Glen and Graham

I'm sure I've mentioned these two cuties before, I have, haven't I?

They were at Kayleighs party on Friday, almost got locked in the cupboard for keeping us up with their frolicking during the night...and in the morning we put them in the bath to play together.

They're gerbils...incase you were wondering!

When I was younger we had some gerbils as class pets, Rommel and Monty. I was accused of murdering them!! Well, I guess it was more an accusation of neglect than murder. Apparently I was the last one to look in on them and I left the wire off the top of their cage....maybe I did, but to this day I'm sure I didn't!!

Needless to say they escaped, I don't quite recall what happened to the first, we either found him alive and then he died soon after, or we just found him dead. The other one just disappeared into thin air...no trace.

Then, one day, we were sitting in story corner when someone detected a strange whiff coming from the papier maché tree they were sat next to. When the tree was hacked away at, inside we found the tiny corpse of a berbil :( Poor thing.

School pets, they're DOOMED. 200 eager but underqualified and overenthusiastic owners....it never works out well does it? Kayleigh would do well not to let me look after the boys, what with my track record:

- Rommel and Monty died a horrible death apparently at my hands

- George the school guinea pig found himself wedged inside a slinky...dad had to cut it off with pliers.

- One of Jo's 3 amigos died on my watch

- Nicki and I fed her hamster so many treats that he couldn't fit in his house anymore and died when he fell over and couldn't get back up.

- Mornington developed a sexy dredlock one time I looked after her, now she's taken to pooping on the carpet.

The morning after the party Kayleigh put the boys, along with their toys, in the corner bath of her new flat. It's an ingenious idea, they can't climb up the sides and have freedom to roam about as they wish. It's also a great opportunity for gerbil-view photography. Unfortunately the little rodents are bloody fast, and my camera (though one of my favourite possessions) doesn't have very very close up capability...so a few of these shots are slightly, or very, blurred.

Kayles put a dish of dust/sand down for them, they're desert rodents, just like chinchillas and so they enjoy a good dust bath. The boy's hadn't really figured out what they were supposed to do with this dust yet, but as I watched, Glen (the cleverer one), smooshed himself flat in the sand and then flicked it over himself. We really hoped he's do it again because Kayles had missed it and that's just like missing your kids first steps! Then Graham wandered into the sand and rolled so it flicked all over his back. It was very cool!

Graham in his sand bath!

Keep tuned for more friends-pets-related posts!! I'm off to attack Mr Neelix and Lillie soon, their human is called Vicky.

In other news, my Jo is back from Rome!! Welcome home Jobie xxx