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)
