Wordless Wednesday #13

Hope everyone's having a great Wednesday!

I break up from school tomorrow, yay! Should be able to post more now with any luck.

For now, here's a clip of Willow for this week's Wordless Wednesday.

                                                                                                                                                  

Small Furry Pets Feature

I took a bit of a 'blogging break', but I'm happy to announce that I am back!

I'm clearing the cobwebs and starting afresh writing some more hamster posts, so welcome back to the up-to-date Animal Tails! I thought the 1st of the Month was a good time to start, so here goes:

Willow is doing great- in fact, she's famous!

Guess who featured in the April - May 2013 Small Furry Pets magazine? That's right - Willow! 

Willow featured in the "You & your small pet" section of the 7th issue of Small Furry Pets, and I am over the moon! We may not have won the 'star pet' award, but she did get featured and she'll always be my star, as cheesy as it sounds. Hehe ;)

I hope to be back to blogging for good now, so stay tuned and tell your friends in the blogging world that we're back if you get the chance! I will be writing informative posts and continuing Wordless Wednesday, along with extra posts too, so I hope to be writing at least two posts a week.

Apologies (and a cute photo!)

Sorry I haven't been blogging a lot recently - I've been so busy with school work and stuff like that.. + the teachers are giving us tests in pretty much every subject, which sucks.

Anyway, back on topic. I am going to do a quick general blog post about Willow and life etc.

Willow is being her usual self - hyper but adorable. She climbed up onto my neck earlier and it was the most ticklish thing! ;) haha. She has also decided to move her 'nest' out of her little green house and into the bottom corner of the cage.. It looks like a complete mess! Oh well, at least she is happy. If she wants to sleep there she can ;)

Will try to get posting more often. I hate neglecting my blog but I don't seem to have any free time anymore!

Here is a photo of Willow. Sorry it's not very good - will try to do more photo-shoots soon.

Wordless Wednesday #12

Have a great Wednesday everyone! :D

Willow now has instagram!

When I looked through instagram, I saw that lots of pets had their own accounts, and there were accounts for almost anything. So I thought I would make Willow one, where I could share even more pictures of Willow than I do on my blog.

The account name is: Willow_the_Hamster (not sure if capitals matter or not) so please follow if you want to and if you have instagram!

I only created the account today, so it is really new and doesn't have many followers or photos yet, though I will be adding lots of photos and possibly updates on Willow from here, and hopefully I will get more followers eventually.

What do you think? Please comment and let me know wheter you like the idea, or if you don't, or any suggestions etc. Also, if anyone has instagram already for their pet or pet blog, if possible please give me a shoutout, and I will give you one back.

Sneak peak at a photo from instagram:

Wordless Wednesday #11

Here are some photos of Willow being adorable as usual ;)

'Hello?..'

'I see you!..'

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Review - Large Supreme Hamster Play Fort

As some of you may know, for Christmas I got given a present for Willow, which is this lovely play fort, with lots of different rooms with tunnels leading into each of them, for Willow to explore in.

Today I am going to write my opinions of it, with both the positive and negative sides of it, before finally reaching my conclusion. I hope you like this review!

Name: Supreme Hamster Fort Large Play Maze Small Pets Hamster Dwarf (Rabbit?) Gerbil Mice

Brand: Supreme

Price: From £6 to £11, depending on where you buy it

Shop I bought it from: It was a present so I don't know where my parents bought it from.

First Impression:

I thought this looked really fun and perfect for Willow, though I was slightly worried that she would escape! It compacted easily which is great for storing, and was easy to put together.

I liked how simple yet fun it looked, and it was big enough to keep a Syrian hamster entertained and let her wonder around and explore.

Pros:

• It kept Willow entertained and she enjoyed exploring the different rooms
• It was easy to keep an eye on Willow while she ran around in it, and she didn't get bored easily
• It is made completely of cardboard, so if your hamster tries to eat it it won't harm your hamster (and knowing Willow, it's always important - seeing as she always tries to escape)
• You can use it for many different small pets: hamsters, mice, gerbils, rats etc.

Cons:

• It states that you can use it for a rabbit. Really? That is just ridiculous! A rabbit would definately never fit inside that. It is ridiculous. 
• After a few times of using it, Willow finally managed to work out how to escape... out of the sides of the fort. And once she learns something, she won't forget it and stop doing it... Never mind!
• She chewed some of the corner off, though it didn't go completely through to the other side so it doesn't really matter (pic above)
• £10 is quite expensive for some cardboard, though I have to admit it is quite cool..

I think this is a great toy, which is perfect for hamsters. I think this would be better/ more suited to smaller animals than Syrian hamsters, like dwarf hamsters or mice, as they wouldn't be able to climb up over the sides of the fort.
Still, I love the whole thing. It is such a cute idea, and you can put treats and toys in different rooms to keep your hamster or small pet entertained.

Overall, I give this hamster play fort 4 stars out of 5. :D

Saturday PhotoHunt - 'Celebrate'

So today's Saturday PhotoHunt theme is 'Celebrate'!

So I thought I would edit a random picture of Willow and add in some fireworks (and 3D glasses, for reasons unknown to myself..)

I hope everyone is having a great start to 2013, and is CELEBRATING the start of the new year.

Sorry I haven't posted much this week - I have been so busy!

Will try to post more often this week!

Saturday PhotoHunt - 'Add'

Me ADD my hamster = a happy Hannah and a happy hamster!

(Don't worry - I didn't really kiss her!)

Visit the Saturday Photohunt Blog to see the upcoming themes and play along.

Wordless Wednesday #10

I can't believe I have already done 10 Wordless Wednesdays! That's 10 weeks! Wow.. time just flies by doesn't it? And it's the beginning of the new year too... Anyway - on with this week's Wordless Wednesday (with a few words beforehand ;) )

These photos are of Willow in her new play fort I was given for Christmas. She loves it! I will be doing a full post about the play fort soon, so watch this space!

Willow trying to escape, as usual! (but not succeeding in the end!)

View of the whole play fort with Willow exploring inside.

'Hello'

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!

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!

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!

Hamster Cage Tour!

I have decided to do a cage tour, as Ann Paws said that she would like to see a full shot of Willow's cage in a comment under 'Wordless Wednesday #1', and I thought I probably should show my readers more about the essential items in a hamster cage.

Willow's cage is a multi-leveled glass tank-type thing. I think it was originally meant for mice, but it is suitable for hamsters too. Below are the photos of the whole cage, including all the different levels and descriptions of what is on each level. Enjoy!

Birdseye view of Willows cage (with the lid off)

Top level, with a hamster see-saw and food bowl. It is easy to put food in her bowl from here.

Second level of the cage. It has an 8" hamster wheel and a wooden chew toy.

 Third level of the cage. It has a house with bedding inside for Willow to sleep in,
and a wooden chew toy (I also put other toys in regularly).

Left side of the bottom level of the cage. I frequently change what is here,
but at this time there is a thick cardboard tube which used to be covered in hay for
hamsters to eat, but Willow ate all of it...

Right side of the bottom level of the cage. It has a vent so air can circulate around the cage.
I have a cardboard kitchen roll tube for her to climb in, and a Willow ball for her to chew.

This is the middle of the bottom level. It has a wooden hamster playhouse for
Willow to climb on, and it also has a little ladder leading up to the next floor.

Hope you liked having a look around Willow's cage, and feel free to comment as to whether you like it or not and what your hamster's cage is like!

New sponsor - The Dew Hop Inn!

Animal Tails has got an official sponsor! - The Dew Hop Inn! (On Etsy)

The Dew Hop Inn statement: "We offer natural dried fruits, chew "toys", and other treats for your pet bunnies or other small animals. All of our products come from our 60 acres or other local farmers in Downeast Maine. We take great care in hand picking it all and sun drying most of it. While we cater to pet bunnies and small animals you need not worry as the fruit is safe for humans too!" 

The Dew Hop Inn have kindly sent me a packet of small animal treats for Willow, and Willow loved them! The packet included lots of yummy treats including some chew sticks and various dried veggies. (and fruits?)

There are many treats, which will make the perfect gift for your pets Christmas presents!

This is what was in the bag. ^

Willow absolutely loved her tasty treats. I haven't given them all to her yet, as too much fruit/vegetables at the same time can be bad for your hamster.

So far I have given her a chew stick, some dried banana, and some other dried things. She was curious about the banana at first, but she soon realized it was edible and gobbled it up!

She instantly loved the stick and was kept entertained by chewing it for ages!

I really recommend that you go and check out The Dew Hop Inn, because your pets will truly love the treats sold there - and there are treats available for pretty much all small animals: rabbits, hamsters, mice, gerbils - you get the picture.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE DEW HOP INN ON ETSY