Who? Me? Exercise?

Last October (2006) we bought gerbils; Mocha Joe (tan) and Indiana Jones (black). They were cute baby gerbils and low maintenance. I have not yet killed them and tomorrow is 2008 (for all of you who know my track record...shhh...I'm doing really good)!!

Sidenote: When your fish die it is not necessary to put them in the freezer.

Well all of a sudden the gerbils, especially Mocha Joe started to get fat, I guess she just could not resist my cooking, so in June we went and bought them a wheel for their cage. Now don't get me wrong, we had a ball to put them in so they could roll around the house but that was more for giving the girls exercise because the gerbils REFUSED to roll in the ball around the house. They would just sit there and poop on the carpet. Hannah would spend a good hour rolling the laying gerbil in the ball around the house.

We put the wheel in their cage and think that they will start playing on it right away, like all the other gerbils & hamsters in the store. "Look Mommy & Daddy got us a gift", nope. They just stared at it. They did not even want to go near it. I was thinking well they just need a demonstration, so I went and got one of the girls small stuffed animals and put it on the wheel...as though it was using it. For all of you who are shocked that this demonstration did not work, I was surprised too!!!
So over the next couple of months the gerbils used the wheel as a escalator to get from the top floor of their cage to the middle and then to the bottom. At times I would see them using it as a hammock and just laying there kinda swaying. I had given up. By the way Mocha is sooooo fat now that she needs to go on Jenny Craig.

Well the other night, I am downstairs and I hear this squeaking noise and I know that it was not the gerbils, so I came upstairs to check it out and I see Mocha jumping off the wheel. I was thinking nah, but decided to wait on the stairs to see if I heard the noise again. All of sudden Mocha was on the wheel and using it as a wheel. I was so proud, so happy. I went to go and see her but she jumped off. So for the next couple of nights around 10:00 I would hear the wheel going but if you came anywhere near her while she was exercising she would jump off. Last night I caught her teaching Indy how to use the wheel.
I am wondering if Indiana told Mocha that her butt was starting to look big and to stop laying around. I would like to introduce Exhibit A -

Gerbils that exercise in secret!!!