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.

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!

Buying a Hamster

When you buy a hamster there are certain things you must check before you buy it.

The most important thing you need to check is that the hamster is healthy.

Here is a quick list of things you should do and look out for when choosing your hamster:

The Hamster Cage

• Check that the cage looks clean
• The cage should not be overcrowded
• The hamsters should have access to food and water at all times

Hamster sex and age

• The hamsters should be separated by sex; males in one cage, females in another
• If buying from a pet shop and the staff don't know the sex of the hamsters this is not a good sign. You could end up buying a pregnant female and this could cause many problems.
• The hamsters should be no younger than 5 weeks old when you buy them. If they are younger than this, they are too young to be sold.

The healthiness of the hamster

• If one hamster in the cage with other hamsters look sick it is best not to get a hamster from that cage, as this puts all the hamsters in the cage at risk of illness.
• The hamster should have bright eyes when awake.
• The hamster should not have runny or sticky eyes, runny nose, sneezing, wet or dirty bottom, matted fur, or seem lethargic.
• You should ask to hold the hamster before you buy it- to check it over one last time and check if it is tame.

Random poll of the month #3

This is the third in the series of the 'Random poll of the month'.

This month's question was: 

What is the biggest number of pets you have had at one time?

There were 8 options to choose from, which went from 1 - 8+.

5 people voted overall. Below are the results:

The lowest number of the most pets had at one time was 2.

The highest number of the most pets had at one time was 8+.

But I also ran the poll on the Pet Forums website, and two people had 12 pets at one time, another had 15, and another had 9 at one time. 

Thank you to everyone who voted, and make sure you vote on the new poll for the month, which is on the right hand sidebar.

Hamster Heart post

Sorry I haven't posted in so long! Will be posting more often now - promise!

As some of you may know, Inky from 'Inky the hamster mommy' has another blog called

'♥ Hamster heart ♥'.

This quote from the website shows what it is about, and the reason for the blog:

"I've created this blog as a place for people to mourn their lost pets and at the same time celebrate the lives our hamsters have lived."

I wanted Lolly to go on her site so that we could all remember her, and I thought it would be nice to dedicate a post to her.

I asked Inky if Lolly could go on there, and she said yes, so when she posts it on her blog I will add a link to the post so you can all see it.