Meet the Hamsters Part 2 - Taming a hamster

Taming a Syrian Hamster - my technique

Hi everyone!

Well this week's video is a leap of faith for me, trying to tame my new Syrian hamster Charlie - I haven't tried to hold a hamster since I was a teenager - the fear of pain is real 😅

Be prepared for super-cute footage of both Charlie, and Bertie my Winter White Russian Dwarf hamster 😊🐹🐹

Enjoy,
Love
Rebecca xx

Introducing my Family - part 6 - Daisy

Daisy

Friday 31st March 2017 was a particularly bad one at work. We needed to pick up our mood, and some more hamster and guinea pig food, so dropped in to Pets at Home on the way back from work.

We started our visit with a look at the baby boy guinea pigs, so many colours, so many hairstyles, so much cute! Then we moved round, past the bunnies to the baby girl guinea pigs, they were really outgoing! There were around 8-10 girls in the pen, definitely at least three different age groups, and probably from more litters than that, as they were all so different.

One of the larger girls looked very like Molly, Rex coated, but in white and lemon - very cute! then suddenly another tiny baby appeared from under a hidey! She was tri-colour, with long wavy hair...Oh My Goodness!

Daisy
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

MrPB spotted her first, and instantly fell for her. He started talking about where we could house her, who she might bond with!! I agreed she was lovely, but we already have five piggies, could we really have two trios? A quad and a pair? One big herd?

I suggested we go and look in the adoption area, just to give us both a minute to think. We looked at the beautiful Lion Head rabbit, multiple hamsters and a trio of HUGE adult female guinea pigs who obviously needed to be rehomed together. Definitely no space for any of them!

We went back over to the the babies and looked at the tiny little girl again - she really was beautiful! MrPB gave me final say, but I knew she was coming home with us, and I reasoned that as we don't know how old Molly is, it might be wise to bond Emmeline with a younger piggie now. We know Emmeline isn't the most sociable creature in the world, but maybe she would accept a baby better than an adult. With the baby being so small, Emmeline shouldn't feel threatened by her.

An assistant got her out and let us have a cuddle with her. I checked her over, made sure she was definitely a girl, checked her bottom was clean, eyes bright and nose clear. We explained our intention of bonding her with our existing pigs to the assistant, hence why we weren't looking at more than one baby. He asked us lots of questions about our set up, feeding regime, our experience of bonding piggies, and quickly he recognised that we knew what we were doing.

By this time MrPB had already named her, she was to be Daisy.

Please Note:

I do not advocate impulse buying pets. Remember that I am an adult with my own home and a good job to cover any unforseen expenses (ie. vet bills). I have kept guinea pigs and hamsters since I was very small, I have five guinea pigs already so I know what I am doing by taking on another one. I would prefer to adopt if possible, but sometimes a little face just steals your heart.

...Back to Daisy

I believe she is (at least partly) a Lunkarya. She has the curly sideburns and two rump rossettes that differentiate the Lunkarya from the Texel. This means her coat is going to get very crazy as she grows up. At the moment the fall is quite short and tidy, but we'll keep it trimmed so that it doesn't get tangled or matted.

When we got her home at about 3pm, we separated off one level of cage, cleaned it thoroughly, put in fresh newspaper, hay and Burgess Excel nuggets, and put a fresh water bottle on the bars of the cage. We also made Daisy a little hidey area, and then put her in the cage. We also gave Molly and Emmeline a dose of Ivermectin 'Spot On' treatment to be sure they wouldn't pass any parasites on to Daisy.

We left Daisy quietly until 10am the following day. She had been silent, very nervous and desperate to hide in the cage, so we decided to try bonding her with Molly straight away. She was so relieved to see another piggie that she dashed over to Molly, squeaking excitedly. Molly gave Daisy a little reprimand to calm her down, chuttered her teeth and had to keep defending her food. Daisy was trying to eat anything Molly ate...as it disappeared into poor Molly's mouth!

Daisy was very keen to interact with Molly
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

...very keen
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

Initially we thought we would bond Daisy with Molly, then put them back in their own cages overnight, and start again in the morning, but Daisy was so desperate to be with others that we decided she would hate to be on her own again. So later that day, once we were happy with Molly and Daisy being together, we put Emmeline in too.

The dynamic of the three together was fascinating. Daisy rushed over to Emmeline to say hi, Emmeline ticked her off soundly, displaying all sorts of dominance behaviour, Then Molly faced-off to Emmeline to quieten her down. So Molly wasn't exactly defending Daisy, just asking Emmeline to respect her dominance. Daisy obviously felt much safer with Molly, but was still excited to be with everyone, popcorning, zooming and squeaking all round the pen!

Emmeline joined in the bonding session
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

Eventually all the excitement was too much for them, and they all flomped out for a nap, Molly first, then Daisy, then Emmeline.

Exhausted, they all flomped out for a nap
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

When we were satisfied that the bulk of the dominance behaviour was over and they were being calmer, We cleaned out Molly and Emmeline's cage really thoroughly and put them all in together.

With lots of levels in the cage, everyone found their spot, Emmeline tried to keep Molly to herself by blocking her into a corner, while Daisy set up camp in the hayloft. We monitored them closely, as dominance behaviours can start up all over again when the environment changes. When we were happy with them, MrPB and I went into the next room to watch some tv.

About an hour later, there was some alarmed wheeking, which became a whimper. I rushed into the kitchen to find Emmeline now in the hayloft and Daisy down on the next level looking terrified. I scooped up Daisy and gave her to MrPB to hold while I went and got Molly and some lettuce. We all sat together for a few minutes, then slowly moved Molly over to be with Daisy. Daisy was so relieved she tried to burrow under Molly as if she was going to nurse from her. Molly was not interested in that (it's been a long time since she had babies of her own!), so with the help of the lettuce we persuaded Daisy just to sit next to Molly.

The following day we bought Daisy a toy giraffe (one suitable for a new born human baby, so no plastic eyes or loose bits). We made sure the giraffe smelt of us and we put it up in the hayloft with Daisy. She loves it! When we get her out for a cuddle, Giraffe comes too, and Daisy tries to burrow underneath. Giraffe even came out to play on the grass with everyone yesterday!

When I posted on Instagram that this was the fastest bonding session ever, I might have been a bit over-optimistic, but they are doing very well. Good job girls!

Six guinea pigs and a giraffe enjoying the grass and sunshine
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

Introducing my family - part 5 - Princess (now Rosie)

Meet Princess Rosie

Princess when she arrived

Princess is a female Peruvian guinea pig. Being Peruvian, she has long hair which falls over her face and rump (as opposed to the Sheltie, whose hair all flows backwards. This is her on the day we brought her home.

Princess

A work colleague had asked me if we would be able to re-home Princess, who is 4 years old and had been left on her own after her mother Elsa had died. There was another guinea pig and some rabbits kept in the same area of the garden, but Princess hadn't been herself since Elsa's passing.

We did some soul searching, as we already have 11 pets, but eventually decided that we would offer Princess a home.

We set up our spare hutch on the opposite side of the kitchen to Phoebe, Tilly, Molly and Emmeline, and after work on a Friday afternoon we went to visit Princess. She was a little timid, and skittish at being picked up from her hutch, but after a few minutes of being held she relaxed a little. We discussed her care and feeding regime with her owner, popped her into a travel box and drove her home.

I could feel some very small mats forming in the back of her coat (the sweep), and the individual hairs felt quite dry. All I did on that first afternoon was to carefully groom Princess with a wide toothed pet comb, and cut out the mats as I came across them.

I gave Princess a little hair cut to remove some small mats from her back end

It is always advised to cut mats out rather than trying to detangle them, even when very small, as they pull on the hair and skin and can be very painful. It's also important to note that mats can form very quickly, and round the tiniest bit of hay, so unless you are grooming daily then they are inevitable and must be dealt with as soon as you spot them. Don't wait for them to get bigger.

Now, it's quite difficult when you go and look at someone's pet with a mind to giving it a new home. You want to inspect the animal, to check for lumps, bumps, weight, discharges, mites and lice, but you are under the microscope as well. How are you handling the owners pet? Do you really know what you're talking about? Are you finding fault with the way they kept their pet? All I can say is, do check these things, but do it surreptitiously, under the guise of petting the animal. If you are really unhappy or suspect they are ill then walk away...or if you're me, take the animal home and get it to the vets as soon as possible for an examination.

NEVER put a new animal straight in with, or near your existing pets. They must have a good couple of weeks in quarantine to be sure they have no illnesses or pests that could be passed to your pets. That doesn't mean treating them any differently, give them somewhere quiet, warm and comfortable to live. Washable toys and hidies rather than soft/fleecy ones. Just don't bring them into close contact with your pets, and always wash your hands and forearms, and change your clothes before you go from handling your new animal to your existing ones and vice versa.

Another minefield is money...

When I have adopted animals from Pets at Home, you don't pay, but make a donation to the animal rescue charity. The amount you donate is up to you, but the store is not getting the money, it is going towards helping other animals. If you find you can no longer care for the animal then you have to return it to Pets at Home. you cannot sell or re-home it yourself. It's part of a signed agreement. If you adopt from a rescue centre, the rules are much the same.

When Emmeline came to us (under very similar circumstances to Princess), she came with a cage, bowls, feed, bedding, bottles, toys, hidies - it was like Christmas! The family are able to visit Emmeline whenever they want, and have offered to help us with any vet bills incurred by her. This is so kind, and highly unusual. Emmeline was very well socialised, in beautiful condition and settled in really quickly. No money changed hands for her.

Princess' owner asked us for an amount of money (I will not say how much), to include a hutch and run. Now, firstly, we didn't need another hutch and run, secondly we didn't really need another piggie, and we had understood it that they were keen to re-home her to someone they trusted, not recoup some of their losses (that's a bit harsh, and is not exactly the case, but...). So MrPB and I explained the arrangement we have with Emmeline's owners, that we were happy to help them by taking Princess, but had no intention of 'buying' her.

Thankfully this was all agreed before we arrived at the house. It would have been very awkward to get there thinking everyone understood the terms of the arrangement, only for them to change once the piggie was packed into the travel box.

After a couple of days to settle in, Princess was given a spa day, starting with another hair trim, a 20 minute conditioning treatment with Gorgeous Guineas 'Aloe Melt', and a lather, rinse, repeat bath in Gorgeous Guineas 'Lice and Easy'.

Rosie had a Gorgeous Guineas bath

And an ear cleaning

She got daily groomings to help us bond with her, and keep her coat knot-free, then a week later had a second 'Lice and Easy' bath. Her coat looked and felt more hydrated and less fly-away than when she arrived. We also cleaned her ears (externally only, not inside the ear canal) with olive oil over the course of a couple of days, as she had quite a thick, dark brown waxy build up on them. Massaging the ears with olive oil emulsifies the wax and it can be wiped away with clean, damp cotton wool pads, and is much gentler and more effective than trying to rub or scrape it off.

After the second bath Rosie's coat looked less flyaway and dry

Once the bathing and quarantine period was over, we let the newly renamed Rosie have a playdate with Molly, just like we did with Emmeline. Molly is such a gentle soul, and she imposes her dominance by being calm and assertive, not grumpy. She allows the newcomer to sniff her bottom, she teeth chatters, but that's normal and understandable, and once the newcomer has allowed Molly to wash her ear, the pecking order is sorted, Molly is the Momma.

Rosie ran to Molly straight away, and then panicked a bit that Molly was not who she thought she was. Molly remained her calm self, Rosie grumbled, teeth chattered, mounted Molly repeatedly...Molly just walked away. They ate side by side - food is an excellent distraction during bonding sessions, and I like adding small amounts of new foods to the pen during the session so there is always something interesting to investigate.

Rosie and Molly had a playdate

Which went quite well

We kept a close watch on them the whole time, and had a towel on standby to throw over them

NEVER try to break up a fight with your bare hands! You WILL get bitten!

Once Molly had washed Rosie's ear and the mood was calm, we removed Rosie from the pen.
She shouted and shouted and shouted! Whether she didn't want to be separated from Molly, or she felt she should have been left in the pen (which would be a dominant/territorial thing) it's hard to say. If we can give them even more room to bond, there is a chance we can eventually have Rosie living permanently with Molly and Emmeline.

Wouldn't that be wonderful!

I think Rosie looks quite happy to have joined our family

How We're Coping with Bird Flu in 2016-2017

DEFRA Set up Prevention Zone across UK

Avian Flu has again been discovered in Europe and the UK, and as a precaution, all keepers of poultry and birds have been instructed by DEFRA to prevent their birds mixing with the wild bird population. This applies to farmers, backyard poultry keepers, pigeon fanciers, the size and type of bird 'collection' is irrelevant. THIS IS LAW!!

The government’s chief vet, Nigel Gibbens, has declared a “prevention zone” for England that requires commercial and individual bird keepers to keep their birds inside for 30 days or take steps to separate them from wild birds.

The order, which was texted to poultry farmers on Tuesday, comes after a type of highly pathogenic avian flu, H5N8, was found in dead wild birds and some farm birds across Europe.

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“The risk that we are trying to prevent is to our British poultry flock … to make sure these birds are protected against disease,” Gibbens told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added: “Everybody should do what they can. Pet bird keepers should do their best and take sensible measures to separate them from wild birds, while looking after their welfare. I don’t want people putting them in a box in the dark and keeping them there for weeks on end.”

Extract taken from The Guardian 07 Dec 2016, read the full article here

The Prevention Zone remains in place until 28th January 2017, at which point  the risk will be reviewed and either end, or be extended.

Avian Flu and Bio-security Measures

This may sound like something Border Security needs to worry about, but if you want to keep birds outside, than you really need to think about bio-security before you even decide what birds you want.

Chicken run before the roof is put on

Our trio of Orpington hens have a coop inside a permanent, fixed run. Under normal circumstances they would also have access to our garden, but for this period they need to be contained. Our permanent bio-security measures include:

• A fixed polycarbonate sheet roof over the entire run

Polycarbonate sheeting covers the entire chicken run roof

• Entire run enclosed in 25mm x 12.5mm Weld mesh
• Run door with two separate latches (prevents accidental opening).
• Run secured to hard standing, not grass or soil
• Feeders and drinkers always kept inside the run.
• Wearing disposable rubber gloves when entering the run, handling the birds or anything they've come into contact with.
• Anything we use to feed/water wild birds is kept exclusively for them and never used for our hens.

Other measures in place during an Avian Flu warning are:

• Disinfecting the coop, dustbath and perches in the run. Use Vircon S or Stalosan
• Disinfecting boots/footware before entering or after exiting the run. The best thing to use is a washing up bowl or tubtrug with a solution of Vircon S. Make sure you can get the entire sole (ideally more) of your footware in the bowl and covered with solution, and change the solution regularly.

DEFRA confirm that Avian Flu is not a risk to public health or the food chain. Keeping backyard flocked in bio-secure enclosures helps protect them from coming into contact with the wild bird population which could be carrying the virus.

Members of the public are encouraged to report dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks), or other dead wild birds such as gulls or birds of prey, to the Defra helpline on 03459 33 55 77. Defra will then collect some of these birds and test them to help us understand how the disease is distributed geographically and in different types of bird.

Preventing Boredom during bird flu confinement:

The Run

Our trio don't go outside the run very often, in fact in squally, wintery weather they'd rather be under cover in the run anyway.

The Activity Centre and Maggie's Six Coop in place

Young Hetty fits through the expanded
door easily

Our run measures 3m x3m, and includes; a Maggie's Six hen house from Flyte So Fancy, Dorset (we had to expand the door width a bit to accommodate our ladies large bottoms ;) ); a covered dustbath with perches (from Flyte So Fancy but not in their current catalogue, we call it 'the Activity Centre'); galvanised drinker and wall mounted feeder which is attached to our run wall and has it's own integral cover. 

Having a decent size run is important, stress and overcrowding can lead to nasty vices such as feather-pecking, bullying and egg eating. The smaller the bird, the more active it is. Our Orpingtons are very docile, and hardly ever bother to run for something...unless it's corn! They are very contented to spend most of their day on the perches of the Activity Centre, or luxuriating in the dust bath. We add diatomaceous earth to the play sand to help the hens combat any outbreaks of lice or red mites.

Smaller birds or a larger flock in the same run would probably not deal with confinement so well.

However, here's a little lesson I learnt when I worked at Forsham Cottage Arks (now Granddad Rob Designs). Hens will accept a run as the end of their world for as long as they are contained within it. If one day you open the run door, it will take them ages to use it, partly from fear of the unknown, but mostly because they don't recognise the door as a way to enter or leave the run. But, once they have discovered their new environment, you have effectively expanded the edge of their world, and they will always want to explore that boundary. If you have to enclose them again, like now, they will try to rush at their old boundary, they will get distressed that they can't get out to roam their world. This should only last a few days, but finding ways to entertain your flock will help calm them.

Essentially then, a hen that is always confined to a good size enclosure will be happy in that enclosure for ever. She won't feel confined, or be looking to get out. That is the edge of her world.

If you expand the edge of her world and then have to reduce it again, that is when trouble can start.

Jane the Orpington hen is normally an explorer

Feed and Foraging

I don't advocate feeding human food or kitchen scraps to chickens. The old adage "Put rubbish in, get rubbish out" is ingrained in me. We feed Smallholder Range Layers Pellets. Ideally I would prefer to feed Layers Mash, as it helps combat boredom by making the chickens eat longer to take in the same amount of food compared to eating pellets, but mash is not recommended with the feeder we use, and it is less easily obtainable locally.

Our hens do get a scatter feed of corn (1 teaspoonful each) just before bed if they are still up when we get home from work (not in the winter, they retire long before we get home from work!), but this doesn't keep them busy for long, maybe half an hour. They are expert at carefully pecking up the corn, avoiding all other ground cover, but do spend quite a long time scratching through the hardwood chippings to find any strays. We only ever feed the corn inside the run, it's our little way of encouraging them home if they've been free ranging (not at the moment obviously). When they hear the rattle of the corn tin, they know to head straight for their run.

The completed run with hard wood chippings down

At the moment I am also giving them a scatter feed of dried mealworms and Hentastic Foraging Treat, just a small handful of each between the three hens, and again this is only while they are up and about. Never leave quantities of scatter feed lying around as it will spoil and can attract vermin

My cheeky Hetty Wainthrop

A final attempt to occupy my hens' brains comes in the form of hanging treats. Pets at Home do a hanging corn block. I wouldn't use one normally, but the corn is pretty difficult to get off, so they can't eat too much, but it gives them hours of entertainment watching it swing back and forth...hypnotised by the pendulum action!

Hopefully the hens will be able to free range again once the weather warms up

What is the best pet for children?

Nothing! Full Stop! End Of!

(World's shortest blog post ever!!)

But seriously, you should never bring an animal into your life with the intention of it being solely your child's pet. If you are the adult of the household, then just like everything else in your life, the buck stops with you, the animal's welfare is your responsibility and yours alone.

"That's a bit harsh" I hear you say, but I'm afraid it's true. We all know the scenario where little Johnny begs for a puppy, promising faithfully to take it for walks, feed it, train it etc etc. Then after a few weeks or months, the shine has worn  off, it's raining outside, Johnny's friends want him to go and play at their house and any number of other 'valid' reasons why you end up looking after puppy instead of Johnny.

Now, let's ask the question in a slightly different way...

What makes a good family pet?

Ah, now we're on to something!

I'm a huge advocate for family pets, they bring immense joy, encourage socialisation, interaction and so many other benefits. They also teach us important life lessons about dependency, responsibility and death, see this recent post for more on this topic.

To my mind a good family pet is something that everyone in the family is confident to be with and handle, something you can afford to keep and look after, and something that you can give as much space and time to as possible. Whether you ultimately choose a dog, cat, pony, budgie or lizard will utterly depend on your circumstances.

Pets are not status symbols

In this world of breeding the biggest/smallest/cutest/fluffiest/most ferocious, think long and hard about why you want to bring a pet into your life. Don't believe the hype - a Micro Pig grows!! (and smells!!!), it needs to be able to use instinctual behaviours to be mentally happy and that basically means rooting things up with its nose. Persian cats have terrible breathing problems due to the highly inbred snub-nose characteristics. A tiny dog shouldn't live in a handbag. It needs to use its muscles, its nose, it needs to understand its place in the family pack or it will be anxious, snappy and uncontrollable.

Animals and birds are animals and birds, and we must dignify that, and help them to understand their natural instincts and place in life. Anything else is cruel, physically and mentally, and that is why so many 'problem' animals end up in rescues, or dumped at the side of the road every year! And don't get me started on Craigslist, Freecycle and Facebook etc, where people list animals like secondhand dvds!

This brings me on to the main point of this post...

Pets DO NOT make good presents!

I've seen some really disturbing adverts this Christmas, from big American pet shop chains, claiming that Guinea Pigs make great Christmas presents because they are low maintenance, have minimal space requirements, with prices "from as little as..."

NO NO NO!!!

This sends out such a dreadful message!

I have a vivid image of huge pet breeding 'farms' churning out baby guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, rats, gerbils, degus etc in their thousands, ready for the Christmas rush. Unsold ones being shunted into the 'reduced' (Adoption) section to make way for new batches of cuter, younger, more appealing babies. Ones that are bought, being sent to their new homes with undersized cages, improper care advice, sub-quality feed. And before Boxing Day arrives, the new pet has been sidelined for the latest computer game or must-have gadget, starved of attention and eventually looking for a new home.

Remember the adverts on TV proclaiming that 'A dog is for life, not just for Christmas'? Well that message applies to all pets, and apart from everything, Christmas is a terrible time to introduce any new pet into your life, they need routine, quiet, calm, time to get used to their new surroundings. Christmas is not that time! It's all wrapping paper, kids high on sugar, guests, strange food, noise, drama, or large chunks of time left totally on their own while you go off out.

Please don't even consider bringing a new pet into your life at Christmas.

#AdoptDontShop

If you're a fan of social media, you've probably seen this hashtag before. It's a really important little message.

If you adopt or rescue a pet, you're giving it a second chance at a happy fulfilled life. You are helping to prevent over-breeding by pet 'farms', and you are supporting a charity or rescue that can then help another animal in need. It's a win/win/win situation.

Don't think that these animals are only going to live for a short time, so there's no point. Here are the pets I've adopted over time, all living full and happy lives with us...

#AdoptDontShop
Minky the Russian Dwarf Hamster, put into the Adoption section because she had been in the pet shop too long.
Lived with us for 21 months until she was nearly 2 years old.

#AdoptDontShop
Pudding the Guinea Pig, given up by her owner because she was aggressive with her cage mate.
Lived with us, in a cage of her own near other piggies for 3 years, she was approximately 5.

#AdoptDontShop
Sophie the Syrian Hamster, put into Adoption section because she had a scratch on her nose that needed monitoring, and was considered too old to go back into the 'new' pet section.

#AdoptDontShop
Molly the ex-breeding Guinea Pig sow from Pets at Home's breeding farm. We don't know how old she was when she was deemed to old to breed from. She's been with us for one year and one month.

#AdoptDontShop
Emmeline was left on her own after her mother died. she's just over 2 years old

#AdoptDontShop
Emmeline and Molly have bonded for life

Doesn't this photo just sum it all up :)

So, to sum up:

• #AdoptDontShop
• Pet's are not good Christmas presents
• Pets are not a child's responsibility

Introducing my family - part 3

Hamsters

Cookie

Cookie the Syrian Hamster at six weeks old

Cookie is our first male pet. I don't know why I've always steered away from male animals, maybe it being 'humped' by a friend's black Labrador puppy as a teenager has mentally scarred me!

When Twinkle passed away, her empty cage made me so sad. She had been such an amazing little character and I missed her dreadfully.

We took a trip to Pets at Home on the way home from work (this is becoming a habit isn't it!), checked the Adoption section first, but there were no hamsters there. So we went round to the babies (via the guinea pigs, because...well it's me isn't it), and there was a cage of  four or five baby black eyed cream short coated Syrian hamsters. My first hamster, Biscuit, was a black eyed cream and looking at the babies took me right back to my teens.

I thought I had spotted the one I wanted, but when the assistant came and opened the cage, a much smaller little face popped up out of a pile of bedding. It was Cookie.

He settled in very quickly and loves climbing, so I bought him a Boredom Breaker Activity Assault Course from Viovet. I hide treats in different positions all over it, and it makes him use his nose to find them. he's ever so clever.

Cookie the Syrian hamster and his tea

He does this adorable thing where he pops his head up through a hole in the platform, and looks just like Basil the rat from Fawlty Towers when he's in the biscuit tin :D

We also call him our Zombie, because he has very long front paws, and sometimes his brain stops (not literally) and he sits very still on his back legs with his long front paws dangling in front of his chest. He looks like he's straight out of a zombie film!

His new favourite treat is meal worms. I have dried ones which I feed to him; he doesn't instantly pouch them, but sits there happily crunching on one until it's all gone.

He's much sleepier than any of the female hamsters I've had before,  that's quite a common trait, and although he has a good appetite he's remained very small. Male hamsters are generally smaller than females, but thinking back to how dinky he was when we first saw him, he was possibly the runt of the litter and is naturally smaller because of this.

Sophie

Sophie the Syrian hamster on
Boredom Breaker Assault Course

We needed some guinea pig food, so popped into Pets at Home on the way home from work (I definitely have a problem).

We picked up the nuggets and went to look at the Adoption section. We were just looking, we had no empty cages at home waiting for a new resident, so we felt quite happy and confident that we were just window shopping.

We looked at the rabbits, the gerbils, rats (no piggies this time - phew)...and there was Sophie (called Kiwi at the time) in one of the upper cages. She was a black banded Syrian hamster with the beginnings of a long coat on her hips. She was sitting at the front of the glass washing, and when I spoke to her and rubbed my fingertip on the glass she responded by pushing her forehead against the pane under my finger, just like cats do. 

Gulp!

She wombled off and I commented to MrPB that she had a little scab on her nose. I pointed at her and she wombled back over, rubbing her head against my finger through the glass again.

Double gulp!

I was lead quickly away to look at the baby rabbits and guinea pigs, but she was calling to me. We bumped into a colleague who joked that we didn't need any rabbits in our menagerie, and I said "No, but look at this little sweetheart" and lead her over to the hamster who repeated her head rubbing trick again. My colleague wandered off and MrPB came over.

The usual questions were asked by MrPB; where would we put her, what would we do about a cage etc etc, and before we knew it, Sophie was being boxed up by an assistant and we were taking her and a new Savic Ruffy 2 Rat cage plus a bowl and water bottle to the checkout. She was in the adoption section because of the scab on her nose, she had been removed from the rest of the litter to allow it to heal.

Sophie the Syrian hamster and her fluffy tummy

The moment she was boxed Sophie started scrabbling to get out and making a dreadful pipping noise. our mild mannered sweet little friend did not like being in a dark box! The assistant suggested we transferred her straight into the cage as soon as we got out to the car. We emptied a small bag of Back to Nature small animal paper bedding into the bottom of the cage, secured the top onto the base, put her box in and let her out. She immediately calmed down, stopped making her angry noises and started exploring. Once we started driving she climbed up the bars to watch where we were going (hamsters are short sighted and so this is impossible, but it looked adorable!).

MrPB added wooden platforms for Sophie, and as she was definitely a climber (but with terrible descending skills) I purchased another Activity Assault course for her and a ladder which we have secured with chains to make a bridge. As she grows she is getting better at climbing and slightly better at descending, but she is still a really sociable little girl and always comes over to 'talk' to you. The best bit is that when she climbs her bars, you can stroke her gorgeously soft, fluffy tummy. Oh my goodness, it's amazing!

"Pip" and "Diggy"

I've hankered after Roborovski Dwarf hamsters for  almost two years. When we got Minky our Russian Dwarf hamster, I bought the Dwarf Hamsters book by Pet Friendly. I had never heard of Roborovski hamsters (aka Robos) before I opened that book, but I then began researching them on Youtube and the internet at large.

After Minky passed away, we decided that we would try to get two Robos. Her old Savic plastic cage would be perfect for such small escape artists as there are no side bars for them to squeeze through, only an opening grille set into the clear plastic upper section.

Diggy the Roborovski hamster

At Pets at Home they had a cage with 3 baby Robos and a cage with one on it's own. All were gorgeous. We knew we wanted two, but it seemed sad to split up the three leaving one behind, so we said to the assistant that we may have all of them.

A friend had warned me that Robos are 'like water' to handle, and he was not wrong! The first baby took a minute or two, but went into the box on its own, the first box closed and popped into a secondary box for security, and put to one side while the next one was caught. The second box went in and the assistant started trying to scoop the another baby into the box. It went in, the assistant filled with confidence lifted the box and tipped it so the opening was pointing upwards and this little furball flew out of the top like it had been shot from a canon!! It fell a couple of feet onto the shop floor and between us we got it back into the cage. the assistant told us he would have to get that one checked over by a vet, so he caught the other baby for us and we had to leave it at two after all.

Pip the Roborovski hamster

The babies have been with us for just four days now, so they are still getting used to their new surroundings. They are much more sensitive to noise and light than the Syrian or Russian hamsters, and they are much more interested in burrowing! The Syrian and Russian Dwarfs tend to gather all their bedding up into a nest, leaving a flattened scattering as substrate. The Robos, like to dig, dig, dig! They burrow under the substrate, creating warrens of tunnels from one bit of cover to the next, and sending showers of paper flakes up into the air like a snowplow digging through a ten foot drift.

Pip the Roborovski hamster - demonstration of speed

We don't know what sex they are...yet, and we haven't really come up with names either. One has more brown on it's face than the other and for some reason I want to call it Pip. MrPB calls them both Diggy, so I'm trying to encourage that to be the paler faced one. They are absolutely minute as you can see by the egg box Diggy is sitting under in the first photo.

Next time...The chickens

Introducing my family part 2

Guinea Pigs

Part 2: Molly and Emmeline

You know how some people dare not go into a particular shop for risk of falling in love with something they really don't need, but really really want. It might be a shoe shop, bakery, electronics store, stationers...mmmmm stationery!...Where was I! 

For me, it's Pets at Home, and in particular, the Adoption section...

I just can't stay away, and a single guinea pig will always pull really hard on my heart strings.

On Thursday 5th November 2015, Mr PB and I were on our way home after a long day; we needed some more Burgess Excel nuggets for Tilly and Phoebe so stopped in at Pets at Home, which is only a few minutes drive from work.

We picked up what we needed and then went to look at the baby piggies, then wandered over to the Adoption section. We looked at the rabbits, the hamsters, the gerbils, and then spotted a guinea pig shaped shadow in a cardboard tunnel.

The sign said "Ana and Elsa"...one of the assistants was clearly a Disney Frozen fan, or trying to make the piggies really attractive to small children. We looked and looked, but could only see one piggie in the cage, maybe the other one was hiding under the hay. we stayed for quite a while talking the the first piggie, but she was terribly shy.

I decided to go and ask an assistant about her.

It turned out that Elsa and Ana had been breeding sows for Pets at Home's breeding farm (it sounds like a big operation). The breeder had given a quantity of sows to the main supply hub, and they had been distributed to lots of Pets at Home stores across the region. The girls had been in quarantine for several weeks, but on the morning of being ready to re-home, Elsa had sadly passed away.

Now, I doubt very much that Elsa and Ana had been cage mates prior to being delivered to our store, I imagine the sows had all been in individual cages either pregnant or with their litters, and had also not been very used to being handled regularly.

Ana was taken out of the cage by the assistant...and I fell in love!

Ana/Molly

Imagine if you will a scrubbing brush and a hedgehog having a baby together...that's what she looked like! She is a Rex guinea pig, which means she has a wiry coat that stands on end rather than lying flat, and she has curly whiskers and paw hair. Being an ex-breeding sow, she had squashy saddlebags where her babies had been, her ears looked well-chewed, and she was very nervous.

I took her from the assistant and tucked her under my chin and...Oh my goodness!! "Yes, she's coming home with us!" I exclaimed.

We discussed our set up and experience, and the assistant agreed that as she wasn't a very socialised piggie, she'd be much better with us than with children.

We settled her in a cage on her own, underneath Tilly and Phoebe's cage, so that she could acclimatise. Eventually we hoped that we might be able to put them together as a herd, but after several unsuccessful bonding sessions, it became clear that although Tilly was very happy, Phoebe's 'Alpha Female' traits were too strong, she was all grown up now and didn't want another Mamma thank you :) 

We knew that Ana didn't really suit our new girl as a name, and we tried quite a few options before finally settling on Molly. We do love a name that ends in an 'eee' sound :)

We asked Pets at Home for some information, roughly how old she was, how many litters she'd had, that sort of thing. This is the bit that makes me sad and angry at Pets at Home. When we adopted her, the assistant said she would try to find out these things for us. After a couple of days I still hadn't heard, so rang the branch. I overheard a conversation between a Supervisor/Manager and an Assistant (because the assistant hadn't put me on hold or covered the microphone properly). The assistant was told by the manager that there were too many ex-breeding guinea pigs coming from the breeder in any one shipment to get individual histories. They just got divvied up between that branches by the central hub, and the branch "wouldn't bother trying to get that sort of information from the breeder just for a guinea pig"... Yup.... I seethed on the other end of the phone. When the assistant relayed this information is a slightly edited form, I said that I just wanted to be able to provide my vet with a few basic details. Regardless of how long she had left she would be loved for the rest of her days and it was an honour to be able to give her a happy retirement.

I would have thought that information would be fairly standard. A breeding sow was probably able to have 'x' number of litters, or would be kept for breeding until 'y' years old, after which they would be euthanised or given up for adoption. Surely then the breeder would have a rough idea of the animals age to know whether it could safely have another litter, of it was now unprofitable to keep it.

Anyway, Molly settled in, was doing quite well on her own and enjoyed laptime, but she was still very quiet and timid in the cage. Five months after we got her, a friend at work told us that his daughter's guinea pigs were having difficult times. Tipsy, the mother, had been diagnosed with lymphoma, and her daughter Emmeline (nicknamed 'Bitey') was quite feisty. I popped in one evening to see if I could offer any support or advice from my own experience.

A quick feel of Tipsy revealed lumps all round the lymphatic system, the biggest was under her chin, but she also had them behind her elbows and low down in her abdomen. It didn't look good. I talked to them about signs to look for as she declined, so that they would know when to get her to the vet to have her put her to sleep. I was thinking in terms of weeks, and sadly was proved right.

My friend had decided with his daughter that they didn't want any more guinea pigs, so I said that when the time came, and they were ready, we would give Emmeline a home.

Emmeline

The whole family brought Emmeline, her cage, food and all her toys over to our house one Saturday morning, I immediately got her out of her carry cage for a cuddle and took her for a walk round the garden on my shoulder while we (humans) chatted.

Her indoor cage was placed on our kitchen table near the other piggies, and stayed there for a couple of weeks while we began the process of introducing Emmeline to Molly.

The introductions begin

We used the indoor run as we had with Tilly Phoebe and Poppy, filled with lots of hay, some veggies and water. Initially they were more interested in eating, then they spotted each other, and all hell broke loose! There was rumble strutting, wheeking, teeth bearing, teeth chattering and defensive weeing like I've never seen - Emmeline is more effective than a water pistol!! And where she keeps all that liquid I have no idea.

There were a couple of occasions where they were lunging at each other, but we always sat right next to the cage armed with towels to smother and separate them if needed. Thankfully they never went that far.

Slowly over the course of a couple of weeks, the incidences of fear and dominance reduced in frequency and  ferocity. We were able to leave them together for longer, then leave them unattended while we watched tv in the next room (always listening for signs of trouble). Once they were almost there Mr PB bought and modified a new cage for them to live together in (Molly's one was only really big enough for a single piggie). Once the hutch was complete, they moved in together with still an air of disgruntlement, especially when Molly tried to mother Emmeline and wash her ear. But Emmeline was determined to be dominant.

Happy, inseparable girls

When she finally realised that Molly was the Mamma and there was nothing she could do about it, she let Molly wash her ear and the war was over...just like that, and now they are inseparable friends. They smoosh up next to each other, share food and everything, it's adorable and I'm so happy for them, they are both lovely calm confident piggies xx

Next Time...The Hamsters