Hamilton McFluffy is a 2 year old Satin Golden Banded Syrian hamster. We adopted him on Dec 25th 2010. He weighs about 177 grams. His original name was Hammy, but we felt that was too plain for such a dapper fellow.
Periwinkle is a Sapphire Winter White dwarf hamster. She was born on December 23rd 2010, and we adopted her on Feb 5th 2011. She weighs about 52 grams. She has been entered in SoCal hamster shows, placing 1st place in 'Best in Show' and 'Cutest'.
The two little roborovski superstars that started it all, Micro and Nano. They were adopted on April 19th 2009. They entered one show, placing 1st and 2nd in 'Best in Show' and 'Fastest Ball Race', and 2nd and 3rd in 'Most Unusual Markings'. Micro passed away on April 6th 2010, and Nano on Feb 15th 2011.
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We bought an apple last week for Nano when she was dehydrated. (Rest in Peace, babygirl, I think of you every day). Instead of letting the rest of it go to waste, I decided to give a tiny piece to Hamilton since I haven't given him many fresh foods. It's not good to give Syrians lots of sugars, but I figured since I've drastically cut back on his treat intake that a little apple slice couldn't hurt. He seemed to love it! Nano would only take TINY little bites, but he was chomping away at it. We've been bringing him out of his cage every day trying to get him more socialized as well. He's soo soft.
Things are still kinda gloomy since the passing of Nano. She was such a big part of our lives for so long. I miss checking on her when I woke up, and before I went to bed. I miss opening her cage and rattling her food bowl, and having her run over to me. I miss her cute antics. I even miss her bites. It's going to be hard not having a roborovski, but we are not ready for another one so soon. Especially another agouti one. If we were to get any roborovskis, we would want two of those new "pied" babies. We cleaned out her cages yesterday and gave the Crittertrail Outlook to Periwinkle. We didn't have a way to attach a waterbottle to that cage, or a wheel with the Discovery Deluxe, so she has the original Crittertrail that we gave her, and the Outlook on the bottom, used mostly so she can dig around. We also gave her the 6.5" silent spinner Nano was using. Periwinkle already is bigger than Nano, and Nano was too small for the 4.5", so Peri really needed it. I hear her use the wheel, but she doesn't like us to watch her when she runs. Maybe she thinks she's invisible. Periwinkle is also using the pink Critter Castle that I got Nano and Micro back in 2009. It's my favorite hamster accessory, and all 3 of them seem to have enjoyed it so far. To be honest though, I can't help but feel guilty being happy to give these things to Periwinkle. I still feel bad about spending so much time focusing on Peri the week before Nano died. But I know it will get easier in time. Periwinkle was really upset that day, maybe she could sense it.
Yesterday a friend came over, and we took Periwinkle out to introduce the two. She wasn't afraid to walk on his hands or anything. I am really proud of my little berryboo! Part of me is thinking about entering her in a hamster show, but I still need to see if she wouldn't mind being in a small cage, and if she will do alright in the ball. I have some more "exciting" news.. but I'll save that for a new entry. Here are the pictures I've been slacking on posting..
On April 19th 2009, I purchased two little female roborovski hamsters named Nano & Micro. I had always wanted a hamster. Jim and I decided we wanted a pet, so I suggested robos. As soon as we went to see them at the store, we fell in love. Roborovskis are the smallest breed of hamster. They are about 2-3 inches long. Jim picked out Micro because she was the only one awake and running on her wheel like a little speed demon. I picked the tinest one in the cage and named her Nano.
Over the first three months, Their cage expanded rapidly. Despite their small size, robos require a lot of space to run around and play. Since Micro & Nano were our first little babies, we decided to spoil them. They truly lived in a hamsters paradise. Contrary to what most people think, They actually use every square inch of the cages. The set-up consisted of the following parts and accessories: CritterTrail one cage, CritterTrail outlook cage, CritterTrail discovery deluxe, CritterTrail x cage, CritterTrail school bus, habitrail ovo transport unit, 3 silent spinners, 1 CritterTrail treat dispensary, various little hideaways & tons of super pet tunnel tubes.
We were so excited to bring Micro & Nano home. I would spend lots of time just watching their cages and smiling at all the silly little things they would do. Like.. when we first got them the silent spinners, they would go into the wheels and run so fast. Due to the ball bearings that they would flip around the wheel & fly out. Don’t worry! It never seemed to phase them, as they always got right back on. Their favorite treat was sunflower seeds. They loved to take them from my hand, pouch them, and go stash them for later in their hideaways. I even joined the California Hamster Association and entered them in a hamster show! They won 1st & 2nd place for fastest in the ball for the dwarf class & 1st & 2nd place for roborovski dwarf breed female standards. They have their gold and silver medals hanging above their cages.
On the night of Monday April 5th 2010, Micro started showing signs of being ill. She wasn’t as active as she was in the morning, and I found her just sitting under her water bottle. She looked like she didn’t have much energy. I went to pick her up, and she didn’t try to run away at all like she usually did. I examined her all over, and all I noticed was a little mark by her lip. i thought she just had a booboo. I flipped her over onto her back, and that’s where I was absolutely shocked. I saw a tumor. It wasn’t that big, but it had to have popped up rather quickly because she was always showing me her belly. I put her back in her cage and kept checking on her.
On the morning of Tuesday April 6th 2010, she wasn’t doing much better. I woke up and checked on her and brought her out of her cage. The tumor was much larger than before. I called my boyfriend at work, and also the vet. I made an appointment for two hours later, the earliest I could. The vet examined her, and told me the news that I had been trying to deny to myself all day. She wasn’t doing well. She was dehydrated, and confirmed my suspicion on her illness. He told me she had 1-3 weeks left to live, & gave me some medicine for her lip. I went to the store and got her pedialyte & came home to rest with her. I held her and took some pictures with her for memories. i didn’t want to stress her out, so I put her back in her cage. About ten minutes later, I checked on her again.. and she had passed.
Though Jim and I were extremely heartbroken, Nano didn't seem to be bothered too much by her passing. She became really needy for awhile, though. She would do anything she could to get our attention, and beg for treats. We had to move in October 2010, so her cage had to be condensed down to just three CTs. It made her pretty mad, but she learned to live with it. She used every space that she could. She stayed active. She loved to run on her silent spinners, and took up chewing cardboard rolls.. but I think her favorite hobby was making her beds. She spent so much time perfecting them.
I was never able to tame Nano, but that didn't stop me from loving her with all of my heart, and then some. She would try to bite me anytime my hand was in the cage, even if it wasn't trying to touch her. She was a ninja. She loved sunflower seeds, the tiny sunflower seed looking seeds, and spinach. Apples made her extremely hyper.
I figured since I got them at the pet shop in April, that they were about 2 months or so. Nano lived to be about 2 years old. Nano was active all the way up until Feb. 14th 2011. Late that night I found her laying under her water bottle looking exhausted. I was sent into shock mode right away, as that was the same way I found Micro. It was 3:30am. I noticed blood where she had been laying, and after examining her, I came to the conclusion that she was constipated. At this point, she was still walking around her cage. She was drinking water. My boyfriend and I stayed up all night with her, doing everything we could. We gave her olive oil. She hated it. The only time in her life she did not try to bite me was because of the olive oil on my fingers.
As the sun started to rise, and after I felt like I couldn't cry anymore.. My boyfriend and I came to the conclusion that it was her time to go. We knew this was going to be our last day with her, so he stayed home from work and class to be with me and her. I know people are probably going to hate me for this, but I am not going to lie. We did not end up taking her to the vet. We did not want to stress her out even more by taking her out of her cage, making her sit in her critter keeper for awhile (she always hated when we transported her in that) and being handled by strange people. We made her as comfortable as possible.
My little trooper even went to her favorite spot when she knew it was time for her to go. She fought hard and strong until the very end. It was the saddest thing I ever saw, up there with the passing of Micro. My boyfriend and I cried so hard, even though we had been crying all night and day. Since we live in an apartment complex, we wanted to bury her somewhere more permanent that we could visit. We chose to bury her in my moms garden next to her sister, Micro. We drove about 2 hours to get there during the worst traffic time, but she was worth it.
Micro and Nano taught me so much about hamsters, and I am so lucky to have had them in my life. While my little babies are gone in the physical sense, they will forever live on in our hearts. I was lucky enough to record a lot of their life through pictures and video, and blogs online. I also have their medals and ribbons from the hamster show on my wall near the bed as a constant reminder of just how special they were. My moonchkin moonchkies. My moonpies. My Nano-butt. My Micro-kins. I will love you forever. Meet me at the Rainbow Gates.
Who would of figured that $15 could be so irreplaceable.
(more photos in the gallery, and videos on my youtube channel ~jaybeestarr)
Everyone, please keep my little OG baby moonchkie, Nano, in your thoughts. She isn't doing so hot tonight. She was fine earlier in the day, but when I checked on her tonight, she was looking very lethargic. I looked around her cage and saw some blood. She seems to be constipated. I can see fecal matter sticking out of her bottom about 1/8th-1/4th of an inch. She is very uncomfortable, I can tell. She just looks like she's upset, too. I saw her drink, so she is staying hydrated. I gave her some apple slices as well. I am going to call the vet as soon as I can.. but that won't be for atleast 3 more hours. I just wish someone could give me some advice on how to help her in the mean time. I feel so guilty and upset for spending so much time with Periwinkle lately. :( I am not ready to say goodbye. My boyfriend is not ready to say goodbye. I hope that she makes it through this. She is our baby girl.. I am not a religious person, but if you are, please pray for her. I know she is just an animal to most people, but she has always been more than that to me. Even when she was biting me and being unruly.. I never stopped loving her like a best friend. She was there for me when no one else was. I love you Nano..
Nano woke me up this morning by chewing on the bars in her Discovery Deluxe. She started doing it shortly after Micro died. I used to disconnect it at night, but for the past two weeks or so I've left all her cages connected at night, and she stopped. But this morning she was doing it again. I gave her some new food and that was enough to distract her. When she is in those moods, it's really hard to get her to focus on anything else. I usually am trying to get her to leave the cage via tube so I can cap it off. Since she is starting to lose her fur, her legs look so tiny. Look!
We've been handling Periwinkle every day to get her used to us so she doesn't forget. She didn't squeak at us at all this time. I tried gloves, but she treats my hand and glove the same, so I figured hands would be more personal. Plus it was easier to hold her without them. Jim has a much easier time scooping her up than I do. Perhaps it is because his hands are a bit larger, or he is more confident. I was spot cleaning Peri's cage, and when I tried to pick her up afterwards, she was eager to go on my hand. Tomorrow I will try rubbing my hands in her bedding to get her scent on them and see how that works out.
Jim handling Periwinkle
Her baby ears were standing up so tall!
Oh there you are, Peri!
She gave a side profile in case she has a run in with the law, LOL
I could tell already this morning that today was going to be a good day because Nano was up and being active. She was being super spastic. Perhaps she noticed I took her yellow TV away from her Discovery Deluxe, but she never used it anyway! I gave it to Peri, but replaced that spot in Nano's cage with the little Super Pet bed. Ever since Saturday, she's been spending most of her time sleeping under her Critter Castle (I really want one of these for Peri!). I think she was mad that I made her be out of her cage so much this past weekend, and getting her nails clipped. Clipping them though seems to have helped her, because she ran for a very long time.
Speaking of running.. I finally saw little Miss Periwinkle running on her silent spinner! Jim thought he heard her the other night, but it could of been Nano. I saw her yesterday afternoon, though I don't have any photographic evidence. I hope she will use it more often. I said "Good Morning" to Peri today, and gave her a couple of random things from a seed mix, which she seems to love. When I open the little box on the top, she wants to walk right over the edge and explore. Every little bit of progress counts!
How many times have you heard, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you"? Well, no matter how many times I've tried to tell that to Nano, she doesn't listen. I don't expect her to, though. She is almost two years old, and I haven't had any luck taming her yet. She is your typical roborovski. She's skittish and quick. She's a bit cage aggressive. I just had her attention, and I was trying to give her a treat and take a picture. She decided she wanted to bite me instead! This time I managed to get a picture. The pink thing is the yogurt drop, and I dropped it because she bit me.
I took Nano to get her nails clipped on Saturday. My friend, Linda, is able to hold Nano and she stays perfectly still. It's so weird. She just closes her eyes and relaxes, letting us trim her nails. She's got the magic touch! The ham-whisperer! Nano got looked over, and she seems to have something wrong with her spine. When you touch her, you can feel all the bones along her spine and one of them has a bump. It doesn't seem to be bothering her though, and I don't think there's much a vet can do to help her out. Other than that, her fur is thinning and her chest is balding. I get so sad just thinking of this. It's been a great two years, and I don't want it to end any time soon.
Welcome to my own personal little corner on the web! I am thinking about purchasing the domain name, so be on the look out for that soon! The only natural first post is an introduction post, right? My name is Shelly. I'm 22 years old, and I live in Southern California. I live with my boyfriend; Jim, and our 3 hamsters, one of which we just got two days ago! We have been keeping hamsters for nearly two years, so by no means do I claim to be an expert. I had always wanted a dwarf hamster when I was younger, but my parents always said no. Like every other kid, I didn't understand why I couldn't have it. Looking back now, I am glad I was unable to buy a hamster at that time because I would of not been able to properly care for a furry friend the way that I would now.
I got my first hamsters on April 19th 2009. My boyfriend and I had recently moved into an apartment and had wanted a pet. Our room mates already had a cat, so we had to think of something that would be fine just living in our small room. I looked into dwarf hamsters, and the minute we laid eyes on the Roborovskiis, we fell in love! We purchased two little girls. Jim, picked out Micro because she was running on her wheel, and I picked out Nano; the smallest of the group. Our first set-up for them consisted of the Crittertrail X-Treme, the Crittertrail Mini and the little yellow bus, though it soon to become a massive set-up! A Crittertrail Outlook, a Crittertrail One, a Crittertrail Discovery Deluxe, a Crittertrail X-Treme, a blue transport Habitrail Ovo, the little yellow bus and lots of tubes quickly became their paradise. It took about two hours to clean with two people. Micro passed on April 6th 2010 of a mammary tumor that seemed to grow nearly overnight. We took her to the vet, but there was nothing they could do. She died later that day. Micro Moonchkie is one of the main reasons I wanted to create this blog. Nano is still doing great. She is nearly two years old. She is showing signs of aging, such as hair loss and thinning, but she's still rather active throughout her cage.
We adopted our second hamster from Jim's mother and sister during our Christmas 2010 vacation at their house. He is a long haired satin golden banded Syrian hamster. They originally purchased him during Summer of 2009, so he is about a year and a half old. They named him Hammy, but I felt that was far too plain for such a great hamster, thus Sir Hamilton McFluffy of the Syrian Longhairs was born. He loves his new found "freedom", upgrading from two Crittertrail cages into a nice big cage with a senior sized Wodent Wheel. McFluffy is quite the contrast from Nano. I am able to pick him up and play with him, and I don't have to worry about him running away in a split second. He makes me very happy.
Periwinkle, a Sapphire Winter White, came into our lives rather suddenly. On Feb. 4th 2011, a friend of mine sent me an email asking if I would like to adopt her. Her birthdate is December 23rd 2010. She was picked on by her colony and had to be separated from the group. She was quite fearful, but just needed time to trust. How could I say no? I picked her up the next day. She is about six weeks old. I was quite apprehensive about getting a new hamster that is afraid of me since Nano always bites me, but I've already seen so much improvement with Periwinkle. She used to squeak and hide every time she saw you paying attention to her, but here we are, just a few days later and she doesn't mind people watching her. She doesn't squeak as much. We are working on socializing with her every day. I have high hopes for her. She currently lives in a Crittertrail cage, but I am looking to upgrade her to a bin when she's a bit older.
Sorry for such a long post, but I seem to have gotten everything covered. I upload videos of my hamsters all the time, so if you would like to check out more, please visit my Youtube Channel for many more videos of my furry friends.
