Hamtastic
02-03-2013, 11:44 AM
January 11, 2011 ~ February 1, 2013
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8064/8235689364_1f56e5c431_z.jpg
Two mornings ago, when getting ready for work, I went to check up on my little girl, who was very under the weather, and found her forever asleep in her nest :( She was curled up, more on her back to expose her tummy, and her mouth was slightly open, but she looked peaceful.
Dora had what my vet thought was most likely Cushings disease. She had lost a fair amount of fur (not baldness, but rather her fur became very rare and wispy in certain areas), she drank a lot of water, and her tummy had a growing asymmetrical tumor. And she was the friendliest most curious little robo all the way to the end. A very special girl, as she was also my very first hamster.
I feel that she deserves a proper long tribute due to her significance in my life.
I got Dora on February 18th of 2011. She was my "birthday present" from my mom, who thought it was about time I got my very first own pet, since I talked about animals often on the phone, and I needed something cheerful to help distract me from my father's passing two months prior to that.
Dora was sold to me as a "winter white", which is what I had originally wanted, but in ignorance did not yet learn to recognize. She was a TINY little thing, all white, with a little dash of gray behind her ears (that was supposed to "grow into a dorsal stripe with age", haha). She was the biggest of the litter in her aquarium at the shop, and I chose her right away. I then added a friend for her so she would not be lonely (Leela).
Back at home, I was absolutely terrified for about 2 weeks, because the sense of responsibility of pet ownership was completely overwhelming, and I felt that I was doing everything wrong. Here is my little Dora on her third day home:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6168/6192920784_7e63080147_o.jpg
I read endlessly about hamster care and ended up discovering Hamster Central! Having seen all the amazing European hamster cages here, I was quickly buying a larger home and learning about proper nutrition, bedding, and taming tips.
That is where I got the idea of "bathtub taming sessions", and here is Dora, having some treats on a towel in our old bathroom:
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff446/stereotypical11/Dorainthebathtub_zps86067bdc.jpg
Those sessions didn't get me very far with taming, and I contented myself with allowing my girls to run onto my hand in their cage and get used to me gradually.
One of my favorite photos of Dora and Leela:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6151/6193001444_6786bb67a6_z.jpg
At this point, I knew that they were not going to turn magically into winter whites and had learned, to my great surprise, that they were actually roborovski hamsters of a rather unusual coloring. I was happy with the discovery, however, as I was completely taken with Pompom's Jam and The Cloud, and was thrilled to have hamsters a bit like them :D
Dora was a dreamy little thing, always doing things her way, not as interested in having company as Leela, who was following her around everywhere and wanted to share wheels, food, and life in general:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6003/6193331796_8c8ce804a1_z.jpg
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6132/6192867585_8905e06ccb_z.jpg
.
.
.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6682158677_bbebde748c_z.jpg
Eventually, Dora just could not take Leela's incessant involvement anymore and decided she wanted the whole cage for herself! Poor Leela had to move out (and that's a whole separate story), and I was left with frantically researching reintroduction possibilities. Albeit, after a few attempts over time, Dora was just meant to be a happy loner!
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6178/6193416560_026d480587_z.jpg
(to be continued)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8064/8235689364_1f56e5c431_z.jpg
Two mornings ago, when getting ready for work, I went to check up on my little girl, who was very under the weather, and found her forever asleep in her nest :( She was curled up, more on her back to expose her tummy, and her mouth was slightly open, but she looked peaceful.
Dora had what my vet thought was most likely Cushings disease. She had lost a fair amount of fur (not baldness, but rather her fur became very rare and wispy in certain areas), she drank a lot of water, and her tummy had a growing asymmetrical tumor. And she was the friendliest most curious little robo all the way to the end. A very special girl, as she was also my very first hamster.
I feel that she deserves a proper long tribute due to her significance in my life.
I got Dora on February 18th of 2011. She was my "birthday present" from my mom, who thought it was about time I got my very first own pet, since I talked about animals often on the phone, and I needed something cheerful to help distract me from my father's passing two months prior to that.
Dora was sold to me as a "winter white", which is what I had originally wanted, but in ignorance did not yet learn to recognize. She was a TINY little thing, all white, with a little dash of gray behind her ears (that was supposed to "grow into a dorsal stripe with age", haha). She was the biggest of the litter in her aquarium at the shop, and I chose her right away. I then added a friend for her so she would not be lonely (Leela).
Back at home, I was absolutely terrified for about 2 weeks, because the sense of responsibility of pet ownership was completely overwhelming, and I felt that I was doing everything wrong. Here is my little Dora on her third day home:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6168/6192920784_7e63080147_o.jpg
I read endlessly about hamster care and ended up discovering Hamster Central! Having seen all the amazing European hamster cages here, I was quickly buying a larger home and learning about proper nutrition, bedding, and taming tips.
That is where I got the idea of "bathtub taming sessions", and here is Dora, having some treats on a towel in our old bathroom:
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff446/stereotypical11/Dorainthebathtub_zps86067bdc.jpg
Those sessions didn't get me very far with taming, and I contented myself with allowing my girls to run onto my hand in their cage and get used to me gradually.
One of my favorite photos of Dora and Leela:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6151/6193001444_6786bb67a6_z.jpg
At this point, I knew that they were not going to turn magically into winter whites and had learned, to my great surprise, that they were actually roborovski hamsters of a rather unusual coloring. I was happy with the discovery, however, as I was completely taken with Pompom's Jam and The Cloud, and was thrilled to have hamsters a bit like them :D
Dora was a dreamy little thing, always doing things her way, not as interested in having company as Leela, who was following her around everywhere and wanted to share wheels, food, and life in general:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6003/6193331796_8c8ce804a1_z.jpg
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6132/6192867585_8905e06ccb_z.jpg
.
.
.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6682158677_bbebde748c_z.jpg
Eventually, Dora just could not take Leela's incessant involvement anymore and decided she wanted the whole cage for herself! Poor Leela had to move out (and that's a whole separate story), and I was left with frantically researching reintroduction possibilities. Albeit, after a few attempts over time, Dora was just meant to be a happy loner!
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6178/6193416560_026d480587_z.jpg
(to be continued)