I came home yesterday after food shopping and was greeted at the upstairs door by my daughters Pet Gerbil Max. Wow I thought how cute, greeting me like a dog, this was quickly replaced with shit the mouse is loose.

I had bought the Critter trail three for my daughters two hamsters Max and Ruby for Christmas. This came with tubes and multiple levels for climbing and a wheel to spin in. It was built like a birdcage and had a petting area I thought how cute my daughter Sabrina will love this.

After a month however the Gerbils began de-construction first eating away the yellow shelves until they were too dangerous to climb. Then they went about eating the bottom out of a second deck as well as the petting area, actually eating a crevasse between the tube and petting area which was later their escape route. I also needed to constantly vacuum around their cage because they were constantly flinging shavings, poops and anything else they could chuck out of their cage.

Originally we had stored the Gerbils in a fish tank with a gerbil lid and after I rounded up both the vermin they are now safely back in their original home. I have left a few messages at Super pets International in Elk Grove Illinois. I explained that even a guy from Geneva Illinois now knows that plastic is bad for chewing animals.

The best bet is to speak with a real pet store owner so they can tell you the read deal not a sales person at Petco, or worse pet smart who much like a doctor pushing meds recommended by pharmaceutical sales people will sell you something a rat will eat through. The people at Petworld on Route nine near Pizza Hut are real knowledgeable, and know their stuff. Doing a search about Gerbils before you buy anything plastic is also a good idea. Two red flags I ran through during my hurried Christmas shopping.

Max and Ruby appear happy back in their fish tank, and I am glad to not have to dust bust around their cage again today. You should also please checkout the Super pets site at Superpet
which has a cute picture of kids surrounded by their pets near their feet which is apropos if you think about it.