Barty-Boy

[Vectis Hamstery]

Little Bart has come to live with me as a long-term foster. Bart came into my friend's rescue with his 9 relatives. They look very much like Campbell's, but they were from a mis-sexed pet shop pair so who knows. They were a sorry looking bunch when they arrived in the rescue on Valntine's Day, and my friend initially thought Bart was dead. He pulled through, though had a residual head tilt, wobble and squint. This is him a couple of weeks after arrival:
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/barty.jpg
I fostered Bart's mum and grandma who have now gone on to wonderful forever homes. I'm so pleased that out of the ten, there are only three left in the rescue now. Bart went on to develop diabetes while still young so he's not fit for rehoming. It doesn't stop him being a lovely little chap though! He looks to me like a satin mottled argente - though he mostly looks like he's been pulled through a hedge backwards!

Mr Bart now:
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1100700.jpg http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1100669.jpg http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1100640.jpg
Ra2pBUBMYJA

[Womblehands]

Oh my.. he's like a little hedgehog..bless his heart

[gutterglitterxx]

Oh what a doll! Glad to hear he pulled through. :)

[Biscuit]

Aww, he was so small! He's really cute and i'm so happy that he pulled through. :) xxx

[Kissa]

Oh my, isn't he scruffy! :lol:

Out of curiosity, what is that you're using as a sand bath? I think Darla would appreciate a deeper one -- and I would appreciate one that he can't tilt over so all the sand stays inside ;)

[GemmasMom]

What a brave (and handsome) little boy!! My girls are drooling ;)

[kyrilliondaemon]

I'm glad he's somewhere safe for life now :)

[fluffymunchkins]

Oh Barty! I think you've just found your number one fan :mad:
Your a sweetheart and I know Rach will be treating you like a king x

[Vicki S]

He as come on leaps and bounds he is absolutely gorgeous I love him eek! :D


Vicki

[Vectis Hamstery]

Thanks, guys. Bart's gonna be getting a big head at this rate! He's not doing too badly considering he was in a group of dwarves kept in a cage covered in cling film apart from the small door at the top. I suppose it seemed a good idea when babies were escaping through the bars, but....

Kissa, in wire cages I use 'large bird drinkers' (I have seen them in the bird section at PAH for a pound or two). They are plastic with two wire hooks on the back.

[Kissa]

Awesome :) I might look into that and see if I could get one to fit in the mini duna. Thanks :)

[Vectis Hamstery]

I have one hanging from the shelf in a mini duna which I have seen Pickle use ;)

[Kissa]

I didn't think of hanging it off the shelf, I was thinking of trapping the wire between the base and the lid. Hanging it would probably work better :D

[Vicki S]

he deserves to have a big head after the start he has had ;)

Your clearly giving him the best life possible as he looks like he is thriving on it :D

Vicki

[Vectis Hamstery]

Bart's continuing to do well and has taken to flirting with the Chinese hamster girly in the cage next to him. She doesn't seem that impressed with him though! On some days he's much less wonky than others, and can even be rather athletic:
watch?v=79DOgwcJytU

[gellerbing]

aww hes so itty bitty

[Vectis Hamstery]

Bart was disappointed to find that hamsters weren't eligible to enter the 2012 Olympics or Paralympics, so his hopes of winning gold in the monkey barring competition were dashed. His shelfmate's mum did achieve first place in an Olympic furry photo competition, but I'm not going to tell Mr Bart about it!
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150057_zps44f3fc50.jpg
Barty-boy is doing amazingly well for a ham that was diagnosed with diabetes at 6 weeks old. He's now 8 months old and on diet control only. He was on medications for a while but it made no difference to his symptoms. Some of you may recall that he had a problem with obsessive licking and occasional star-gazing. This has settled since he was given salt and mineral licks on vet advice - he's the only hamster I've ever seen use them! His favourite things are his sand bath and his millet spray. He also flirts with his shelfmate Queenie, a one-COM BIS-winning Chinesey girl who has attitude and gives him a "what do you think you are?" look.
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150070_zps60462838.jpg http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150032_zpsb7c8672a.jpg http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150014_zpsffa76d39.jpg http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150020_zps365005d9.jpg

I've rather fallen in love with Bart and have asked if I can formally adopt him! He's practically a member of the hamily anyway so I hope he's allowed to be an official Vectis hamster. Paws crossed!

[cathface]

he is such a funny and yet adorable little fella! bless his fuzzy little head :D I hope you get to formally adopt him (I don't see why they wouldn't agree)!

[jesselle]

His coat is amazing!!

[Vectis Hamstery]

When I first met him he didn't have much fur due to ammonia burns, and now look at him. I heard back today and Barty-boy is officially mine!

[kyrilliondaemon]

He is adorable, and I'm glad he's now officially yours :D

[jesselle]

oh brilliant news :) can we have more pics please?

[Vectis Hamstery]

More photos coming right up! I signed all the paperwork for Bart today - since the toenail clippers weren't in sight, Bart was happier to hear the news this evening!
Having celebratory Barty snuggles:
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150370_zps9e0d732f.jpg

We had a little photo shoot especially for his HC fans...
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150338_zps117224f6.jpg
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150343_zps11bfbd73.jpg

He still found time to check up on me (after all, humans can't get anything right unless it's been properly supervised or inspected by a hamster :) )
"Mum, have you done all your homework?"
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150359_zps894b8722.jpg
After a busy evening's work, it's time for a nice relaxing bath
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/306617_10151955297885574_2046699519_n_zps348612ed. jpg
And then bedtime:
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/Bart/L1150332_zps82b09c2c.jpg

[sully]

Ive only just seen this thread, his coat has really gone thick hasnt it! All lovely pictures BUT i lurve the one of him asleep in the pot! :)

[jesselle]

:) :) so nice to see Bart on a rainy Monday morning!

[sully]

On the second picture going upwards from the laying in the pot picture he looks like a little fluffy toy, so sweet!

[jesselle]

vectis - does bart squint all the time or just sometimes? it makes him look really sweet :)

[Vectis Hamstery]

Bart does it on and off. If he's having a bad day then I don't see his eyes (and his head tilt is usually worse as is his wobble). If he's having a good day then he can hardly squint at all. His diabetes symptoms are well controlled on diet which has surprised me, so. Think the squint is part of his neurological issues. I wanted his adoption paperwork to have "species: Bart, colour: Bart" but ended up with something more official! He and his family are lovely hams despite their problems. He's inspired me to write something about why hybrids shouldn't be bred, when I get a mo!

[jesselle]

oh bless him. he seems like a really happy little guy though, so i don't think he's too fussed :)

i have owned three hybrids and i can relate to you. i hope the hybrid issue becomes wider knowledge. my 14 (ish) month old hybrid wonton has been a little poorly lately and before he came to me he was on a high fat and sugar diet for 6 months. i hope that he doesn't suffer too much as a result of this and his genetics, i'm trying to keep him as healthy as i can.

i'm so glad bart is enjoying his life! he's really captured my attention (how could he not with that hair style!) and i can't wait to see more of him :)

[Vectis Hamstery]

I'm sorry to hear your little hybrid is poorly. Bart and I send get well wishes.

Bart decided to be cute again today (sorry!). He likes to chatter away when he's in his nest in the day, and I managed to get a little video of him squarking away while having a good wash. It alarmed me the first time his gran and mum did it while I was fostering them, but it seems to be a funny family trait. At least he doesn't tell me off like I hear his gran does in her new home. She's another argente-ish hybrid and pretty opinionated with it!
f-GBR9kZKQk

[jesselle]

aw! that would alarm me too! so cute though now that you know it's just a quirk. maybe my clicky robo is perfectly fine then...

[Vectis Hamstery]

Mr Bartacus is one today! I'm amazed and pleased that he's made his first birthday given all his problems - he's the first baby-diagnosed diabetic I've had to reach this age :) He's got some chicken to celebrate and I'll see if he fancies piccies later on.

[indianna]

Happy birthday Bart.. Enjoy the chicken and keep going little fella..xxx

[Silver]

Happy Birthday Bart,

Good on ya you show them all

Silver xxx

[kyrilliondaemon]

Happy Birthday Bart!

[Vectis Hamstery]

Since his birthday Bart's started looking rather old. He's eating and drinking well but is looking scrawny plus his neurological symptoms are more noticable more of the time. He wobbles when he walks and tends to wobble over to one side so I removed his wheel. He didn't use it very often but when he tried he was starting to fall over and struggle to right himself. He has a bigger sand bath to compensate him as it's always been his favourite activity, but now it's in a shallow dish on the floor so he doesn't have to clamber into it. He can no longer work the water bottle so has a bowl which he's very good at not digging substrate or sand into. He still has his off-white winter coat on rather than his orange one, which still confuses me when I see a white hamster in Bart's cage!

Bart wasn't feeling in the mood for photos but agreed to a video:
Wobbly Bart - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5pRjYIQKwg)

[Petite1]

AWWW so glad you managed to get Bart Vectis, he is just adorable, only just caught up on this thread x

[Petite1]

OOOh vectis sorry i should have read to the end od this thread, hope Bart is ok x

[kyrilliondaemon]

I see he looks older now :( He still looks happy though and I hope he does well for a little longer yet

[jesselle]

aw bart! you keep going strong please :)