Animal Tails Blog Award Ceremony 2012

I have decided to do a 'blog of the year' award for different categories.

This is where I will award badges for blogs I think have been really great throughout 2012, and deserve some credit.

There are 7 different awards,but one blog can be nominated for multiple awards!

If you win an award, please link it back to this blog/post if you choose to display it on your blog, as then if any readers want to see the other awards or the shortlisted blogs from clicking on your badge, then they can. I hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience for anyone! :/

Categories: Best Hamster Blog Award 2012 Best Blog Design Award 2012 Best Informative Pet Blog Award 2012 Best Blog Photos Award 2012 Most Promising Blog Award 2012 Best Other Pet Blog Award 2012

Shortlisted Blogs (inc. winners!): Hamster Diaries Fluffy Toughie Pawsitively Pets Glogirly Pudding & Parfait All Things Guinea Pig The Saturday PhotoHunt Kosmos Si Azra Fabulous Fur Friends Speedy the cheeky house bunny Terrier Torrent

The winner of our first trophy today is the owner of a hamster blog.

There was one runner up, which was
Fluffy Toughie! Congratulations!

But the winner today has a truly super blog, and posts every day. She hosts regular photos and stories of her hammies, and she is truly dedicated to her blog. She also holds many audience participation events such as photo galleries and contests.

So put your hands together for our winner, Hamster Diaries!

She truly deserves the prize, and she receives the super-cool trophy/red carpet badge for her blog! Congratulations!

Saturday PhotoHunt - 'End'

Today is the last week of the year, so the Saturday PhotoHunt theme is 'End'.

I have had a great Christmas with the family, and have now got an iPhone which will be great for capturing photos of Willow when she does something cute, as I hardly ever get to the camera in time!

The photo I have chosen for the end are some 'Cake Pops' me and my sisters made, with a book and tin my sister got for Christmas. I think the end of the year is always associated with food and chocolate, so what better photo than some chocolate coated vanilla cake pops?!

Cake Pop recipe (our updated version!) is here.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas and hope you have a great New Year!

Hamster Exercise Balls - Safe or not?

Over the years of me owning hamsters, I have heard many debates about whether these exercise balls are cruel. Personally I think that if you use the balls properly, and make sure you don't leave your hamster in there too long and you frequently check up on them, that these exercise balls are safe. I have had a many hamsters over the years and all of them enjoyed exploring and running around in their ball. However, there are still many people who think that these toys are cruel. So I have decided to share my views on hamster exercise balls, using some common arguments of people who think they are cruel.
No offense to the people who said these comments is meant, I just wanted to show my opinion through examples.

Wordless Wednesday #9

Hope you all head a great Christmas, and are enjoying boxing day!

Here are a few pictures of Willow in her bed - her hair has gone all spiky so she now looks like a punk hamster! ;) Bedhead or what?!

Have a great New Year and enjoy the rest of the holiday!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is finally here! :D YAY!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hope you are having/have a great Christmas and are filled with festive cheer.

There truly is no better celebration than Christmas - I love getting together with the family, eating Christmas dinner, and opening presents!

Via here.

Will try to keep up with the blogging, though I will be really busy and visiting relatives  so sorry if I don't have time to blog as much! Don't worry - I'll try to do at least 3 a week.

Christmas hamster of the day:

Via here.

  

Christmas Countdown - Christmas Eve!

I AM SO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS TOMORROW! YAY!

Yesterday me and my sisters were busy making a gingerbread house... from scratch!

It took a long time to cook, cause you had to put it in the fridge between stages, but it was worth it in the end - decorating it was so fun!

I am really happy with how it came out, considering that I am not that great a cook...!

(It was a great recipe, and if you want it go to this Chanel 4 recipe page)

I decorated the front, my sister Abi decorated the side saying 'Abigail's House', my other sister Becca decorated the back, and me and Becca (joint effort) decorated the Santa side.

Hope you like it! :D

Christmas hamster of the day:

Via here.

Christmas Countdown - 2 days to go!

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Hamster Style!

Just couldn't resist posting this once I found it... It is simply great (for hamster lovers anyway!)

Enjoy!

I love day 5.. haha :D

Christmas hamster of the day:

Via here.

Christmas Countdown - 3 days to go!

There are only 3 days left til Christmas! I am so excited!

While I was in the festive spirit, I decided to write a festive hamster poem, inspired by 'Twas the night before Christmas'.

On the night before Christmas,

I was asleep on my pillow,

but one creature was stirring,

and that was my Willow.

She was running around,

frenzied with joy,

waiting for the presents,

and hoping for a fun toy.

She raced in her wheel,

like the speed of light,

then went back into her house,

to settle in for the night.

She rummaged around,

preparing her bed,

then nibbled some food,

before finally resting her head.

When she next awoke,

it was Christmas day,

and Hannah was there

to come for a play.

In Willow's cage lay a new little toy,

which Willow discovered, full of joy.

She played with it happily, day after day

and they had a wonderful Christmas, full of play.

Hope you enjoyed the poem, even if it was a little odd!

Christmas hamster of the day:

Via here.

How to make your very own Christmas hamster jigsaw puzzle

Today I am going to tell you how to make a Christmas hamster jigsaw!

There are 7 steps, and I would say it is pretty simple, though if you are under 10 you may want an adults help cutting the jigsaw out, as that part can be pretty tricky.

You will need:

1 x sheet of cardboard
1 x photo or picture (A Christmas hamster perhaps?)
1 x scalpel or craft knife
1 x cutting board/protective surface
1 x glue stick (the bigger, the better)
1 x 30cm ruler or rule
1 x roll of book film
1 x pencil



If you don’t have a craft knife/scalpel, you can use scissors, but with more difficulty.

Click read more to get the instructions!

Hamster Christmas Present Ideas (I)

Christmas is fast-approaching, and I'm sure most of you have got your presents sorted, (or almost sorted anyway!), but have you remembered your pet/s?

I know for many people money's tight at the moment, but isn't it worth it to spend a few pounds on something small for your pet to spread the festive feeling?

I decided to put a few low-budget Christmas presents below, so that all pets can have a great Christmas without you having to pay an arm and a leg.

All the presents in this post are under £4, so enjoy!

1. Pudding hamster bed
    from £3.43

It's simple and fun. A sweet little bed which looks like a Christmas pudding, that your hamster can sit or sleep in!
Who cares how much your hammy uses it long-term, you can plonk it in their cage once a year (be sure to clean it!) and it makes a great little gift for the next few years to come! Hamsters may like to wash, sleep or play in it - and it is also great for some Christmasy photos!

2. Naturals - Christmas Cookies (for small animals)

    from £2.99

If your pets are anything like mine (i.e. Willow), I know that they love to eat food (or at least store their food, in Willow's case).

I was looking around my local pet shop, and found these great 'Christmas Cookies' for hamsters and small animals! One of the treats is even in the shape of a Christmas tree! What could be better?

It is also by 'Naturals', and can you guess what? They use 100% natural ingredients AND it's good for the environment!

So you get a happy and healthy hammy! :D

3. Small Animal Climb and Shred Christmas Tree

    from £3.49

I have been keeping hamsters for years, and if I know one thing about them, it's that they love to climb and eat things. And this fun little boredom breaker combines climbing and eating! Perfect!

It is a fun Christmas tree that your hamsters can climb, but it is also made out of something similar to corrugated cardboard so that your hamster can happily (and safely) nibble away at it after it has finished its climb! What a great yet simple idea!

I found the 'Naturals Christmas Cookies' and the 'Climb and Shred Christmas Tree'

from Animed pet shop (UK), in the small animals christmas gifts section.

I also found the Christmas Pudding Bed off Petmeds.co.uk.

Christmas pudding hamster bed pic. via here.

Small animal climb and shred christmas tree pic. via here.

Naturals Christmas cookies for small animals pic. via here.

How do you like the first installment of the 'Hamster Christmas Present Ideas'? If you like it, I will be doing another post shortly in time for Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday #8

Haven't got round to taking any festive photos of Willow yet unfortunately - I've been too busy! :(

I will try my best to take some Christmas themed hamster photos before Christmas, but I am not sure wheter I will have time or not... We'll just have to wait and see...

On the plus side, I've found some adorable Christmas hamster photos I thought I'd share with you, even if I didn't take them and they aren't Willow.

Via here.

Via here.

Hope you have a great Christmasy Wednesday and are excited about Christmas!

A bit of colour in my life...

So yesterday I went to Wisely Gardens for my Granny's birthday.

It was a bit nippy, but I loved it all the same. The flowers are beautiful, and the greenhouse had lots of amazing plants: including flowers and cacti.

I know it is completely unrelated to hamsters, but I thought my readers wouldn't mind a slight diversion in topic - do you? ;)

I have attached my 3 favourite photos, but I will be posting more photos on ~Photographer's Eye~ throughout the week, so visit there if you want to see more!

 

All photos taken by me. These images are copyright - to use these images you must contact me (hannah_animal_tales@yahoo.com). More information is at the bottom of this blog.

 

Sorry for the completely random topic! Will be back to posts about hamsters tomorrow!

 

Willow's weird sleeping habits...

My hamster is officially crazy. I know I already did a post about Willow's sleeping habits (Willow's Post - Sleeping...), but I simply couldn't resist doing a complete post on her sleeping habits  seeing as she often ends up sleeping in a hilarious way!

One time I saw Willow sleeping with her little nose poking out of her house - it was absolutely adorable (and of course, I quickly grabbed a camera and took a quick picture of her!)

I know that isn't that strange, but still, I thought it was too cute to leave off here.

Then I saw Willow sleeping with the lid completely off and bedding everywhere, which I assume happened because Willow stuffed her house so full of sawdust and bedding that the lid just popped off!

Another time I saw Willow sleeping in a pile of sawdust at the corner of her cage, because somehow she had managed to KNOCK HER HOUSE RIGHT OFF THE LEDGE! How Willow does these things I really do not know...

The last weird sleeping habit I have to report is that Willow was with her house over on one side, so it was tilted backwards.. She must have been having a bit of a kerfuffle in her house to knock it over like that!

And that's it to report about Willow's sleeping habits today.. I know - she does do some strange things! She just seems to be getting stranger and stranger by the minute! Oh well, I love her anyway!

Christmas Presents for Hamster-Lovers

I was having a look for some cool, hamster-related Christmas presents a while ago, and I found this great hamster top!

(I have actually asked for it for Christmas)

I love the design, and the hamster is so cute! It is $24.00 / £15.50 not inc. P&P, and it is from 'bubbledog' on Etsy, and they have a whole set of hamster-themed things you can get, including stationary, badges, clothes - you name it!

I have picked out a few of my favourites to share with you on my blog, but if you want to have a look at more hamstery things, then visit their hamster-themed section of their shop!

        

The Hamster Pillows are $16.00 / ~£10.50 each.

The Hamster Badges (Set of 9) are $8.00 / ~£5.59.

The Hamster Stationary Set is $9.00 / ~£6.00.

Hope you like this post! I love this Etsy store, so I thought I would share it :)

Willow's Post - Sleeping...

I don't really have a lot to say today, except that it is nearly Christmas!

I have been happily munching away at food, running in my wheel, and sleeping my days away. And would you believe that it is now only 11 days till Christmas?

Hannah is popping to the pet shop this weekend to go and find me a present. I can't wait to see what it is! I hope it is something edible...

On another topic, I have been getting into some weird sleeping habits now.

I like to stuff my little house so full with sawdust and bedding so that the roof of my bed pops right off. Then I just carry on and go to sleep with the roof completely off - which Hannah says completely defeats the point of having a roof to the house...

I don't really get that cold, but I think Hannah worries that I will get cold if the roof comes off, so she is going to put slightly less bedding in so that when I add more sawdust my house doesn't explode...

Do your pets or hamsters have any weird sleeping or general habits?

Put them in the comments below!

- Willow x

Pet Blogger Gift Exchange

I have joined the 'Pet Blogger Gift Exchange'! It is where you and another blogger pair up, and leave comments under each other's blogs and help more people find your blog.

If you are a pet blogger, you should really consider joining! It is a great opportunity for meeting more animal bloggers, and making some 'blog friends'.

"Dozens of pet bloggers are exchanging the best gifts ever: encouragement, compliments, and a little bit of link love.

Stop back here through January 6 to read about your favorite pet blogs and to discover new ones."

I have been paired with Fabulous Fur Friends on wordpress, and she writes a wonderful blog about her dogs and other animal related things.

All pictures from Fabulous Fur Friends blog.

If you haven't read Fabulous Fur Friends before, I recommend you do cause it's a great blog! It has loads of cute pictures and great things you can get for/do with your dog!

Wordless Wednesday #7

Had a little fun messing about with editing stuff - and yes, I do realize that the pictures look pretty rubbish, but never mind. I had fun and I thought they were something different.

Have a great Wednesday!

(It is the 12/12/12 today, and we all celebrated at 12:12:12! This is the last time it will happen in 100 years though...)