New Home Again

Sunny & Sandy have gone to live with another family because I had to move back to MN, and my mom won't allow rodents all of a sudden, so once I acquire hamsters again, I will post on this blog. For now, just occasionally check my "plain ol' blog" (http://bluerosegeek.blogspot.com) for the latest on any little animals I have/acquire.

The "Cowardly Lion Face" Captured!!

I got a picture of Sunny's famous "cowardly lion face!" Enjoy! (You can click on the picture for maximum detail of his squinty-ness.)

Screechy screech stuff

So Salvador the hamster has been the source of lots of hamster screech-screech lately. He joined us last month, and Sandy used to be my only screecher. Sunny would try to squeeze through a small space while Sandy was there and Sandy would be like "EEEE! EEEE!" And Sunny would just get all squinty. He gets that squinty face the cowardly lion gets, and that really looks funny, I should try to get his picture sometime when he does that. When Salvador entered the hamster family, HE was the big mouth! He's also the only hamster who's NOT an albino, so his eyes are big and black instead of red, and he has gray, brown, and black in his fur. Believe it or not, I think this has something to do with what's going on in that cage. I think he called Sunny "whitey" or something, because all of a sudden SUNNY had things to say! He was just laying on his back all squinty with his mouth open screaming at Sal! I went to pick him up so he would relax and he screamed at me and stayed on his back. Sunny is a big drama queen. Yes, he's a boy, but he's a drama queen. Sal gets like an inch away from him in the cage and Sunny goes "EE! EE! EE! EE!..." with his cowardly lion-looking face. Sometimes Sandy runs up to them and yells "EEE! E!" as if to say "WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP AND LEMME EAT MY SEED?!" Matthew sometimes knocks their heads together and they say "E!" Forget the mice thumping around and squealing at each other in their 10 gallon tank. It's the hamsters with their little arguments that wake me during the night. It'll be 3:30am and I'll wake up to "EEEEEEEE!!!! EEEE!!" And it makes me so mad that I carry the cage into the kitchen so I can get back to sleep!

A New Home

So Sunny & Sandy live in a new cage now. I made the transfer a little easier on them by using the same bedding that was in their old cage so that their scent would be there right away and they would make themselevs at home. The reason they have a new cage now is because I gave their old one to the mice, although now just one of my mice lives in there by himself. He enjoys it though, he likes the wheel and the horizontal bars--they're awesome for climbing! Sunny & Sandy have a ball attached to the cage to go into and run. The only problem with this cage is the dumpy little water bottle it comes with, it's not only little but it's hard to get the water out of, so for now they either fight with the water bottle to get a drink or lap out of the bowl of water we provided. It also has places to attach those goofy brightly colored tubes, but I didn't buy those because Sunny & Sandy are too fat and lazy to climb around in those.

The "Hog Wild" Cause...

So I was at the pet store today with Matthew's mother because she's getting a kitten and she needed a leash. The pet store lady & the 2 of us were chatting about pets, and I mentioned that the hamsters were going hog wild and hyper and fighty and bitey, and she said it's breeding season. WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT BEFORE? Sheesh, well at least I don't have to wonder what the heck is up with them now, they're probably mad at each other for being the same gender and invading each other's space. Sandy's screeching is probably translated as "Get offa me man, I ain't gay!!"
Breeding season! So how long does this last?! How many more nights of "Hey redhead, why don't you buy us a girlfriend, we're not gay!!" must I endure? Sheesh!

Hog Wild (or Hamster Wild maybe...)

So the girls (which we actually discovered are boys!!) have been going hog wild lately. They have been digging like they MUST dig to China by sunrise, and they have been running in the wheel like they must RUN to China in the next hour. They have been running all around the cage, bumping into each other (making Sandy all screechy and rude), climbing the cage walls, chewing the cage bars, making lots of noise, sniffing like mad, drinking water like the only water that remains on Earth is what's in their little bottle, and they never stop moving!! They are constantly running around in that cage like they're trying to burn calories or something, and Sunny has been furiously using the wheel like she's escaping another hamster who's weilding a big knife. WHAT THE HECK?! What's up with those two? I'm watching Sunny right now and she looks like she's gonna bust right through the wall with that wheel! What is with them? Sunny keeps looking at me with a look of desparation while sniffing furiously. I thought it was my peanut butter breath at first because they love peanuts, but I don't really know what to think.

Heat Hurts

So Sunny & Sandy were really feeling the heat. Sandy was doing more screeching than usual at Sunny, and they were getting in each other's way and fighting over every little thing. At one point they were all bitey at each other, and they stepped on each other's faces and stuff. I put our new air conditioner in the window, and that has seemed to help a little. They aren't all fussy and screechy and bitey. Although today they were pretty moody, I had to keep breaking up big fights, and at one point I had one in each hand, and every time I tried to get them face-to-face, Sandy would open her little mouth and screech and put a hand on Sunny's face and try to push her away. I could feel their little hearts racing in their ribs. I put them in the ball together to run around for a while, and when they seemed to be working together to get where they needed to go, I put them back in the cage, and that seemed to do it. Heat does this to humans too, but I think the pets of the world have more difficulty because they can't just look up at you and say "HEY! I'M FRIGGIN DYING OVER HERE!! GIMMIE SOME ICE WATER!!" Not like a spouse can, haha! And plus, they're furry (even more so than spouses). Well hopefully the air conditioning is just what they needed because it IS just what I needed.