Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all the hammies around the world.

Best wishes,
Scar, Skippy and Herbie

More Cuteness

These photos will make one wanna squeeze-squash this little boy boy. He has already won over Scrump's owner when she came over the other day. =)

Angry look

Surprised look

Blunt look -> -__-"

Curious look

One-Leg Skipper

The bad news awaits for the owners after they came back from their wedding. A day later, I saw Skippy limping and her hind leg was in an awkward position, my worst fear came true. The doctor suggested amputation without even the need to put a cast to see if the bones could join back.

Hamnosaurus

Hence, once again Skippy went into the operation room and this time round it took a toll on her. Although she survived the operation, but she emerged with a tear-stained face and her expression screamed pain. She was sort of relieved to see me and she seek the usual consolation from me. Co-owner took a video of me consoling her (it was kindda hilarious actually) but I don't know how to upload it here via Iphone.

"Nooo, don't let me into that place again!!"

Tear-stained face

Anyway, after a few weeks of medication and rehab, we finally put Skippy back to stay with Scar. Once again, both hamsters cannot see eye-to-eye with each other but nice little Scar is more accomodating to his handicap comrade. Little Skip is fine now. Aye, one-leg Skipper!

Neck-breaking Sleep Pose

Found Scar sleeping in such position this afternoon. I don't know about him, but if it was me, I would have easily gotten the stiff-neck syndrome after sleeping with the head in this awkward pose. (o.O)

Uniquely hamster style!

Three Headed Hamster

The guess on Who's Who staying together.


The answer: Scar and Skippy are housemates now. The verdict? Scar is not happy that his home is being utilised by another hammy and Skippy is not happy with Scar who didn't like to share his things.


But, I think they should be fine. =D

Departure Of Scratch

We are sad to say Scratch boy boy departed from us on Sept 11. =( Found him passed on when I returned home at night.

My boy has been battling with serious warts growth. Though Scratch boy is rather weak due to his old age and sickness, he was rather active and would insist on coming out to have a walk around the room. His sudden passing is quite sad but at least he will not suffer anymore pain.

His 'furneral' was held on Sept 12. RIP Scratch. :(

Guess Who & Who

Due to lack of resources, the Hamsty avenue new policy is to combine housing.

Guess who and who?

Hi There Handsome

There was a joke which we previously cracked on Scar, the white hammy we adopted. As he was quite young then, we have doubts over his gender. One day, a conversation went (pardon the coarse words used):-

Me: "He looks like he has no balls..." (holding Scar & checking his organs)
Co-owner: "Is boy. Maybe have not develop. Still young."
Me: "What if he is female?"
Co-owner (without hesistation): "Then we call him Scarlet."
Me: -___-

Co-owner's straight-forward reply is really priceless.



By now, Scar no longer has the scar on his nose and has evolved into a very handsome likeable boy. Co-owner currently likes him alot because this little one always lick co-owner's nose when he placed his face near the cage. And yes, he is confirmed a male despite his feminine face. =D

Hamnobyl

This was the first time that the Hamsty hammies' lives are disrupted. The owner's home underwent some minor renovation but the situation was appalling. No matter how their cages were covered, the dust & debris found its way in. Scratch's whose cage was situated on the top had his eyes affected by the dust. In a bid to save all the hammies, the owner quickly bundled them up and fled to co-owner's house for refuge. In the whole month of July, the hamsters spent their time in their makeshift cages while the whole Hamsty World shut down.

Now, the hamsters finally settled down back to their original houses. Could see that they were overjoyed as they return back to their home. It was sad that EG never made it back to his old mansion. But during his final days, we managed to give him back his ham-head hideout. The little one was so happy that he slumped half his body in and refused to move.

All is well now and Hamsty's blog is resuming its regular business. =D

A Farewell To Earl Grey

Our favourite boy passed on this morning. EG has been getting weaker as each day passes. Yesterday, I came home to a frail him sitting solemnly at one corner. Gave him food and he ate some. After patting his head, his cataract eyes seem to look at me (abeit sad) but he laid to one side and sleep.

This morning, I found him motionless under the beddings. It looks like Herbie has already done a pre-burial for him by covering his body with a mould of beddings. The anxious little squeak was jumping about when I removed his body and she was not pacified even when I gave her a new bowl of food.

EG's 'furneral' will be held tonight.

The last photo of the couple

The Couple That Eat & Sleep Together

It has been a hell of 2 weeks coming since the relocation of the Hamsty. In the beginning, the hamsters were grumpy when they were downgraded to smaller cages (plus being deported) and then gloomy upon the realisation that this would be their fates (being abandoned). Skippy was super panicky as she is not used to travel. Scratch was the worst as he was being transported in a tin can (not enough tanks) and his face showed 'suicidal'. Scar on the other hand looked sad for the thought that he would go to a new owner again.


Fret not as the big hamster (Owner) also followed them to stay at the new location. So far, the disgruntled hammies have been protesting to the two owners every night because 1. Crampy space. 2. No wheels (except for Scar because the owner forgot to pack 4 more wheels).


However not all bad things happened. There are still good experiences deriving from this saga. Like how Skippy made herself comfortable in her new cage by creating a cozy bedroom with a curtain, and Scar defensively protecting his wheel (he refused to take turns to share the wheel with fellow hammies). The best part of this was the couple Herbie and Earl Grey. Back home as they were living in a mansion-like house, both of them never eat or sleep together since they each have their hideouts and food bowls. Now forced to a one-bedroom apartment, they have no choice but to eat and sleep together. I guess love blooms for them over this period. They are so loving together now.




Like the saying goes, the couple that eat and sleep together, stays together. =D

Temporary Relocation

The hamsty hamsters will be relocated to co-owner's house for this coming July.

Lovesick
Owner

Earless & Bald

Today is the 'D' day for Skippy. After the whole week of soured relationships and refusal to eat her medicine, it has come to the point of no return. (~.~) The hamster knew what was coming and hid in her hideout bricking up the entrance and refused all call attempts to get her out.

Before leaving home to the clinic

(Warning - The photos below might affect one's perception of hamster)

After a week of medication and thyme tea, the bulge shrunk a third, but nonetheless, the base is still growing. After the vet's review, both of us decided it would be best to remove the whole ear. I did initially suggest to keep the ear intact but the vet mentioned that with residue left, the abscess will still grow back. So it's off with the ear.

Skippy recovered fast and thank goodness she woke up fast and so the damage to my pocket was lesser. The vet even gave us back a container with her ear in the preservative solution. =.= I think come next week I will bring that container back to the vet to dispose. Imagine looking at the floating ear inside. *faints*

The vet gave her a bowl of food too! I guessed they realised she is super panicky and traumatised. Right now at home, we transformed her cage to a 'hospital ward'. A ear gone, half her head shaved clean, came back to a home that has no more beddings, imagine how pissed Skippy is right now. Yeah, she's no longer in talking terms with me and I think I best leave her alone for the time being (except for Baytril time). =(

A New Kid Arrives

Co-owner was saying that his mum adopted three baby hamsters from a family who unintentionally let their hamsters breed. Shortly after the adoption, the family unbashfully pushed the parents to her as well (talking about responsibilities). With a sudden influx, co-owner suggested to take one into Hamsty.



It was supposed to be the female coming to our house, but the co-owner who doesn't know how to differentiate the gender of the hamster, brought the male one here instead. -.- The hamster who is now separated from his family is still sulking away in his cage. =.= He came with his face a little disfigured, and so I decided to name him as Scar. He is kind of pleasant and well behaved, quiet and reserved, so different from the male hamsters here. =D Hope he will blend in soon. Age wise - unknown, looks quite young to me.

Another Trip To The Vet

I for one never like to go to the vet. It means that something happened to my hamsters. :( And now the next victim is Skippy. We had a long history of having hamsters with warts/abscesses/tumors and whats not. We knew what is coming up when we found Skippy with a growing abscess on her ear.


I called up the vet for a surgery appointment which was rejected. The vet told us to bring Skippy down for a look. Skippy, of all the hamsters, has never been traumatised before. She has never been onto a hand of a stranger and never left home. So horror to her when she was put into the carrier and whisked off to the vet. At the clinic, a panicked Skippy behaved badly that her own owner couldn't even control her. To add to my woes, the vet dare not touch her for the fear Skippy would bite her. So I had to play 'catch' with a 'skippery' hamster in the constraint space. At the end of the consultation, the vet gave me the answer that I already anticipated: "Cut off her whole ear".


So in the mean time, the doctor gave medication for Skippy. As expected, Baytril is the medication. My internal monologue while standing there watching the vet typing away on her pc. "Great, how do I feed this panicky hamster with baytril everyday. What's worse is, her ear will still be a goner." This coming Sunday will be Skippy's last day for her ear if Baytril and thyme tea couldn't help remove the bulge. =(

A Furball Named Scratch

Food For Thoughts

Eversince Wiffy gave us a healthy mix of cereals for the hammies, we decided it would be best to switch from pet-shop purchased food to self-mix food. Apart from healthy-eating reason, it is also economical for us. We calculate our expenses (buying of their package food monthly) and found that the overall cost of mixing our own is cheaper. It is also viable when we have more than two hamsters as they keep the consumption moving fast.

A one-time bill came upon my gorcery shopping. The hamster food cost amounts to 2/3rd of the bill, but the co-owner reminded that this will last until end of this year or maybe more. True enough, as I start mixing all the stuff, the amount of food came up tremendously alot.

One big bin of hamster mix!

To be packaged for freshness.

A Day In Herbie's Household

Yes, it's Herbie's household now. It's no longer Earl Grey's mansion. The henpecked husband gave Herbie the rights to his left wing while he retains his original small humble squatter. Just see how this mistress of the house guards her home. She seals off one of the hideout exits while she stands in front of the other, fending off trepassers (EG).

House Fight

This was what happened a few months back, the start of co-habitation between Earl Grey and Herbie. At the owner's initiative, Herbie was sent packing to stay with EG at his mansion house. We felt that EG has been lonely all this while as a bachelor without a mate, so we sent Herbie to stay with him.

Guess EG would rather do without the companion to have more freedom? =D

Fast Food Junkies

If hamsters can eat junk food, what would they choose? We'll let Scratch and Skippy tell you the answer. =)

Big Mac!

Fillet-O-Fish!

There you have it! =D

Acrophobia

Herbie is afraid of heights. =) Whenever we bring her out onto our palms, she will claw and cling onto every bits of our skin and hangs for her dear life. Just look at the close up photo of her on my palm. Her nails extended, and her paws open wide as if to laminate herself on my hand.

The best part? The look on her face is priceless. You can definitely see that she's scared. =D Haha, I have so many hamsters and none of them cling onto us like her. The sensation is different. Other hams will just walk smoothly on our palm, but with Herbie, we can feel the drag on her paws. It's so funny. (^.^)v

EG's Love Story -2nd Date

Since the first date went well, the owners planned for a second date for the two hams. By the way, this was back in Jan.

First, the hams were treated to dinner.

Just look at their round shape. Guess who is who?

After eating, some kindda proposal went on...

The couple went on to have their walk together.

Everything went well, until EG misbehaved a little and Herbie gave him one tight slap.

"You Pervert!"

The story continues...

EG's Love Story - First Date

One fine day while Earl Grey was doing his routine walk in Hamsty Avenue, something caught his attention from afar. He went nearer to explore and saw Herbie behind her cage. The two of them stood together with the grill in between them. No squeaks. The owner feared a fight may start and swooped EG back home.

However, upon thinking back what happened, the owner decided to let both of them out for their first date. Surprisingly, the first date went well.

And so, this is what happened. Stay tune...

Awww...

It's time like this that makes you go "Awww... I'll let you come out and play.." eventhough you are already so tired and wanting to take the day's sleep. Before you know it, you lose to your hamster.

Hamster - 1 Owner - 0

Ears dropped, eyes teary. Herbie's winning whine!

Whispering Wall

"Psst... Hey! Can you hear me, o' Mighty Big Pillow? I got a secret to tell you!"

Of Different Shades Of Grey

So now that Herbie finally turns grey, we now have 3 grey hamsters in the house. Except for Scratch who is so beautifully white, the 3 of them are all in different shades of grey. Looking at photos of them, as the full-time owner, I am still able to differentiate who is who compared to the co-owner. Here are their photos that were jumbled up in my computer and both owners played the 'Guess Who Is This' game.

Skippy


Skippy is a name well-suited her! She is very lively and sociable. As can see, she is the tiniest of them greys. She also have a mischievious look. (^^)v I think it's gotta do with that big eyes and stubby nose of hers that give her the naughty face. =p On the contrary, Skippy is getting a brighter coat of fur. Her fur is of light brownish white and lighter shades of grey.

Earl Grey


We call him Big Grey because of his size. =) At his age, he is still maintaining his large frame though he lost abit of weight after passing the 2yr old mark. He has a gentle nature but will give a 'pissed' look if provoked. =.= Earl Grey has a darker shade of grey and he has some brownish tone mixed into his grey fur. The brown fur however is much darker and opaque compared to Skippy's. EG too has large eyes but he has a shorter nose.

Herbie


She has big butt! =D And I think her fur coat further makes it look bigger! Herbie's lower half of fur is of a whiter shade of grey. It's like someone accidentally sprayed a dash of paint over her lower half. Herbie is also one chubby hamster. I think in no time she will be of same size as EG. Currently her fur is more of white and grey, and a little tint of brown on her sides. It is very easy to identify her in photos because she is much smaller eyed and she has sharper face compared to the other 2.

Guess Who?

Guess who?