----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Lynch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2001 9:42 AM
Subject: odd noise
> This morning while Bilbo was eating he started making
> a noise we had not heard any of the boys make before.
> It was a kind of squeaking grunt. Mike and I agreed
> that it sounded like the type of noise puppies make.
> Which doesn't seem like the type of noise an almost
> two year old gerbil would make. We have heard them
> squeak before but this was a different sound. It was
> definitely a grunting noise, just high pitched enough
> to also squeak.
>
> Has anyone else experienced this? Is it anything to
> be concerned about? Was he just excited about the
> food he was eating? 8-)
>
> Sorry, since losing Frodo so unexpectedly last week we
> are a little paranoid about Bilbo's and Sam's health.
>
> Thank you for any help or reassurance you can give us.
>
> =====
> Elaine Lynch
> Bilbo and Sam
> AGS member
> We will miss you Frodo.
Gerbils do sometimes vocalize when they're excited. About three of mine
(who are related to yours!) make funny little chirping sounds when I'm close
to their tank and they want attention. I've also heard this from gerbils
sitting on my shoulder, sniffing excitedly where other gerbils have been
(singles only, of course - when dealing with my pairs I get a clean shirt
and scrub up to my elbows first - I feel like a surgeon sometimes!). I
think I only hear those because they're right by my ear, but the
pay-attention-to-me chirps can get pretty loud, for a gerbil. It started
with Elita, then I noticed Celia and Tornado (really her name is Lillian,
but she got nicknamed for her hyperactivity!) were doing it too. I have a
feeling gerbils vocalize a lot more than we realize, we just usually can't
hear them.
These sounds to me are similar to sounds our parakeet would make, when we
had one. It's very hard to describe, kind of squeaky, but not quite a
squeak ... chirp is the closest word I can think of. Too bad I don't have a
microphone to record them!
