Willow's Post - View from my cage

Hi everyone! It's Willow here.

Today is going to be a bit of a random post, so sorry about that. I am going to be talking about the view from my cage.

My cage is on one side of the playroom, and I can see the whole room from my cage.

I like standing on my hind legs and having a good lock around to see what is there. My favourite thing in the playroom is the sofa. When I escaped once, I hid under the sofa and it took Hannah a long time to get me out from under there! (If you want to read the escape post, click here)

On the side of my cage is some boxes (I don't really know what's in them but I think it's art stuff), and on the other side is Risk. (the board game which Hannah always wins! ;) )

I like where my cage is. cause there aren't any drafts as I'm not on the floor, and I feel safe.

Where are your pet's cages?

- Willow x

Wordless Wednesday #5

Willow looking slightly evil and creepy there!

Have a great Wednesday!

Pepper's Paws Hartz Angry Birds Giveaway!

Today I found a great giveaway happening at Pepper's Paws blog. I thought it was a great giveaway so I decided to do a post about it on my blog here too!

You get the chance to win some great Angry Birds toys for your pet!

It is really simple to enter, so click here to visit the site.

Pictures taken from Pepper's Paws.

"One lucky Pepper's Paws reader will win their very own set of  all 4 Holiday Angry Birds from Hartz!!"

Unfortunately this giveaway is open to US residents only, but I thought I would write a post about it anyway even though I can't enter.

It is easy to enter, and is powered by Rafflecopter. It ends in nine days, so enter now!

If you want to win these cool prizes, CLICK HERE to enter!

What is a Syrian hamster?

A Syrian hamster is a solitary burrowing rodent with characteristics of a short tail and large cheek pouches (though when their cheek pouches are empty you can’t tell that they are large). The cheek pouches are for carrying food to their burrows.

Hamsters are native to Europe and northern Asia, though are now common pet’s in many countries, for both young and old.

Syrian hamsters can come in many different colours. 

They can be black, grey, brown, white, ginger, golden, blond, or a mix of a few different colours. (For example, Willow is a mix of brown and white).

Hamsters can be long or short haired. If you choose a long haired Syrian, you should by a small pet brush to stop your hamster’s coat getting matted. If one parent is long haired and the other short haired it is a good idea to get a small brush anyway, although the hamster is likely to just be quite fluffy rather than have really long hair.

Hope this is helpful to clarify a bit about Syrian hamsters, though I'm sure most of you already know what a Syrian hamster is!

Can hamsters eat banana?

Hamsters can eat banana,but only small amounts.

If you are putting the banana in your hamster's cage, then make sure it is in a bowl, otherwise sawdust sticks to it, and it's not good for your hammy!

If your hamster doesn't eat it straight away, take it out of your hamster's cage because it will go rotten in a few hours and if she/he decides to eat it after a few hours when it is rotten then it will make them ill.

Do not give your hamster fresh fruit everyday, as it puts too much water in their diet and make them very ill. I would say give your hamster fresh fruit once a week at the most.

(though I do not give Willow fruit this often)

I gave Willow dried banana and she loved it!

It was a special type of banana I got from The Dew Hop Inn (on etsy).

I really recommend this shop cause it was really cheap and I got lots of different treats to try out, and Willow loved all of them!

Willow eating the dried banana (which looks like carrot in this pic)

Hamster eating a banana.

This post was inspired by Cavvy Savvy, the blog from the perspective of three guinea-pigs.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Willow's Post - Hamster tubes!

Hi everyone!

Today I am going to talk about tubes - cause all hamsters love them! (Well, I assume most hamsters love them - I don't see how they can't!)

There are lots of different types of tubes you can get for your hamsters cage. Hannah often put's toilet roll tubes inside my cage, cause it's completely safe and really cheap, seeing as she needs the loo paper anyway!

Some people worry that nibbling the cardboard is bad for hamsters, but it actually isn't. We rarely eat the cardboard, we are likely to store it in our cheeks and take it back to our house for storing or bedding.

It is also good for our teeth to chew the cardboard, as it wears down our teeth so that they don't get too long.

You can also get plastic tubes which you buy from the shops, but in my opinion these aren't as good as cardboard ones you can buy as plastic isn't very good for us if we chew it.

The best tubes I think are the natural hay tubes you can but in most pet shops.You can eat these and play in these and it's really healthy! 

They are called 'Natural Meadow HAY n HIDE Edible Play Tube' by Rosewood. (pic below) They are about £3.99, which I don't think is that bad considering how healthy and fun they are!

Hamster Tube

Set of 3 tubes picture from here.

Hope you like this post! - Willow x

Wordless Wednesday #4

Willow having what I call a 'silent moment' on my hand.

Willow fell asleep with her nose poking out her house. CUTE!

I know I said I would be putting watermarks on my photos now, but these ones aren't very good so I haven't bothered. (I haven't had time to take proper photos with a good camera recently - I've just been using my phone, which isn't very good quality, so I decided there wasn't much point in putting a watermark on them)

Anyway, hope you like the photos and have a great Wednesday!

New blog! - Time-out

I have a new blog! Yay! It's called Time-Out.

IT IS NOT A REPLACEMENT BLOG FOR THIS. (If you look at my new blog, you'll see that it is completely different)

It includes lots of fun things like funny quotes, pictures etc. (So far there's some jokes, Where's Wally, quotes, and even a bit of symbolism in there).

    

There is a post a day, so be sure to have a look and follow for something new each day!

Please comment and tell me what you think of it!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT MY NEW BLOG: TIME-OUT

Hamster Heights

Did you know that hamsters can not tell the difference between a 2 foot drop and a 10 foot drop?

Hamsters can't tell the difference in heights. This is because they came from the desert where there are no sudden drops. They originally lived underground in burrows and in the desert they would not be put in a situation where they will need to jump down from somewhere, so they had no need to tell the difference in heights.

This means that you have to be careful when holding your hamster, especially if your hamster is frightened in any way. (if he/she is new then she is more likely to jump too)

Hamsters can withstand falling from high heights, but even so it is not good for your hamster and there is always the risk of injuries. It is best to be safe and be careful.

THIS PHOTO IS NOT WILLOW. It's from here.

WAYS TO AVOID HAMSTER INJURIES WHEN HANDLING:

• When holding your hamster, hold him or her near the floor, or sit on a sofa where your hamster could jump onto.
  .
• If going up/down the stairs with your hamster, gently cup your hands over him or her so that they can not suddenly jump out your hands.
  .
• Always keep your eyes on your hamster when handling them - don't get distracted and look away too long otherwise they could jump off the sofa or jump from your hands etc.

Willow's Little Accident

A few days ago Willow did something a little gross...

At first when I went into the lounge and found Willow sitting in her food bowl I was like 'aawww, cute!', but then she moved and I looked in her bowl and I was a little disturbed by what I saw...

Wee. Ewwww... in her food bowl? Really?

Hamsters clearly don't have much of a sense of hygiene, seeing as she poos in her bed and weed in her food bowl...

Has your pet ever done anything utterly gross? If so please free to tell me your pet stories in the comments!

Willow's Post - Water bottles?

Today I have decided to do a post on water bottles and how often you should change them etc.

I think it's important to change the water at least once every 3 days if possible. This will keeps me (and other hamsters) healthy, and - let's face it - no-one likes drinking stale water which has been there for days.

Hannah changes my water every 3 days usually, sometimes more often, or if she forgets sometimes 4 days after she last changed it.. though seeing as she picks me up every day and is quite obsessed with playing with me, it's very rare that she does forget!

It won't kill me, or any other hamster, if you change the water once a week. It just isn't that nice for us. However, with some hamsters when the water hasn't been changed for ages, (I mean for longer than a week e.g. 2 weeks), they might stop drinking water if it is often stale, and this does lead to illnesses... - so be careful.

Now I don't want you to stop reading this and think "Arrghhh! I only change the water once a week - my hamster will die!", cause that's simply not true. Just bare what I have said in mind for the future. That's all I ask of you. :)

Hope you enjoyed this post, and I hope you found this helpful!

- Willow x

I have received my giveaway prize!

I got my giveaway prize from Pawsitivly Pets! Yay!

(I actually got my prize last Thursday, but I just haven't posted this until now - I've been so busy!)

I was so pleased with the way it came out - The painting looks just like Willow, don't you think?

I was so excited when I got up and there was a package lying on the floor by our letterbox!

Carla had made sure it didn't get broken or damaged by putting it in a padded envelope and slotting the portrait between two cardboard sheets. Everything was perfect! Thank you so much Carla!

I really want to recommend her artwork because, as you can see, it is truly amazing!

Her shop is called Carla's Creatures, and I recommend you visit either her website or etsy store!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT HER ETSY STORE

CLICK HERE TO VISIT HER WEBSITE

Before                                          After

She even sent me a business card! :)

I also (obviously) want to thank Ann from Pawsitivly Pets for doing this amazing giveaway!

I would never have got this without her, so thank you so much Ann!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT PAWSITIVLY PETS

Thank you both so much, and I hope you like this post!

Wordless Wednesday #3

Been taking some photos with Dad's camera (which is one of those big camera's which focus really well), so I have some cute photos of Willow which are actually good quality too!

I have added a watermark to them so people don't take my photos without my permission. What do you think? Is that a good idea or a bad idea? Feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Hope you like the photos and have a good Wednesday!

Hamster in 10 different languages!

Today I thought I would do a post a bit different from my usual ramblings.

Today I will be doing how to say hamster in 10 different languages!... So here we go:

Number 1: Spanish

hámster

Number 2: Russian

хомяк

Number 3: Finish

hamsteri

Number 4: Czech

křeček

Number 5: Italian

criceto

Number 6: Romanian

hârciog

Number 7: Thai

สัตว์ที่ใช้ฟันแทะชนิดหนึ่ง

Number 8: Icelandic

Hamstur

Number 9: Polish

chomik

Number 10: Persian

موش بزرگ

And yes, this was an entirely useless post, as half of it is in a different alphabet to ours, and you would never be able to pronounce them anyway (well, not through this post anyway)...

+ Why would you need to say hamster if you went to Finland anyway??

Ah well... Who cares, what's the fun in learning something useful!

+ Just another interesting fact- did you know google translate doesn't translate Hawaiian?? Why not? Weird...

Willow's 2 Worst Habbits

Although hamsters are absolutely adorable, as with most things that seem perfect, there are some 'flaws' as such with hamsters.

For instance, my hamster is always trying to escape from her cage. No matter how many toys I put in her cage, how many times I pick her up and play with her, or how many times I try to rearrange her cage to make it more interesting. She will always try to escape.

Even if I have just finished holding her and I put her in the bottom level of her cage, she will literally sprint back up to the top of the cage to try and escape.

Getting the lid back on her cage becomes a huge problem because of this, as I will reach over to slide the lid back on, and she'll stick her head in the gap and put her paws at the side of the cage and try to lever herself out of the cage... what am I going to do with you Willow..?

But the most annoying habit was her running in her wheel almost 24/7, so when I tried to go to sleep all I could her was her wheel rattling away...

tut tut tut.... but then I got her new silent wheel and that stopped... phew!

Even when the wheel was annoying, at least she was getting exercise even if it was noisy!

What are your hamster's/ pets' worst habits?

Caption Contest #1 - Winner

Well, as most of you know, I hosted a 'Caption Contest' on the 1st of November, and today I will be revealing the winner!

I loved all the entrants, they really made me laugh! You are all such creative people!

It took me quite a while to decide, but after some serious thought I decided on....

"My goodness, I think having BABIES would be a little more comfortable than THIS!“ -Animal Mommy 

(In order of date/time when they entered)

Well done to everyone who entered, and congratulations to Animal Mommy!

(I know Animal Mommy doesn't have a blog, but if you're reading this and you want one anyway I will happily make one! Would you like one?)

Willow's Post - Flash photography

Hannah really likes taking photos of me. Sometimes I don't feel like having my photo taken and I'm quite hyper, so Hannah doesn't bother with the photos, but sometimes I am in a really calm mood and Hannah takes some photos of me and she puts them on this blog.

I don't mind having my photos taken, because Hannah is still really gentle with me, and she doesn't use flash so it's fine. Some people do use flash, and that would bother me, cause flash really damages our eyes! Hamster eyes are really delicate- though some people ignore that and take photos with flash just so that their photos are better! Some people...

Lots of people don't realize how bad the camera flash is for hamsters. We're not like humans, the flash effects us long-term. We are nocturnal creatures, so our eyes are made for seeing in the dark. When there is a really bright flash then it goes back to normal light again, our eyes just can't cope. I don't think Hannah has ever used flash on me, but I can imagine that it would be painful.
Flash photography can cause pets to go blind, which is really sad because your owner is practically swapping your eyesight for some cute snaps by accident! :(

.
Sorry about my little hamster-rant, but it needed to be said. DON'T USE FLASH PEOPLE!

- Willow x

Hamster thoughts

Don't you ever wonder what hamsters think?

I mean, for Willow I assume she is thinking about food, escape, and running, because that is what she does... but how do you actually know anything about what hamsters think?

For example, Willow seems desperate to escape no matter how many toys and new things I put in her cage. Does she want to escape to get away from me, to get away from her cage, to go out into the wild, or all of those things? I will never know...

I have always disliked caging animals - I even feel bad about putting Willow in a cage, even though I put loads of things for her to do in there, and constantly try to keep her entertained...

But I think there is one big difference with hamsters: they would die in the wild.

If Willow was born in her native country of Syria, then I would not say that.

However, she was born in England.

When you go to the pet shop all these hamsters are already there and will be bought at some time or another, so by buying them you are only going to give them a happier life than they might have had if put in a smaller cage and bought by someone who doesn't love their hamster as much as you do.

It's not exactly like you can just release a hamster into the wild in England. Unfortunately it would not live for long, as it would either get eaten by a fox or a bird, get too cold, run out of food, get a disease... the list goes on and on.

[ lost in thought  ]

Anyway- so that is how I comfort myself when I wish I didn't have to put Willow in a cage....

Sorry, I went off on a complete tangent there! Hope you don't mind hearing about my insane hamster ramblings! Will try to stick to the point next post!

Wordless Wednesday #2

Sorry for the bad image quality - it was taken on my sister's iPhone but when you upload the photos they go slightly blurry. Never mind... on with the post!

Here are just a few pictures of Willow I took earlier this week.

'Freeze!'

'Yummmm... Tasty!'

Have a great Wednesday and hope you like the pictures!

Halloween trivia answers and winner!

Last Wednesday on Halloween I did a mini quiz, for people to enter for a chance of winning a badge for their blog.

Unfortunately it was a bit of a flop. I only got 1 entrant... :(

I hope I get more entrants for the monthly caption contests, or I'll have to stop doing them... :(

So the badge goes to Ann Paws from Pawsitivly Pets!! Congratulations!!

She got 1 out of 5 right, but they were really tricky questions, and you weren't allowed to look up the answers.

ANSWERS:

1. Orange represents fall/autumn and the harvest, and black represents darkness and death.
   .
2. Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away ghosts and spirits on the Samhain holiday.
   .
3. A unibrow, hairy palms of their hands, long middle finger, claw-like finger nails. (other answers also accepted)
   .
4. It is supposed to mean that a spirit of a loved one is watching over you.
   .
5. It was founded by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1962.

So Ann Paws, you have one the badge below to go on your blog! If you would like a different size please let me know!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://hannah-animal-tales.blogspot.com" target="_blank"> <img alt="Hannah Animal Tales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWQlbuUYI-8rlqngyg1Zz3ZCoittWn36yn1vTnfCR0QNnl_fCBSR5Xyoc2-y6Y8IIlZGiZjeXmDbMHT94d5pViJkU8y1ApWywkKi5qKy41qhvqcqUTpiECKlgQJJALlgxmbMN5WMzscU/s200/BADGE.png">

Hope you all had a great Halloween, and congratulations to Ann Paws for winning the Halloween Trivia!!