Friday 28 September 2012

BlogSHOUT: Hamster Diaries

So, I have decided to do a BlogSHOUT, which is basically where I will recommend a blog which I think you should read, then I'll write a bit about the blog and what I think about it- then if you want you can visit it!

So, I have decided to do a BlogSHOUT on ChaoticScribbles' 'Hamster Diaries'.
There aren't very many hamster blogs out there, as it is quite a specific topic, and not all people are as passionate about hamsters as I am, but this blog is a truly AMAZING blog about hamsters- with all sorts of information, polls, giveaways and adorable hamster pictures on it. It really is a blog worth reading. ;)

This blog is on WordPress not on blogger, but even if you don't have a WordPress account I would still thoroughly recommend having a read of this blog.
I don't know how I found this blog, as I don't usually go on WordPress, but I am so glad I did!

ChaoticScribbles has also kindly done a BlogSHOUT for Animal tails :)
Click here or the picture to read it.

She has three absolutely beautiful Syrian hamsters- Casper, Eve and Dexter. I have always thought that Lolly and Willow were the cutest hamsters ever, but I can see that Casper, Dexter and Eve are all super-adorable too! They're all so photogenic too!

ChaoticScribbles writes her blog with such a good sense of humor  and her posts just make you want to read more! ChaoticScribbles' pictures of her hamsters are truly amazing too - she could be a photographer!


ChaoticScribble even designs her own adorable bags, which you can buy for £5 on her esty store (free shipping to the UK)! If you read her blog you can get a discount... (hope that lured you in even more!)


Overall, this blog has everything... - Informative posts, polls, jokes, photos, specially designed bags... and even a riddle every Sunday! Really, what more could you ask for?


Thursday 27 September 2012

How to enter my giveaway/giveaways in the future...

These are just the instructions (and screenshots) on how to enter my hamster 10,000 pageviews giveaway, so that if you aren't sure it isn't too hard to find out :)

You can enter my giveaway by going to the original post (so that you know what you might be winning), or you can do it below:


*****
+10 - Follow this blog:
.
On the right hand sidebar there is the screenshot above. Press 'Join this site'.

*****
 +5 - Blog about this giveaway:
For this you have to do a blog post about this giveaway:
e.g. Hi everyone! I just wanted to tell you there is a giveaway over at Animal Tails, and you can win some cute hamster stuff!
Check it out at: 
http://hannah-animal-tales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/10000-pageviews-giveaway.html
 *****

+5 - Subscribe to my YouTube channel:
Just go to my YouTube channel, (this link), and click 'Subscibe'


*****
+4 - Like 'Animal Tails' on facebook
Just visit my facebook page, (this link), and press like. :)

*****
+3 - Leave a comment under this giveaway 
Simply click on the giveaway post, then comment at the bottom!

*****
+1 - Vote on my poll
Simply go to the right-hand sidebar of this blog and click the answer you want, then click 'submit'.
Simples! ^.^

*****
+1 - Give this blog an 'Internet'


On the right-hand sidebar near the bottom is this.
Click it, then press 'Give an internet'.

*****
This post is also available on my GIVEAWAY page.
That's it! Hope this is helpful and is quick and easy to understand!
Feel free to comment on this post and tell me if you think this info is good or not!


Wednesday 26 September 2012

Hamster digging toy

-I think the rafflecopter widget is broken, but I will do my best to sort it out and fix it soon!-

Anyway, back to the post...
I was browsing on the internet for hamster toys, and I found this really cool wooden box thing which you fill with sawdust and your hamster digs in.

I personally think it's a great idea, cause Willow loves digging, but there isn't that much sawdust in her cage in one place... (well, at least not as deep as in that box).

You can also see your hammy digging cause it has a glass (or maybe plastic...?) side to it which it transparent.

I might buy it for Willow for Christmas cause I think she'd love it (thinking ahead a bit here)... I dunno..
What do you think? :)

(If you want to get one or read more about it, click this link: Trixie Play House)

REMEMBER TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!!!


Monday 24 September 2012

10,000 pageviews giveaway



This blog has reached 10,000 pageviews, and in celebration I have decided to have a hamster-themed giveaway! (using rafflecopter)

Starts today - 24/9/12
Ends 3 weeks away - 16/10/12

I am offering the chance to win two prizes!

There are two prizes: one for first place, and one for second.
Pictures of each of the prizes are below.

1st place: Hamster Mouse Mat
(took this photo really badly, but it looks like the magnet below- only it's a mouse mat ;) )


2nd place: Large Hamster Magnet

To enter, simply follow the instructions on the Raffle-copter widget.
There are 7 things you can do to enter the giveaway. The more you do, the better chance you have of winning!

If you have already done one of those things, e.g. you already follow my blog, just type your username in as normal and that's fine :)

It is open to everybody, so tell everyone you know about it!

Saturday 22 September 2012

Hamster Dancing & YouTube channel!

I now have my own YouTube channel!

It's called TheAnimalTails, and I have uploaded my first video!

It is of Willow in her cage, but it is edited to look like she's dancing. The music is Jason Derulo: 'Don't Wanna Go Home'. The video is called 'Hamster Dancing'.


Hope you like it!
My YouTube channel is below, and feel free to subscribe!

Friday 21 September 2012

Giveaway coming soon...

My blog currently has 9,855 pageviews since it started,
and soon it will hit 10,000 page views......YAY! :)

I have decided to celebrate the 10,000 page views with a giveaway, so keep an eye on this blog for some cool prizes coming soon.

Quick snap of Willow in her little nest
Willow is doing well, and has now built a cool nest as you can see above.
She loves her exercise wheel too, though I haven't managed to get a good picture yet, as my camera blurs when she runs in the wheel...
Will try to get a photo sometime soon though...

Thursday 20 September 2012

New or old?

 I was thinking it was about time I updated my blog's layout, but I don't know if it looks better as it is now, or with a wooden background...

Please tell me whether you prefer the new or the old layout... I can't decide!

New background
Old background

Saturday 15 September 2012

Willow's great escape

Willow escaped last night from her cage.

We managed to catch her within an hour luckily, but it was quite tricky...

I have no idea how she managed to escape- it's quite amazing when you think about it!

She somehow managed to use her claws to slide open the grid at the top, then she somehow managed to get down from the cage to the floor, then under the sofa.
There is a picture of her 'Escape Route' below.


I was really worried when I discovered she was missing, but even when I found her I was so worried that she might have hurt herself by getting down... She must have fallen at least in part of her journey.. Luckily when we managed to capture her she seemed completely unharmed and was running about in her cage afterwards with ease... phew!

We actually found her really quickly, but it was catching her that was so hard! It took us a long time to finally capture her, as we couldn't move the sofa in case we squished her, and she wasn't really tempted by the food we left near the sofa.

We have added a little clip to the back of the cage now so that she won't be able to escape again! (I hope!)

Friday 14 September 2012

How to stop a hamster Nipping

As I was saying in earlier posts, I have been having a small problem with Willow nipping (though she has stopped now), so I deiced to do a post on a few of the best ways to stop nipping.
I will also add some website addresses to the bottom of this if anyone wants a few more tips, though I do not know how accurate all tips are.

Here are my tips, in order of how important I think they are from 1 to 6:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly before handling your hamster. If you eat food then handle your hamster without washing your hands then your hamster could mistake your hand/finger for food.

2. Try not to disturb your hamster while he/she is sleeping, as your hamster is more likely to bite when he/she is tired and wants to go back to bed. If you have to wake your hamster up, leave a little time him/her to wake up properly in her cage.

3. When approaching your hamster, hold your whole hand out- not just one finger. If you only hold out one finger they often mistake it for food. They will probably sniff your whole hand, but they are less likely to bite.

4. Even if your hamster bites, be patient and try to show that you are not going to hurt him/her. You can do this by stroking her even while she is biting you. If the bites really hurt you could resort to gloves, though personally I don't recommend this as I think it is better for your hamster to get used to your scent.

5. Handle your hamster very gently at all times, and try not to enclose him/her in your hands too tightly or she could bite.

6: Feed your hamster before you handle him/her. (it can be in the morning and handle your hamster in the evening, you don't have to feed your hamster right before... you get the jist) Your hamster may nip just because he/she is hungry!

Picture from here
Hope this wasn't too much information!

But if you want more information, visit the site below that I used for some of my tips:

Friday 7 September 2012

Willow Update: Nipping

Below are two photos of Willow.

Sorry I still haven't done another photoshoot with her, but I have been really busy... Will try to do one at the weekend!

And as for Willow herself, she is tame still, but you have to feed her before you pick her up otherwise she nips. I think as she gets older she'll get rid of the habit, but for now I just have to make sure to feed her first.
She doesn't bite hard though, she just gently nips me. I assume she's checking if my finger is food...

My 2 top tips to stop hamsters nipping are:
Feed your hamster before you pick him/her up
Wash your hands thoroughly before you pick up your hamster

(I will be doing a full post on how to stop hamsters nipping soon)



P.S. Remember to vote on my poll on the right hand side-bar!

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Willow is tamed!

Handled Willow again today, and I am happy to say she is completely tamed!
She hasn't nipped or fussed at all, and she is proving to be a real sweetie.

She has even started sleeping in the house I bought for her, instead of sleeping in the play-tube! She also lets us brush her without a fuss which is great as I was worried she would hate it!

I will do a photoshoot with her soon, though she is very active and lively, so I'll have a job to get any good shots with her moving around so much!

Here is a collage my sister did of Willow on Instagram

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Nearly tamed now!


Willow is settling into her home well, and has taken all her bedding from her house to her tube, (in pic. above), and has now decided to sleep in it. Hamsters never sleep where they're supposed to! ;)

Handled her again today, and she was pretty relaxed, even when I picked her up! I think she is almost completely tamed! Yay! We were going to take photos, but she was so fast we didn't manage to take many good ones. She got a little over-excited when we were playing and she was running about all over the place, so I had to put her away before I lost her!

She is so soft and fluffy and she is just so nice to stroke! We also tried giving her a quick brush yesterday with a mini pet brush, and she seemed to find it quite relaxing actually!

By the way, I updated the notice-board today so be sure to have a look.

Monday 3 September 2012

Taming going well so far...

Handled Willow again today at about 8.30pm.

She was in her little tube and wouldn't come out at first, even when we carefully picked up the tube and put it on the floor.
In the end we tempted her with some of her food from her bowl, and managed to get her out.

When we did get her out she was very jumpy at first, and whenever you tried to out her in your hand she would jump out again. (Don't worry, we kept our hands low over the ground so she didn't jump and fall then hurt herself)
After a little while she became more relaxed, until she let me pick her up quite happily and stayed in my hands, and did not jump. She crawled on my jumper and seemed to be enjoying herself, so the taming is definitely going well.

We had her out for about half an hour, then I put her back in her cage to enjoy the rest of the night.

When I watched Willow in her cage last night she was running in her wheel, and she seems to love it! She is very active and likes exploring her cage!

This looks like it has really fancy lighting,
but I think that's just my black trousers in the
background!

Sunday 2 September 2012

Willow's Welcome

We've decided. My new hamster is called Willow.

I handled her for the first time today and she was very nervous and jumpy, and did not like being held.
However, this is not at all unusual for a new hamster as they are young and haven't been handled much. Also, she is not quite used to her new environment yet.

The best way to tame a hamster is 'little and often', meaning handling them once a day but only for short periods of time, so that they do not get too scared and nervous but they get used to handling.
(If you want to see how to tame your hamster check this post)

Haven't had much of a chance to take photos yet, but here are 2 photos below of her in her cage, though they aren't very good... sorry!

"Peek-a-boo!"

"What's in here...?"
As soon as she gets used to being handled more photos will be coming up.

Saturday 1 September 2012

New Hamster!

Today I bought a new hamster!

I had been thinking about it for a while, and it seemed like the right time to get another one. I set up the cage and got everything ready for the new hamster, and went to the pet shop I got Lolly from. We went at around 2.30pm, but took a while choosing so we left the pet shop at about 3.15.

This is not replacing Lolly. I loved her and I will always miss her, but I think it is time to love another pet.

It was so hard to choose when we got to the pet shop!
I think there were around 13 hamsters for sale- most of them being from a litter born on the 20th June.

I wasn't sure at first if I wanted a girl or a boy, but in the end I decieded on a girl, seeing as Lolly was so lovely and I have had other lovely female hamsters when I was younger.

We came across a two cages with some lovely fuzzy little hamsters, which were mixed between long and short haired; meaning that they were cute and fuzzy, but there won't be a big problem with matted fur when they're older (though they would need to be brushed as they grew up).

One caught my eye right from the start.
She peeped her head out of her little house and ran around her cage a bit. She then knocked her wheel over and started climbing on it excitedly.
She had a brown head and a brown bum, with a brown stripe down her back. The middle of her body was white.

The one that caught my eye in the shop
We looked at all the hamsters for a good half an hour, but in the end we choose the little fuzzy brown and white girl, 10 weeks and 3 days old, born on the 20th June.

We told the staff which hamster we wanted, and they told us to finish shopping and when we went to the tills the hamster would be brought to us (so that the hamster wasn't in the travel box too long meaning that she would be less stressed).
We bought all the cage necesities that we needed, though we already had new bedding and sawdust Lolly hadn't used, so we bought food and toys along with a few other treats and things.
Then we went and payed, and I got my little hamster.

The chosen hamster settling into her new home
We haven't quite chosen the name for her yet, though we think we will call her Willow.

Other possible names include:
  • Nutmeg
  • Iris
  • Cinimon
  • Poppy
  • Hazel
  • Summer
  • Heather
  • Popcorn

Hope you liked hearing about the new addition to the family and sorry this post was so long: I just had so much to say!