Post by nibblesanddigger on Jun 27, 2006 3:08:09 GMT -8
I have recently bought four duprasi gerbils from Iris Buikema (woestrat on this forum) and wanted to tell you some things about these little fluff balls.
Bear, our first, is kept on his own as males get a little nasty when kept together (it's a no-no). He is quite comfy in his 10 gallon tank on my computer desk, where he sleeps a lot and occasionally comes out to make sure I'm doing my school work. He's quite adept at making tunnels even out of the random things that go into his tank. For example right now he has a McDonald's cup holder resting on top of a piece of mopani wood, all surrounded and buried under shavings, so he has a bridge, a burrow, three tunnel entrances, and a "peek" window of sorts all in that one corner! He is a lovable ball of fluff, and likes to come sit on my lap and snuggle while I type. He was a bit nippy at first, but now is a mush pot, who sits for cuddles and loves being patted.
Our girls, Pumpkin, Trixie and Treat, are active little farts. Pumpkin, the plumpest, is the boss, during their most active time (7 to 10 pm) she is always humping her sisters and overseeing the "hill making."
Trixie, is our resident circus performer. She has found a way to climb up the hanging toy in the tank, balance on top of the ceramic jack-o-latern, and reach up to the wire mesh lid of the tank, where she pulls herself up, and crawls all along the lid upside-down! She even has swung from her hind feet before flipping down onto the shavings below! We're concerned she might hurt herslf, so we've moved everything away from the front where she hangs, but after falling off onto her back a gillion times she still climbs back up for more.
Treat is just that, she's a little sweetheart. The only duprasi to have never nipped at all, she is a little shy and has only recently overcome her fear of being held. Now she seems quite comfy while she's snuggling half-asleep in my palm! The smallest of the three sisters, she does what she's told. She's a great "hill maker" always kicking the shavings up into one high corner, and then running to check if she's tall enough to reach the lid. When she finds that she is not, she runs back to resume her furious kicking until she has created a mountain out of shavings, high enough for her to sniff through the bars. She does all of this while being over-seen by Pumpkin, standing tall on the high mopani wood, barking orders.
They are a pleasure to watch, a pleasure to own, and we are so happy to have these fluffy additions to our gerbil family!
*Pictures will follow later this week*
Bear, our first, is kept on his own as males get a little nasty when kept together (it's a no-no). He is quite comfy in his 10 gallon tank on my computer desk, where he sleeps a lot and occasionally comes out to make sure I'm doing my school work. He's quite adept at making tunnels even out of the random things that go into his tank. For example right now he has a McDonald's cup holder resting on top of a piece of mopani wood, all surrounded and buried under shavings, so he has a bridge, a burrow, three tunnel entrances, and a "peek" window of sorts all in that one corner! He is a lovable ball of fluff, and likes to come sit on my lap and snuggle while I type. He was a bit nippy at first, but now is a mush pot, who sits for cuddles and loves being patted.
Our girls, Pumpkin, Trixie and Treat, are active little farts. Pumpkin, the plumpest, is the boss, during their most active time (7 to 10 pm) she is always humping her sisters and overseeing the "hill making."
Trixie, is our resident circus performer. She has found a way to climb up the hanging toy in the tank, balance on top of the ceramic jack-o-latern, and reach up to the wire mesh lid of the tank, where she pulls herself up, and crawls all along the lid upside-down! She even has swung from her hind feet before flipping down onto the shavings below! We're concerned she might hurt herslf, so we've moved everything away from the front where she hangs, but after falling off onto her back a gillion times she still climbs back up for more.
Treat is just that, she's a little sweetheart. The only duprasi to have never nipped at all, she is a little shy and has only recently overcome her fear of being held. Now she seems quite comfy while she's snuggling half-asleep in my palm! The smallest of the three sisters, she does what she's told. She's a great "hill maker" always kicking the shavings up into one high corner, and then running to check if she's tall enough to reach the lid. When she finds that she is not, she runs back to resume her furious kicking until she has created a mountain out of shavings, high enough for her to sniff through the bars. She does all of this while being over-seen by Pumpkin, standing tall on the high mopani wood, barking orders.
They are a pleasure to watch, a pleasure to own, and we are so happy to have these fluffy additions to our gerbil family!
*Pictures will follow later this week*
Hopefully, she'll be back on tomorrow morning ;D