Hamsters =)

my experience with the cutest and most lovely pet one can have! haha =)

(all pictures are from internet btw, 'cos either my photos then were taken with outdated phone cameras that do not have brains to connect to the computers, or that i didn't bother taking. haha)

-PART 1 -

i had my very first hamster when i was in p6/ sec 1 i think. hmm, it was a brown and white Syrian breed (male).

While my sister had the pure golden one (female)

So, being first time owners, we were elated! haha. my very first home for the 2 babies (ok, not literally) was one with a red plastice base (yes, my love for red started way back then) and a white painted coated aluminum grill like cage.

along with the cage were a yellow plastic running wheel, a yellow food bowl, and a plastic drinking bottle. other stuff bought include sawdust and food (those mixed kind i think, with nuts, dried vegetable, corn etc)

ok as for actual hamster-rearing, the biggest hurdle (i reckon) would be daring to touch and carry the hamster at ease. took me some time getting used to, and also for the hamster to get used to you! oh, and you will also have to get used to cleaning the cage! (especially troublesome when they do not cooperate, lol)

for me, i named my hamster 'Pebbles' =) can't remember what my sister named hers. anyway, i enjoy 'playing' with them! haha, it's like i would take pebbles out of the cage and let it enjoy a moment of being cage-free. opps x) stroking it, feeding it, sometimes even chatting to it! and as i became less afraid, i would cuddle it in my palms, and try to induce it to sleep. haha. sometimes playing with them cheer me up and help me relieve stress, so i would usually try to set aside some time to play with them.

now for some interesting stuff that i learnt from my first batch of hamsters.

1) haha, my very first impression of them (when i got to keep them personally that is) was that they are one greedy bunch! omg, the way they can stuff endless food in the pockets of their mouth is just unbelievable. they look like they have 2 big tumours in both cheeks! lolz

2) hamsters shit anywhere, anytime (ok, maybe not when they are sleeping), and sometimes they would 're-eat' their shit. gosh, was quite disgusted la. read up a bit online, and realised that it's their nature to consume their faeces, as it is still considered nutritious.

3) while they shit anywhere, they tend to unrinate at a fixed spot, normally at one of the corners. haha, at least they are a tad cleanliness-conscious.

4) they seem to eat almost anything. fresh veggie like cabbage, carrot, green leafy kinds also. fruits like apple, pear. staples like bread, biscuit. even junk food like potato chips! sheez, not at all fussy. lol. oh, i remembered there was a time when they had an overdose of carrots, and their shit turned out to be orange. o.o lol, poor guys.

5) hamsters cannot live without grinding their teeth. learnt again that this is to prevent their teeth from growing too long. so basically, they will climb up the cage, hang on it vertically, and start biting on the grills, producing the typical metallic sound, while at the same time chewing off the white paint (argh!) made my poor cage rusty. haha. and even after buying the grinding dough for them, they still continue eroding the grills, making them all rusty -.-

6) the toilet roll is actually a very cool playing toy for the hamsters. very, very fun! you can create a maze for it too with the rolls! haha, but it's a no no if they are afraid of the dark :P

7) hamsters love to escape. they seem to find the exploration of the world outside their home their greatest adventure. lol. it's like the moment you leave the cage unlocked, hah! out comes the adventurous hamsters! and while they are out enjoying their exploration, here i am having a headache trying to find them. haha same for my family members. it's like they can be missing for up to a day! don't understand why would they want to leave the comfort of their home. haha x)

ok, i shall recount more about the life journey of my two hamsters =)

hmm, initially when i first had them, i couldn't tell their sex. cos you know, they weren't mature yet x) haha. basically, gender can be differentiated by their, erm, buttocks? for males only, they will have 2 pink kidney shaped organs (?) at their buttocks. lol. i think it's for sperm production. anw, i realised that only after some time, when they grew older. haha.

as for the life of a hamster, i think it is at least more exciting that that of a fish or tortoise (used to keep them too, haha) besides eating and sleeping, they exercise quite a lot too! the running wheel is like one of their favourite form of entertainment cum source of keeping fit. hmm, they fight sometimes too, which is usually quite obvious from the squeaking sounds that result. and usually, it is the male that gets bullied! LOL. ok la, they may not be fighting, maybe it is their form of playing with each other as well.

ok, so after a few months of getting to know each other, and as they grew older, they fell in love and decided that it was time to have offsprings. in other words, they started mating! at first, i never knew that was how they mated. but after a while, their actions made a little more sense (bio in lower sec?) haha. and watching them mate make me feels as though i am intruding into their privacy. hah. don't think i should describe their mating process x)

they mated quite a few times i think. and apparently, the sperm did get to the egg, but i didn't realise it. so the female got pregnant la, and somehow i didn't like feel that her stomach was becoming bigger. so anyway, after some time, she gave birth! buttttt, the babyhamster was stillborn or something :( i still remember how it looks like. it was shaped like a kidney bean, and i could vaguely make out the eyes, hands and legs. ahhh so sad! i only saw one, but i'm sure she gave birth to more. but i think she ate them up! 'cos at that time, pebbles was still in the cage. or maybe pebbles ate them too! argh! but most likely the mother saw pebbles as a threat, and decided to eat up her kids to 'protect' them. quite sad :(

after the pregnancy, she was kind of weak and stuff. probably had some after pregnancy complications as well (i am guessing a lot, haha). her health deteriorated after some time, and like any life cycle, she passed on. (rip female one) :( that was casualty no. 1.

after that, pebbles was all alone on his own. i'm sure he must have been quite sad too. both living in the same home, he must have guessed his partner has left him. probably even knew that she wasn't going to make it. yea, so sad :(

so pebbles had to endure loneliness, being all alone.

butt, we decided to bring in another companion for him :) haha. and this one presented us with a huge shock, but was a pleasant surprise!

-END OF PART 1 -

my tale of the cute little furballs =)