The New England Gerbil Show

Certified judge Kylee Dickey inspects the senior class. (Brian Early, NHPR)

Donna Annastasi: "Act as though the person who's gerbil it is standing over your shoulder. Be very careful of what you say, because these are beloved pets in addition to their pet gerbils. Don't say anything or be positive of what you're saying."

This is Donna Annastasi, president of the American Gerbil Society.

She's giving final instructions to a group of judges who are about to evaluate one hundred and fifty gerbils to determine which is the best of all.

That's right. These judges will determine which gerbil is the Best in Show at the seventh annual New England Gerbil Show.

Annastasi: "Pop off the lid, talk to them and see how their doing. Some people give a free nip, I don't give a free nip. They start losing points right away. Definitely give the gerbil every chance. If he looks like he stressed out, give them five minutes."

It was gerbil central Saturday at the Holiday Inn in Nashua. Gerbil tanks filled a large banquet room.

There were some gerbil owners, but many of them were gerbil breeders. And not just local ones either.

Breeder and certified judge Kylee Dickey traveled from Lincoln, Nebraska.

Dickey: "I brought six gerbils with me and I am showing five of them."
Early: "How did the enjoy the car ride?"
Dickey: "They handled in much better than we did. They pretty much ignored it. They chewed on some cardboard for the first part of the trip and they pretty much went about their business, slept and were pretty much oblivious. But they were happy to get out and stretch their legs once we put them into larger tanks and set them out on the table."

Previous ribbon-winning gerbils. (Courtesy photo)

That, in essence, describes the gerbils and their appeal. These rodents are laid back. For the most part, they don't bite. They hang out, chew on stuff, sleep, run on a wheel. They are adventurous, curious and quiet.

Often the loudest sound a gerbil can make comes from sprinning on the exercise wheel.

They aren't known for their long attention span.

While there upwards to 100 strangers walking around and checking them out, the gerbils appeared oblivious.

The American Gerbil Society held its first show in 2001 in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Since then it’s definitely grown.

Wayne Stys: "This is probably four or five times bigger than I first started. We were in a room probably about a quarter of this size the first show we came too, and that was in Vermont. So it's getting big."

That's Wayne Stys from Salem, one of the few men at show.

His wife Christine’s gerbil won best in show last year.

Stys: "There are definitely a lot more women that are interested in rodents which is kind of a conundrum. The women are ones who are usually afraid of the rodents."

And these breeders like to show off their gerbils. But the atmosphere is not tense. There's no attitude. They are just gerbil enthusiasts.

There are more than just live gerbils at a gerbil show. (Brian Early, NHPR)

In the end there can be only one winner, which is chosen based on their body, fur, tail and tuft, eyes, ears and temperament.

Wisconsin breeder Kelly Johnson was this years winner with her gerbil, Adam, who also won second place at the Midwest show.

The New England and the Midwest show are the only two in the nation.

Early: "What do you win?"
Johnson: "We win a rosette, and we get points for our gerbils. We add those up and get championships and breeders certificates for different colors. And bragging rights."

For NHPR News, I'm Brian Early.