The Great Escape

Welcome back to the tale of the gerbils.
No worries, our mouse problem is OVER!!!!
Eddie is still out there, but that is the good thing...he is literally "out" there. Hopefully playing a nice game of hide and seek with our neighborhood fox that sleeps in the neighbors yard.
But the story of Oreo-the incredible, is one that will never end.

Our three gerbils are now in a 20 gallon tank. The walls are all glass, so they can't climb out. The walls are also very high, so no chance of jumping either. We took out everything that gave them leverage to escape, and we figured that since Eddie is gone, Oreo would be just fine in her nice little home. Maybe a little depressed, but still.

We were so wrong.

Oreo has learned to jump. Not just jump, but I swear she can fly. She can jump so high it has got to be a record. All it takes, is less than an inch of something for her to stand on, and she can jump right out of the cage. It is amazing! We sat and watched her one night as she got on her wheel, which was on its side, and jumped over and over and over trying to get out. It was all fun and games until she jumped super high, caught the edge of the cage with her two front feet, pulled herself up, and was out! We sat there like bumps on a log with our mouths hanging open. We could make millions with this gerbil.

The other issue at hand is Sam. He loves to hold the gerbils, but not for long. He thinks it is great to get them and put them in weird places. Too bad they don't stay in these places.

Hence....the Great Escape.

A few days ago, Sam did the unthinkable, and let Oreo out. Not the slow, fat, mellow white gerbil, or the mental black gerbil, but Oreo. The one that can jump, hide, run, fly, and think. Not good.

She was out for two days playing a nice game of hide and seek with us, so last night I decided it was do or die. I was determined to get her. She was behind the fridge, so I got a broom and scared her out. It took me 2 HOURS of chasing before I gave up, and I was exhausted. I had run across the floor at full speed with my hands out numerous times, hidden behind the wall and pounced on her several times, left a trail of food out for bait, made myself a human barricade,which she jumped over, stuffed every corner and crack with towels, and literally tried to call her to me. It was so pathetic. In the end, I didn't even catch her...Mary did. In about 5 minutes.

This morning, Sam let her out again. He was supposedly giving her a ride in the tonka truck.

We ended up trapping her in Mary's room, which has looked like a toy monster threw up in it ever since Christmas. I really need to do some toy organizing sometime soon. Or at least move some toys into different areas of the house. Her room is exploding with toys.

For the next 1/2 hour Mary, Sam and I ran circles around Mary's room on our hands and knees chasing Oreo. We were under the bed, in the closet, throwing toys all over, knocking over lamps, and shaking out sheets in the process. In the end, I was the proud winner. I literally sat on her tail when she tried to run under my legs. Go me.

A few hours ago, I was talking to Mary when Chamonix went running full speed and caught something in his mouth. It was Oreo. I dove after the dog, landed on top of him, and made him spit it out. It was a very wet and very scared Oreo, who of course, took off running into our closet. Nice. I didn't chase her, because I was getting my pregnant body off the ground and saying sorry to baby Maynard who had quite the ride in the belly.

According to Sam, Oreo wanted to try out his new race track, but she didn't like it.

While I sat on my bed staring at the closet, ready to pounce at the first sign of Oreo, Sam came running into the room. He said that the gerbil was stuck. I asked him which gerbil, and he said..."not Oreo...the white one." And this is where the white gerbil was supposedly playing with Sam while I was trying to catch Oreo.


Yup, that's right. Needle in a haystack.

Now she is in this hole right under my feet. The hole is for computer wires to go into, not gerbils. We have been playing a nice little game the past little while now. She will do this




I will try to get her, and she will do this.


So now Oreo is somewhere in the closet, the white gerbil is in a small hole, and I can hear Sam trying to get the black one out of the cage. Rock on!

I think the gerbils will go up a few feet higher, once we catch them.