Gerbil Babies

I had no idea when we got our gerbil "Annie" that they were so cute. They really are just adorable and have real character that no other rodent I have had shows.

They sit up on their back legs and "prairie dog" their environment to keep tabs on what is going on. Very cute!

After reading more information about gerbils we realized that Annie needed a female friend so she wouldn't get lonely since gerbils are very social animals.

Pete went to Petco and choose a cute little black gerbil that we named "Sofia". All was well in gerbil land. They got on wonderfully.

Actually they got on far too wonderfully and began showing signs of mating behaviour. Needless to say our "Sofia" turned out to be a "Harpo" and we now have babies.

They are separated now, females (does) with their Mom and males (bucks) with their Dad. So far everyone seems happy except Harpo who seems to fully understand what he no longer has easy access to. Sorry buddy!

I am posting one photo of all the gerbil kids and will add some single shots later. Just one last note.

Annie had seven babies but one of the little black males died. It was sad since we had watched them grow up from tiny bald, jellybean-sized gerbils to the little characters they are now.

But I do find it comforting that I can still hear Steve Irwin saying in that soft-hearted way, "Awwww poor little fella, it's natures way".