As I drove to Lovely Daughter's apartment this morning to tend to Hambo's water and feed, I was still unclear why the hamster could not have been delivered to my house at the same time as the two cats. I have never officially met Hambo. Whenever I have been visiting he has been exercising his nocturnal prerogative to snuggle in a compact furry ball and sleep through any social occasions. Today he was awake and curious, as alert a hamster as I have ever seen. His food bowl was full but when I compared the contents to those in the bag of hammie-nosh, I could see his preference for sunflower seeds and some other unrecognizable food flakes had led him to triage his favorites and leave the rest. He seemed quite excited when I added a handful of new food and was stuffing his little furry cheek pouches as I took out his water bowl to wash and refill. Hambo has a self-serve water bottle suspended on the side of his home. That was virtually untouched. He must have a preference for drinking from his no-spill plastic recipient. All of two inches across it is like a reflecting pool to him; somewhere to compose his little hammie soul after tearing around the tunnels, slides and climbing options of hammie habitat. I had been quite flattered to be greeted with enthusiasm by this tiny white rodent, (I am easily pleased, I admit). He had twitched his nose and come to the side of the cage to allow me to gently scratch his head. Cuteness personified.
Not so cute as I returned his water dishlet to it's spot. He latched onto my pinkie knuckle with his teeny tiny "Hambo the Cannibal" teeth, drawing blood and coming very close to being pounded into a white fluffy snowflake-like hamster pancake.
If Lovely Daughter had explained to me that he had been left to guard the house, I would have been more careful.
Kitchen
1 hour ago
Hummm ... hamster bite.... you must smell delicious.
ReplyDeleteOh, dear, recollections of times past. I used to be a recreation director at a playground. One day we had a pet show. Small child presented box with pet inside and invited me to reach in to meet said pet--juding at that time was for "friendliest pet." Set of very sharp teeth, set in very determined jaw latched on to my finger and as I pulled out my hand in pain, from it was hanging one very perturbed hamster. Said pet was later pinned as "smallest," having forfeited the friendliest moniker by his anti-social behavior.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, "I feel your pain."
At least the house will be safe. *lol*
@eloh, of course I smelled delicious. I had just had my hand in the bag of hamster food.
ReplyDeleteJean, this little beast had me fooled by his initial friendliness. I suspect son-in-law has been training him in the arts of unarmed combat and the advantages of surprise.
Ouch! I remember being bitten by my pet hamster when I was little. They do look very cute but they are evil little beasties.
ReplyDeleteWho said hamsters have no personality?
ReplyDeleteYes, hamsters are cute (i remember mine when I was a kid), but can be deadly!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh ER, thanks for my laugh for the day. It all seemed so cute, which was a tiny bit suspicious, so the hamster pancake part made me snort!
ReplyDeleteNever, never, ever turn your back on them ! And don't leave the cage door open... once they get loose in the house then the fun really starts. Anyway, that is my recollection from having kept gerbils for a while long ago. Good thing it wasn't a rabbit, you might have lost a finger...
ReplyDeleteI hope your rabies shots are up to date and the like...
Take care, and Happy Holidays, hampster bites not withstanding...
:-)
The very first hamster I bought was a baby hamster. I got him home and he escaped from his cage the first night. We found him a year later, a grown up boy who kept himslef in grand shape gorging on food behind kitchen's cupboards.
ReplyDeleteSecond hamster we bought to keep first hamster a company. They hated each other but neverteless made more hamsters very quickly. Then she-hamster escaped from her cage and thought it was a good idea to eat a pillow...we found her 10 times the size, stuffed up her eyeballs with white filling of said pillow.
Hamsters are odd creatures :)
Best Of New Years, may your Pony be Found xxx
What an ungrateful beastie. Kudos on not making hamster pancake of him - mind you, how would you have explained it to Hambo's loving owners on their return?
ReplyDeleteHappy new year.
Argent, Lovely Daughter called last night and I mentioned my savaging. "You put your hand in his cage?" she asked, as if it were the most foolhardy thing she could imagine. She also thinks Son-in-law will be very proud that I posted about his mascot.
ReplyDeleteWiola, I had a nice hamster as a child. Her name and nature was Sweetiepie.
Owen, I think Gerbils are faster.
Deborah, it was tempting. I wouldn't let a dog get away with that.
ReplyDeleteDi, He had me fooled.
Martin and St Jude, Every time I see a corgi I see a giant hamster. Scary stuff! We were at a party over the holidays with a whole flock of them, complete with bells and bows.
Don't get angry; get back!
ReplyDeleteMy post about Cannibals and hamsters is what one refers to as 'topical':
http://sonsrevenge.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-sparkys-treadwheel-no-longer.html
Good New Year to you, English.
Son
Son of I, go straight to www.exoticmeats.com . Enjoy!
ReplyDelete