Toby & Hebe

We still let Hebe and Toby communicate. Just that it is behind bars (no hanky-panky or fights) for one of them. Both the mom and dad live side by side, and depending who is out for free roam, they will visit one and other.

Toby visiting Hebe (usually by the front)

Poor Toby is always under the brute of Hebe's temper. Sometimes she is nice to him (in heat) and sometimes she is so hostile that she will shriek at him. And sad Toby will come to me needing consolation (cos' he just got a thrashing from Hebe). Almost everytime when Hebe is good to him, can see Toby's happiness in his eyes, but when he gets a scolding from Hebe, he really can look real sad. 😄 

Hebe visiting Toby (usually she will perch on the roof)

Still after each saga, they will visit each other often. 😀😆

Chip Off The Old Block

They said 'Like Father Like Son'. There is probably why a reason Tobias is named as Tobias. Because he is Toby's son and he looks like his dad. Look at that uncanny resemblance in his face and behaviour:

Tobias (left) and Toby (right - about 6 wks old when he first brought home)

Tobias inherited Toby's big eyes, snubby nose, and those cute round ears.

Tobias (left) and Toby (right) about 6 wks old

See that same relax attitude on the upper deck? 

Tobias was the first to be singled out from the babies because he fought with his siblings, namely Yoda. He bullied Yoda to the point Yoda is constantly in hiding and dodging the bigger size Tobias. Remember Toby's history? Same same. 😑

Yet, Tobias is really nice to their grandparents 👴👵 (co-owner & me), he never bite us and he was the first to land on our hands when he was still a baby. Like his dad, he loves massages also. 😄

Would be interesting to see how he will grow up to when he reaches the 1 year old mark like Toby now.

Toby (1yr + above): "See, that's my son who looks like me."

😍😍😍

Let's Talk About Toby

Toby, also called many times as Tobiko (nickname) or Toby-ness (his highness, the owners are at his mercy), is one very chilled and laid back hamster. I would say he is the most obedient and intelligent hamster we have so far.

We first saw him at the petshop alone in a big tank going about minding his own business. It was so nice to look at him at about 6 weeks old smartly taking care of himself. And so, we decided to take him home. The shop assistant initially put him back because she thought we were afraid when he started shrieking.  She told us he was separated from the pack because he fought with the rest. But we saw a timid hammie who is startled from the commotion.

We still remember how he leaped like a frog when we tried to touch him. =D

Fast forward to many months later, this small little fella grew to 75g. Toby is the only one we are confident to leave him outside to free roam even when we were not home. And honestly, he behaves. =) Now, it is our time to get startled by him as occasionally he will pops beside our toes (Toby bit co-owner's toe because his legs were blocking his path, lol). 

Sometimes he goes back to his cage on his own. Sometimes, we really have to pull him home because it is already 12 midnight.

"I don't want to go home!!!!"

Initially afraid of human touch, Toby now likes to be massaged. And he can communicate his intentions clearly, like asking for food or request to go home. Lol.

The New Hamsty Family

 How long has it been since we have our own hamster family? A decade or more ago when Chiko and Naughty gave us generations of wonders.

So when Toby and Hebe gave us babies, we are thrilled to be grandparents again. (^^)v

*swipe dust off Hamsty's blog*

I decided to document them in this blog. Last post was with Boy Boy aka Spike and most of the content were in Instagram. It is easier to do shorts instead of long posts. But, one day we realized when I showed co-owner one of the posts from here, we realized our memories with our loved pets are kept alive here.

I want to keep Toby and his family here too. As well as to recap the hammies who were over the Rainbow Bridge: Girl Girl, Frappe, Social, and Stun.

So here are the babies with mum Hebe. Hebe is the one at the top right. Beside her, that small little runt which is of fairer coat: that's Yoda. The one of the most bottom left: that's probably Bebe. The two in between could be Tobias and Phoebe (but these 2 are hard to identify).

Makan time for the family

Because Toby and Hebe have agouti coats, all the babies came out the same. It makes it impossible to identify who is who when they are small. Here, Hebe stayed with the kids to raise them (single mum). It must be the food, the babies grew so fast. On the 11th day, they already open their eyes and started munching on the hamster food.

Fast forward 4 weeks 3 days, they are now housed individually and living independently.