Happy Birthday to My Horde!

[Zouave]

It was on January 3rd of last year when I got a female hamster from the pet store. My only other hamster, Blackie, a nervous fellow, died of a respiratory infection in November of 2002; I only had him four weeks.

She was so gentle, sweet, and calm; she came from a tank with no males in it and showed no signs of pregnancy - so I took my chances. That day there was a driving freezing rain, and I walked a mile home with her safely wrapped in bath towels in my gym bag, which I held under the umbrella all the way. When I got home she had already chewed her way through the cardboard box and was exploring the towels. I was soaked but she was dry, and I named her "Rainy".

On January 9th. . . I was shocked to see a whole bunch of little pink things wriggling in her tank next to her! We had a surprise litter of twelve. I decided to keep them all, returning none.

Since then I have posted many many baby photos and more recent ones. They have been quite a handful. I'm glad I kept them, though. Their mom is still fine, and Zeb and Makeeda are parents of Stanely and Blanche.

So Happy Birthday to Makeeda, Onyx, Ebony, Zeb, Hypatia, Zenobia, Theodora, Boudicca, and Raven.

Remembered are Ringy, who died two days ago; Peter who died in March; and Larry the runt who didn't make it.

[ssmissy]

Happy Birthday! :hbday:

[Zouave]

Cute smiley! Thanks.

[SapphireWolf]

Happy birthday! I'm sorry that Ringy couldn't be there :(

[ssmissy]

Me too. :apart:

[Zouave]

Ringy, and her deceased brothers Peter and Larry, are still here - in the freezer.

[ssmissy]

:sick: :sick: :sick:

[SapphireWolf]

Well then, they are still there!:cold:

[Zouave]

I don't have the heart to bury them. :(

They are comfortable frozen, and there is lots of room in there!

[SapphireWolf]

Yeah, I know how you feel. WHen I have to say good bye to my little babies, it practically tears my heart out to bury them. I never did think of keeping them in the fridge before. WHen People come over to your house, do they ever look in the freezer, see the hamstersand freak out :aeek2: ?

[Zouave]

Yeah, I know how you feel. WHen I have to say good bye to my little babies, it practically tears my heart out to bury them. I never did think of keeping them in the fridge before. WHen People come over to your house, do they ever look in the freezer, see the hamstersand freak out :aeek2: ?

I have NINETEEN bins/cages/tanks in the former living room (now the Rodent Room), along with three play bins, and bags of food, bedding, and trash bags.

I clearly do NOT have anyone over!! :lol:

[SapphireWolf]

:goof: WOw, thats ALOT! :EL:

[Zouave]

Two Syrian hams, and two gerbils, were rescues from pet stores. Another nine were from a surprise litter (one died a week ago two days short of her first birthday, as I posted in the Memorial forum). So I kept them in part as I'd feel guilty if I brought them to, or left them at, the pet store.

I'm glad they are here! :)

[SapphireWolf]

Zouave, maybe you could anwser a question for me. My syrian, when I first got him, was very sweet. He used to crawl onto my hand so I could hold him. Now, he's suddenly biting me, rather hard, he drew blood once. And now he won't let me hold him anymore. I've never owned syrians before, he is my first. My cousin own six of them, and she dosen't know what I can do either. Maybe you could help? Has any of yours ever done this before?

[ssmissy]

As a hamster gets older it becomes more taritorily. Also if have just ate before holding them you could smell like food....

[SapphireWolf]

I make sure my hands don't smell like food, I wash my hands before i play with them so they don't think I'm food. I want to hold him, but he's starting to bite harder and harder. I'm about to use gloves to hold him. I really don't want to use gloves, but I also don't like getting bitten. I'm not used to getting bit because none of of other animals bite except for my old dwarf(she'll be three in a couple of months). This is how it started: I always put my hand in his cage and let him walk onto my hand (I try not to grab my little pets. I let them decide if they want to come out. I do grab them if I have to though). Well, he walked onto my hand, he bit me. At first I didn't think much of it. So, I'm letting him crawl on my lap, and it's time for my to put him up, so I put my hand down for him to crawl on, he does, and them he bites me again. The next day, he bit me and drew blood. He also drew blood last night. Now, he bites me and kinda holds on to me. I don't think he's sick, everything looks alright, his poo's are normal, his coat looks good, so do his eyes, he's breathing fine, no runny nose. I always make sure he has good food and fresh water, he gets chew sticks and cardboard tubes, he has a good wheel to run on. I'm just not sure what to do. If I have to use gloves I will, but I really don't want to.

[dee23]

i have been lucky with mine both of them lick me they even lick my dog dont worry if u are think she might hurt my hammys shes been brought up with them since she was one now shes 14 she was brought up with 2 gerbils 12 hamsters and the poor dog doesnt have any teeth so she couldnt even bite even if she wanted to lol
but there was one mean hamster i looked after at school it bit me so hard it took it ages to get of my finger and my finger wouldnt stop bleeding it wasnt its faul the kids at school use to pick on the poor hammy i hate kids like that

[Zouave]

>> Zouave, maybe you could anwser a question for me. My syrian, when I first got him, was very sweet. He used to crawl onto my hand so I could hold him. Now, he's suddenly biting me, rather hard, he drew blood once. And now he won't let me hold him anymore. I've never owned syrians before, he is my first. My cousin own six of them, and she dosen't know what I can do either. Maybe you could help? Has any of yours ever done this before? <<

Never heard of this with an older Syrian. Rainy the hamster mom is fine, although elderly, and Princess was my sweetie and my favorite. She passed in September at age 2.5 (see Memorial thread on this site). :bawling:

The only bite I ever had was from Zeb, and that was as I held him with all four legs pinned, and he didn't like it, but he wasn't mean - he sat calmly in my other hand while my left hand bled! (Didn't hurt).

[ssmissy]

My brother got bitten by smokey and he isn't mean.

[Zouave]

Very few hamsters are "mean". Some are scared. In my friend Zeb's case he just wanted to be able to move his front legs which I was holding at the time. It was a quick little nip, but deep (why it bled so much). I swear this did NOT hurt!

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL19/924030/3232942/41125084.jpg

[SapphireWolf]

I'm not sure if he's being mean or scared or what. I just know he's starting to bite harder and harder. I didn't want to do this, but now I'm starting to hold him with gloves on until he starts to not bite me anymore :( In a few days I'm gonna try him with no gloves again and see if he goes for another bite or not. The bites he's starting to give me are deep too, but he's just starting to really chomp on me now.

[Mitchandozzie]

Happy birthday to Zouaves hoarde!!!!!!!!!! When Ozzie bit me when I first got him it bled like that. He was a really scared little guy back then. Now you cant even tell.

[Zouave]

I have never had a ham "chomp" on me. Their rare bites were very quick.

I have 12 gerbils and on those equally RARE occasions when one of them bit me they did chomp.

The ones I rescued calmed down rather quickly here, but most were born here and have always been calm.

[Mitchandozzie]

Ozzies bite was so quick, I didnt even know it happened till I saw blood, Then it started to hurt. But when Corkey but me one time after I ate, he was convinced my hands were food and hung on.