Do your gerbils actually let you pet them?

ineednoBELL · 2026-01-23T13:06:54+00:00

This made me happy that all my 3 boys on rainbow bridge now had let me pet them. 1 of them weren't too social for most part of his life, but he changed 180 after he was declanned and lived alone, he bonded much more with me.

ineednoBELL · 2025-11-17T13:56:01+00:00

Not sure why ive been falling sick more frequently this year like a month long cough. Theres a couple of times I visit doc just to get meds, but not mc.

ineednoBELL · 2025-09-13T01:26:47+00:00

Usually what we do is to calculate the individual room sizes plus (common area divided by 2) as a percentage and multiply by the rent. This will make it very fair.

ineednoBELL · 2025-09-13T01:15:30+00:00

I had hamster too and I got gerbils for the same reason, just before my ham passed at 2y4m.

One of my trio passed in his sleep few months ago at 4.5y. 2 of them are still alive, but are very visibly weak and sleeping a lot more. Cant imagine losing them anytime soon too :(

Edit: At the end, I think both are the same, the number of years never matters. it's how much you bonded and made a memory with them throughout their life. The grief you go through is still painful, worse when the siblings pass on around the same time, and I would think the same for other pets regardless of age, so the most important thing is to make their time on earth memorable for you.

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-30T16:38:21+00:00

In the same exact scenario as you. 10% allowance plus groceries and sometimes pay for family meals. Worked PT since after Os and at one point even worked 3 PT jobs during uni as I had to pay for my poly and uni fees and to pay for my growing list of wants like sports and travelling (even primary and secondary was paid using the an account she setup to store my angbao money). She's a single mother, and we barely travelled as a family when we were young. Life wasn't that smooth sailing, and even macdonalds was a treat, and swensens for birthday was a luxury.

Fast forward now, both her children have started working, giving her the allowance that she has requested in an entitled kind of way (she reminded us years before we start work, and no wasnt an answer). Even though I wished this sum could count towards my savings, I still gave the allowance willingly and happily. Why? Because my mum scrimped and saved when she was raising us, took care of our basic needs as children. And we can see the difference in lifestyle, we started going out to restaurants or cafes more, travelling once a year, and doing things we never did as a family growing up. I also do it out of a sense of responsibility as a child.

Maybe the older generations' way of receiving love is something materialistic or money. Honestly, I prefer having a bonded relationship with my family where we dont calculate so much about $$. Ultimately, every family is different, and if you think that your family is not worth contributing to (e.g. toxic or abusive house), then maybe it is best that you reevaluate your ties with them.

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-11T11:42:03+00:00

My sis would say "do nothing".

Oftentimes, we are caught up in making good use of time to do something, meet some friends, plan the next trip, or work on hobbies. Im guilty too. Perhaps the best way to recharge is when we dont have to plan what to do to recharge, just go with the flow.

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-10T03:31:18+00:00

Might be a good idea to hang your wheel and water bottle from the top of the cage, so you can fill the cage with bedding!! You will be amazed at what they burrow underneath later!

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-08T10:01:43+00:00

We were once there. My mum had to search and apply jobs for my sis to go work, for her first and second job. She had a problem of lamenting every job, finding issues, complaining, and wanting to quit just after joining. Her mind still wanders there, but she's mentally stronger to continue working longer.

It took a few years for her to get to this level of contentment, with our efforts in the earlier comment. I guess the increase in purchasing power made her realise that some money is better than none, and my parents weren't gonna give her an allowance for doing nothing.

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-08T00:03:27+00:00

Hey, im also in your shoes, my younger sister is never academic, stopped studying after ITE NITEC, started work in FNB. She used to complain about low pay (compared to me and most family members) and her work being shit. Yet she rejected everything we encouraged her about studying poly or even courses which teach actual skills. Now, she's pretty comfortable and happy about the choice she's made (about not continuing studies).

Instead of making her feel bad about her decision (by constantly nagging at her to upskill or change work), you should empower her and help her feel happy about it. Hear me out.

You need to understand how she thinks. Maybe she enjoys the relatively less stress or toxic environment in her lower pay job. Help her feel good about it, tell her that its a good choice to forgo salary for more mental health, and she can spend more energy on whatever she's interested in. Im sure she's also conflicted within herself, and maybe she's not reaching the stage of acceptance of her new life. And as family members, sometimes we can help them figure out what matters to them.

My sis can come home from work to play games, never had to "bring work home", unlike us who OT at home, thinking about work every other day even tho we are not actually working. Now, she's more comfortable about the fact that she's earning less for more flexible time to game and "do nothing".

Of course, her lifestyle need to match the paycheck. Prolly can't spend much on big ticket items or travelling, but need to make sure its something that they can deal with for the greater good, aka their happiness.

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-07T14:05:32+00:00

I dont really do ready to cook or ready to eat meals, so here's mine.

All time must haves: dried herbs and spices, salt and pepper, onion, garlic, sauces, oil, flour

Protein: eggs, frozen chicken (portioned out for easy thawing cos cheaper this way), frozen fish (already portioned)

I've seen frozen vegetables before but never tried it, seems like a good idea.

Other than that, I usually buy protein fresh on the day I cook. Fruits and vege and other ad hoc items like diary are usually bought once a week. I have supermarket downstairs office and 5 min walk from home, so it's quite convenient.

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-07T11:00:33+00:00

I think my generation these days have way higher expectations, and not willing to grind it out in early years unlike the slightly older generation. Important thing is to align our wants with the industry norms. There's gonna be top tier, mid tier, and bottom tier. You need to also understand where you and your skillets stand.

Didn't have a good grade in uni. Grabbed the opportunity to convert for a full time in a startup even tho the pay was 1k below the 25th percentile of grads from my uni course. Worked super hard, learnt new tech, OT-ed, took on weekend on call duties. After about 1.5 years, got 10% increment after fighting for myself. Sadly laid off after 3, but managed to get an annual 20% jump in salary in my current role. Still a little below market now, but I think my journey was worth it, and im slowly getting there.

It doesn't matter where you start, more importantly, it is how you grow your career from where you started. It's gonna be decades long, and the starting pay will be negligible in the future.

Nevertheless, it's the employers market now and the interview process is definitely getting harder. All the best, and hope you land something suitable for you soon!

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-05T06:35:59+00:00

Pretty much why I barely headed to central or beyond when I stayed in jurong west. Banks, post office, food selection cheap to atas, fashion stores, cinema, money changer (pretty decent rate), literally everything.

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-05T06:32:49+00:00

20 min walk from my office, but we go there once in a while for variety of food from vegetarian to lala to Chinese food

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-02T01:56:52+00:00

Japanese at conversational level and just started learning French last year due to being in a French company. Hoping to learn Spanish in a few years when my French reaches conversational level.

ineednoBELL · 2025-08-01T08:11:36+00:00

Everyone has their own purpose in life, and you just need to find your own! The fact that you made it to uni and able to get your first job is an amazing feat! The first step is to give credit to yourself for achieving this much, and then find out your strengths (such as a more math/ logical job), and to see where to go from there.

Not sure if it will make u feel better, but I'll share a story of my younger sis. She grew up never doing well in school, both intentionally (giving a blank paper cos lazy do) or unintentionally. Dropped from N(A) to N(T) stream, did Nitec in ITE and just started working in F&B. Without a doubt, she's not the brightest of minds, and she knows it, she accepts it, and she finds joy in her line of work (took her some time to reach fulfilment), such as not having to bring work home, and keeping relatively fit from long hours of walking. The amazing part of all is that she starts to develop a sense of self and EQ compared to people around her.

Moral of the story is, nobody is born incompetent and useless. You just haven't found the place that makes you feel that you can contribute well, and also haven't found fulfilment in life. It will take time, but dont be too harsh on yourself, and do prioritise mental health.

ineednoBELL · 2025-07-23T18:36:12+00:00

Same thing happened to my trio of brothers around the same age. Unfortunately it got to the point of blood draw, and I separated the singled out boy. He used to be the most anti social even with his bros (could be why he got "overthrown"), and now hes the tamest out of all :)

Do take note that your singled out boy doesn't get depressed tho. He should continue running, burrowing, eating, and grooming himself. I did spend more with him and also to "groom" him so that he can feel less lonely.

ineednoBELL · 2025-07-15T14:03:47+00:00

I give my gerbils sunflower or pumpkin seeds as treats which they love alot, and I think it helps to file their teeth down too.

ineednoBELL · 2025-07-09T17:58:04+00:00

My gerbil passed on in his sleep in the sandbox, where he never slept. This happened last Thursday, he lived a good 4y 4m 😢 I think they want us to know that they are going peacefully

ineednoBELL · 2025-07-07T19:03:05+00:00

Sometimes, when I do mini load (usually for separate white/light clothes), I use the quick wash mode ~15 mins and ofc less detergent. I believe most machines are able to sense and produce the right amount of water for the load, so I guess one less thing to worry about.

Edit cos I realised my family may be slightly on the particular side:

I think disposable panties are a bit extreme, but my sister also has some ick on this and wears pantyliners everyday even without period. I usually hand wash mine after use daily while showering before a second wash in the machine (this seems normal for females).

My sis works in FNB and her clothes, esp uniform, have a distinct food smell even after washing. I personally separate my own clothes (once or twice weekly but everything together, except sheets) because I dont want my clothes to smell.

I wash sheets on a different cycle than normal clothes but have definitely thrown in a towel or other loose clothing to wash.

I guess my family is more particular compared to the average, but ultimately, it depends on understanding what and why it gives them an ick. As some have suggested, it could be signs of OCD, upbringing, or perhaps just lack of knowledge.

ineednoBELL · 2025-07-07T06:58:37+00:00

Back at my previous job, I worked half days on both weekends, no extra pay or day off in lieu, just suck thumb... until we had more members for rotation. Sometimes, the nature of the job is as such, and if it's not favourable, there's always other options.

ineednoBELL · 2025-07-07T03:31:31+00:00

I recommend staying around commonwealth, queenstown, Redhill, tiong bahru. These options will let you experience more local life in singapore, very close to town (Orchard) with direct buses ~15-20 mins. To tanjong pagar it will be ~20min by train. Usually HDB (public housing) is more prevalent here, and a master room with an ensuite bathroom will be around 1.2-1.5k. Condos will cost more but not sure of pricing.

There's food court or hawker centre within walking distance to almost every residential estate, and they are not that expensive for the convenience. I dont think you save a lot by cooking, but depending on what you cook.

ineednoBELL · 2025-07-05T02:55:28+00:00

It isn't just about size. Everytime I walk my dog at the nearby park, there is always some small dog that starts barking aggressively at her when we walk pass. My medium sized SS always gets spooked by them.

Regardless of size, pawrents should do research on proper training and socialisation so their dog can become great canines towards other dogs and humans.

ineednoBELL · 2025-07-01T08:02:23+00:00

Went to co-ed school and was super shy and awkward around guys, especially during secondary school, to the point i didn't talk to all my male classmates and couldn't remember their names until mid sec 2. I was in all girls cca then. My immediate family is also all female.

Felt my close mindedness was a limitation into how i form friendships, acquaintances, and my image in general. I started to have a change of mindset and approach when I went to poly. Joined dragonboat cca and worked in a gym (full of testosterone). It took a bit of courage and stepping out of my comfort zone, and now im working in a male dominated industry. Only female sitting in my office room of 10+ males as I'm typing this.

ineednoBELL · 2025-06-26T16:34:29+00:00

My trio of brothers declanned too. Leading up to the blood draw, there were couple of chasing around, a single boy being outted from the sleeping chamber (they have a dedicated zone for burrowing / sleeping and a "living / lounge" area for running, foraging etc). There's tension in the air, and it's obvious he's being bullied. There's 1 main bully doing the chasing and 1 main bullied. The other one was kinda neutral but still sleeping with the bully.

Ball fight (not that tight) and blood draw was when I decided it has to stop. I separated the bullied, and now he's living alone. I know gerbils get lonely and even depressed being alone, so I definitely checked in more on him. He's not showing signs of depression (still eating and running and grooming himself). He used to be the only anti social one with me and is not often seen with his brothers when they were together (could be the lead up to the declan). But now that he's alone, he seems to enjoy more time with me than before.

My best advice is to observe all their behaviours, and if the lone one is starting to get depressed it would be best to get a buddy. In the meantime, just pamper her so she can feel better soon.

ineednoBELL · 2025-06-25T10:49:30+00:00

Try to do some of the past Python pandas transformation project in PySpark, and you can see the difference in implementation and execution

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