Meet the Staff

The Manager of The Jungle Store is such an animal lover, she won't even eat them! She has owned Rats, Guinea Pigs, Frogs, Ducks, Geese, Turtles, Hamsters, Hedgehogs, Cockatiels, Gerbils, Chinchillas, Mice (which were saved from being fed to the class snake) and Fish. She would have shared her life with more critters, but her brother had pet allergies.

14 Million Americans suffer allergic reactions to pets. This is primarily caused by the pet's dander – tiny bits of skin that slough off daily. There are dog and cat breeds that cause only mild reactions, sometimes none at all. While researching the pet that is best suited to you and your family, you may wish to take the "allergy factor" into account.

Now that our Manager has her own home, she shares her life with these friends:
Hermit crabs Mr. Crabs, Crabby Patty and Patrick Star (he's the one in the pink shell). Some might say that Hermit crabs are easy to tend to, but they do require special care and a warm, moist environment.

Raisin is her owner's favorite companion. She was chosen out of foster care when she was 8 months old. Her mom was a Shar Pei, her dad, a mystery. Raisin loves to sleep, nap and dress-up. She's a great runner and finished third in our local Dog & Jog race. She promises a first place finish this year.

Another pet rodent

This photo by Dee Kull shows a typical gerbil stance—on the hind legs using the tail for balance. The bottoms of gerbil's back feet are furry.

Gerbils were once called desert rats. The gerbil subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents. The ones raised as pets in the US are Mongolian gerbils. (I had no idea!)

In their natural environment, Mongolian gerbils are mostly insectivores.