September 27, 2008

Our Hamster

The day before yesterday I noticed that Sandy (Sky's hamster) didn't have any food in her cage. So I opened her little cage and filled her bowl. I really enjoy giving her fresh fruits and veggies and how some nights she'll eat them out of my hand, but this night I was too tired, so I just filled her bowl and went to bed.

The next day Sky comes to me to inform me that Sandy is missing. She wanted to know if I had accidentally left her cage door open? Oh dear, yeppers, that would be me. I told her that Sandy's food bowl was empty and I was going to lecture her about that and Sky reassured me that she had filled Sandy's bowl that morning and that she was NOT going hungry. Oh dear.

Sooo...Sky pulled out her hamster book and read about how to catch her. The sad news is that they don't offer much hope in finding them. We put food out last night for her in Sky's room. Sky slept with us last night, yep, you heard that right, she slept with US! She was too freaked out by the idea that Sandy might climb the bed covers and sleep with her. So this morning when we enter the room, the food is gone.

Well I guess that is a good sign. At least we know she isn't too far off. Then around 11:00 o'clock this morning, Sky comes and gets dh and I and informs us that she can hear Sandy chewing behind her huge homemade American Girl dollhouse. (Did I mention that dh was totally against getting a hamster?) Of course dh orders us all into Sky's room, he wants this hamster caught! Inside I'm grinning so big. (I'm thinking, "only in my house!")

So I get a peach, um...I'm not sure if hamsters like peaches or not but its the only fruit in the house and I know Sandy loves fruit. Dh gets on one end of the dollhouse and I on the other, both of us armed with fresh pieces of peach.

Sandy goes to dh and takes a bite off of his peach only to run back to the center of the dollhouse where neither of us could reach her. Hmmmm Dh has a brilliant idea of getting the broom, so Sky, (terrified of the hamster) goes to get the broom. I put a small box on the floor, on my end of the dollhouse, with the peach inside and dh take the broom and scoots Sandy out from the other side and PLOOMP, into the box she goes!

Yay!!! We got her. I dumped her from the box back into her cage and made sure I closed the lid. Whew!

The thing is, are we going to keep her?? I don't mind cleaning her cage or feeding her out of my hand, but I can't seem to have enough calm to hold her. Sky is so afraid of her she won't hold her and I don't want Sandy to bite us. Dh of course wants Sandy gone. This episode was too much for him...sooooo

Do any of you ladies want a hamster?

4 comments:

Susan said...

Some of the joys of parenting!!
Susan

Gina said...

Too funny! we had hamsters and they did bite. My poor girls had blue punctured fingers on both hands! We returned them and got rats...yep...you read that right...RATS. With big long naked tails. ICK! I couldn't bare the thought of touching them. But, the guy in the store talked me into it and they were THE sweetest and BEST pets we ever had! I LOVED them and they were incredibly smart!
So, no I would not like a hamster. However, if you have a Rex Rat to give away, give me a call! :)

Anonymous said...

I know exactly how you feel when it comes to the hampster. We got one as a gift & I read that those things are supposed to have a year life expectancy. This one is rockin' on 2!!!!

sigh

Natalie said...

That is so funny! No hamster is needed here. I'm with you...a hamster feels a little more like a rat to me. I can't bring myself to hold one. It gives me the ebbe jeebez.