Hi everybody.
I thought it would be a good idea to introduce my little hamham.
I went through to the town my boyfriend lives in (about 1h 20mins away from where I live) on 10 August, 2018. The trip had been planned a few weeks in advance, and the entire reason for the trip was to get my very first furbaby. But a few days prior to me coming through, my boyfriend ended up tearing ligaments in his ankle, putting him out of commission for 6 weeks.
I still went through with the trip, but upon arriving at his home I felt nervous about going to the pet store, as I had no idea what to get for the little hammy I was going to get. Luckily, my boyfriend's mother (who I will call J) took his place in the trip to the petstore. She had helped her two sons raise many a hamster in her day, so having a veteran accompany me put me at ease.
On the drive to the pet store, J told me some facts about hamsters and also made sure I was aware of their not-so-long lifespan, as I was used to dogs who live quite long. I assured her I was aware of the usual 2-3 year life span of the tiny mammals as I had done some research before.
When we got to the pet store, we went to the rodent and small mammal section (which is just as you entire the massive store), and were greeted by an array of rabbits, guinea pigs, skinny pigs, hedgehogs, chinchillas and hamsters.
There were two shop assistants who were assigned to the section, both of whom were currently busy with customers, both of which were buying adorable little rabbits.
I took a walk around the display, noticing a cute little Djungarian hamster roaming around her tank. She noticed me and came closer to the glass, pushed her nose up against it for a few seconds before continuing on with her roaming. I walked around the displays some more, saw two other containments for Djungarians (who were hiding) and another tank filled with the cutest pile of sleeping baby Syrians. I almost took one right there and then, but I was looking for a dwarf hamster specifically.
After perusing the stock J and I picked up a cage and bedding so long, as the assistants were still busy. I noticed the male assistant free up and come over, asking if we needed help. I told him I was looking for a hamster and had my eyes on a Djungarian, and wanted a rather small one. He led me over to the display which said there was a Djungarian in it. He opened it and took the hamster out of his den, handing him to me to inspect.
J and I was quite shocked by the size of the furbaby. He was quite the podgy little baby, seeming to be fully grown and in some dire need of some excercise. I asked if they had any others and he took me to another tank which also had a hiding hamster, just as podgy and a bit bigger than the previous one.
I piped up that I had seen another Djungarian in another tank. The assistant asked which tank and I walked to it. The assistant looked at me as if I was insane, telling me they only had 2 hamsters (beside the syrians.) And that's how a shop assistant and I got into an argument over if a tank had a hamster in or not.
To prove me wrong, he opened the tank and felt in the little house for the alleged animal... and promptly took out the little girl I had seen when coming into the shop. He was quite surprised and handed me the hamster, not uttering a word.
Holding that baby girl was love at first sight, and even though he asked if I wanted to take a look at the previous two, my heart was set on the little one I was holding. In a few minutes the little one had gained the name Pepper, for her fiery but friendly demeanor. As we didn't have the carrier, the assistant helped us put some of the bedding we were buying in the cage and put Pepper in there to explore.
We picked up the other things we needed for the little girl - food, chews, a house, water bottle, toys - and went back home. Giddy like a little schoolgirl I showed my boyfriend the little person and he coached me through setting up her cage properly, being the designated babysitter.
He told me to try and not disturb her for awhile and let her settle in, so I did that and set her in the room to settle in to her new house. A few hours later, she was going insane on her wheel, running into the wee hours of the morning.
The video below is of Pepper in my room at home, playing on my Mushroom chair which is now one of her favorite spots.
https://i.imgur.com/4Djl2xk.mp4
Pepper, on the second night of bringing her home. Tame enough to handle already!
https://imgur.com/a/HPrw9gH
