At the Show
Arrival
Upon arriving to the venue, the first thing you will do is to leave your gerbils and equipment in your car (or if you arrived early in your hotel room). Do not bring your gerbils or equipment to the show hall until you have checked in with the Health Inspectors. They will either have a sign-up sheet or will give you an estimate for when you can bring your gerbils down. You may take your gerbils to the hotel room to wait. Do not leave your gerbils in the car.
Health Inspection
When it is your turn to bring your gerbils and equipment down, please bring them to the Health Inspection table. Stack all gerbils on the table neatly, with their cage tags visible. Place any large equipment on the floor. Once all your belonging are ready the HI team will begin inspecting your kennel. During this time you should step away from the area. If the HI team needs to ask you a question they will come and get you. If there are any known issues please flag them to the HI team on their cage tags.
Friday Night
After Health Inspection, bring your gerbils and equipment to your table. The AGS or the venue will provide a single-use table cloth. You may choose to bring your own, if you do, please wash them prior to the show. Take the time to set up your gerbils with fresh food and water. This is a great time to socialize, meet other breeders, look for adoptable gerbils, and have fun. We often order pizza to be delivered around 7pm or we go out for dinner. If you are planning on going out for dinner, do let others know your plans. It is a good idea to set up your show bins the night before. Sometimes we play games or other activities towards the end of the evening. The room will be locked at the end of the night.
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Saturday
Saturday morning the doors are open to exhibitors at about 8 am. You should start the process of prepping your gerbils for their big day. All show gerbils should receive a sand bath, paying special attention to the napes of their necks. Show cages should be prepped with 1-2 inches of white bedding Kaytee Clean and Cozy is the preferred bedding, but Carefresh is acceptable. Each gerbil should have 1 orange baby carrot and about a tablespoon of food. Gerbils should be on the show tables by 10:30am.
The show results are announced in the evening around 6pm. Then there will be a group picture. Gerbils will be gathered and brought back to their table. Please be cautious while putting your gerbils back in their cages. Make sure that you have your own gerbils and that you are putting them back with their cage mates. We will then go to dinner and come back to pack up and clean up.
While cleaning up please be mindful of your area. Clean up any trash, loose bedding or debris that has fallen on the floor. Its is important that we clean up after ourselves and do not leave a mess behind, as we tend to visit the same venues year after year.