Thursday, April 17, 2008

New Addition To Zoo (Needs Name)

Yes, I have another hamster. But... it wasn't planned! Honestly, it was an unexpected addition to the zoo.

See, Sassafras is virtually untamable. I don't know what it is, but she is a very rare hamster. She is Syrian, beautiful, but she will bite repeatedly when intruded upon and chew my fingers bloody raw. She will not give my hands a chance, she merely bites when I offer her it to smell. What a darling. Here is a pic:





So Tuesday, Mama and I went to town. I was only considering getting another hamster, within the next couple months or so. And I was just gonna go in and see if they had the right wheel size, honest!!

Now in petstores, they label hamsters with fake names just to get money. "Black Bear" hamsters, are merely black shorthair Syrians. "Teddy Bear" hamsters, are golden shorthair Syrians. "Fancy Hamsters", are shorthair Syrians of various colors. "Longhair Fancy Hamsters", are longhair Syrians, various colors. Then there are dwarves, but they are easily distinguished from the Syrians. Anyways.

In the little box labeled "Longhair Fancy Hamsters", was a little dark brown fella and he was so cute I think my heart stopped. Back out to the truck I went, starstruck... Into WalMart we went for groceries. I emerged with... a bin.

The best cages for hamsters, in my opinion, are bins. Just a simple Rubbermaid, Sterilite, etc. bin- very large, mind you. Then you can drill holes in the lid for ventilation, and a hole to accompany the water bottle. It's very clever as they are light, easy to clean, and roomy. The plastic tubey kind of cages are unsafe and crowded, wire cages are okay but usually too small, aquariums/tanks are great except they are heavy and expensive. I like the bin cages.

Back to PetCo we went. I asked the "hamster guy" who came up, if I could handle the hamster, explaining that my previous purchase was... faulty. The answer was 'yes'. =D

He explained that they tried to handle the hamsters 10-15 minutes a day, but these had just arrived the day before and hadn't been handled much. Now there was a little banded cream (cream colored with a white band around the middle) in with the brown, that I hadn't seen before. (They are nocturnal, you see, and sleep most of the day.) He was definitely a cutie. The 'hamster guy' said the brown always just hid and was shy and a little fiesty, while the the cream was nicer and a bit more friendly. Well, I wasn't taking my chances on another Sassafras, so he caught the banded cream for me, and let me hold it.

During the transfer from his hands to mine, the little guy jumped, and, well... kinda did a flying-saucer leap through the air and landed with a little plop! on the floor. The guy just scooped him right up, checked him, and this time the transfer was complete. He was soooo soft and I was so excited, because after over a year of having Sassy, I could never hold her. He sniffed my thumb and bit it once, but that's okay because first of all he had been awoken from his peaceful slumber, and when you do that you are almost asking for a bite. Plus, he wasn't being mean about it at all. We humans see something, then touch it, to check it out. (Unless it's a snake or some such thing.) Well hamsters have bad eyesight, so they smell, then taste it. It drew blood but I didn't really care.

So into the box he went and I gathered up my supplies. A wooden house, wheel, ball, water bottle, and food dish. And home we went with a new critter!

At home I set him up, drilled the holes, and he was home! I tried offering him my hand, but he won't come to it, and he won't take treats. =\ Oh, well, he's still settling in. He lets me pet him fine, and I think tonight I'll try to hold him. =)

He also needs a name. I am thinking about Dexter, Sammy & Sonny. I really like D'artagnan and Muskogee but neither fit him. Any ideas?

Ya'll ready for some pictures?!?!

First pic I took, I think it's the best too. Yes, he is sitting in his food dish. Just look at that face!

By his house. It was hard to take pics, he kept scurrying out of the picture. =P

Getting a drink. A little blurry.

In his wheel. He runs on it like a mad-ham!

Water spout's in the way, but it's still really cute.

So there ya go, my newest addition. I'll let ya'll know how taming goes. Hopefully he won't eat me alive like Sassafras. Gee, my first ham had to be so evil... Most people get sweet and cuddly. I got the rotten rat. The ungrateful, evil, full-of-attitude, vicious rat.

I guess Mama could say the same thing about me.

In His Grip, Ranch Kiddo

5 comments:

Ranch Wife said...

Well, I wouldn't exactly call you a rotten rat! Spirited is more like it! And just for the record, I did not think we needed another 4-legged critter in the house, but he is awfuly cute!

I like Sherlock.

Ranch Kiddo said...

I know you didn't. You were acting reluctant. But I just had to, I just had this little nagging feeling in my heart when he bit me thumb, as crazy as that sounds.

He isn't a Sherlock. =P

Sara said...

Aw! He is cute! AH! call him D'artagnan. Haha, I watched that movie last night, oh how I love it. Or... Aramis, Athos, Porthos, or... um... Bob... Oliver...um....Freddy?

Ranch Kiddo said...

LOL well like I said, I like D'artagnan, it just doesn't fit him. I think his name is Dexter.

Shantyana said...

Aww he looks a bit like my hamster. (: