wants to get a new computer with the tax money but is adamant that we don't need a webcam (I never suggested one, wonder where he got that idea?). If we did get a webcam, it could be a gerbil cam - that would be amusing.
So, we decided that Cayla could have 2 gerbils - of the same gender, so they won't breed. Gerbils can breed about every 24 days. (Eek!)
Another co-worker, Andrea, who spends her days off in Iowa City and belongs to the Iowa City Freecycle group (which allows listings for pets), said someone on the Iowa City Freecycle needed to find a home for four gerbils. I said we could take them, thinking how much harder could it be? Yeah, great thinking.
Andrea called tonight. She's bringing the gerbils to me tomorrow (well, Tuesday, since it's nearly midnight now). She was uncomfortable calling me but had to let me know. The former owner had told her that the gerbils were all boys. They aren't. The proof is in the babies. So, we'll be getting four adult and two baby gerbils, if the mother doesn't eat the babies because she's stressed out or she doesn't chew a hole through the box that Andrea has her and the babies in. I didn't think to ask Andrea what kind of box - if it's cardboard, we may be in trouble ...
A bit of good news - we'll be getting a tax refund this year after four years without. Yeah, the student loan that was in default has now been paid off in full. In my naive younger 20s, I attended a so-called business school in Chicago that was not worth the time, effort or (especially) money. However, it was good enough to get student aid for and have to pay back. So, I'm all done with that and we should get some money back this year, which will help enormously with the gerbil colony. We'll need another cage with wire sides, so the gerbils can be close without being close, if you know what I mean.
I'm sure I will take pictures and post here - I mean, what good is a digital camera for if you can't post ridiculous pictures? Kent wants to get a new computer with the tax money but is adamant that we don't need a webcam (I never suggested one, wonder where he got that idea?). If we did get a webcam, it could be a gerbil cam - that would be amusing.
Comments
;-)
I just discovered Freecyle last week. What a great idea.