January 8, 2009

Ode to hamsters

Melissa @ 2:25 am (Kritter Kabob)

Puffin died in her sleep a few weeks ago (she was 3+ years old) so I decided to use the gift card my mo’s got me for Christmas to get a new one.

Not a russian dwarf hamster like puffin, as my goal wasn’t to replace her but more to ease my mind from staring at her empty cage. So I chose a chinese dwarf hamster whom I named MingMei.

Sadly MingMei didn’t work out. No matter how long and how hard I tried I just couldn’t get her to warm up and be comfortable with me.

If you so much as glanced wrong in her direction she’d freak out and I felt that I was causing her more stress than she needed so I returned her to the store after interrogating the personnel about what would happen to her once I officially returned her.

After a long conversation of her well being I was finally comfortable enough to let her go. I just had to know for sure that she’d be okay.

She’s now with a group of her peers and seems much calmer and happier so I’m happy for her and hope she finds a master she’s more comfortable with, we just weren’t a match.

I used the money from her return to get a more suitable hamster, non-chinese this time. It’s quite apparent that them and I don’t mix very well. So I chose a roborovskii dwarf hamster to be my faithful pet.

Robos are the smallest in the dwarf family, only reaching 2 to 2 1/2 inches in length but their mannerisms and attitudes are most similar to that of the russian which is what puffin was.

So far she’s acting as expected, super curious, cautious but not skittish or scared.

Right now I’m at the stage where I place my hand in her cage and talk softly to her for 20 to 30 minutes a day to let her learn my voice and scent.

On the third day I’ll move to petting her gently on the head and offering her treats from my hand then on day 9 we’ll start picking her up and holding her for about 5 minutes at a time with the reward being time to play in her kritter crawler.

I’ll miss MingMei and I’m deeply saddened that I had to return her. If the situation wasn’t causing her stress i would have kept her but it was vastly apparent that my mere presence scared her to pieces. If she’s happy then I’m okay so I’ll just have to leave it at that for now. My returning her was the best thing I could do for her.

New Robo Hami Photograph

New Hami

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2 Comments »

  1. tristian

    so cute!


    Comment by tristian curio.awardspace.com on January 8th, 2009 @ 3:41 am

  2. Hev

    I am sorry about Puffin. I think your new Robo is simply adorable. I love hamsters.


    Comment by Hev blog.tigerwhispers.com on January 8th, 2009 @ 3:06 pm

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