Hambobs
07-24-2016, 03:19 PM
On the 11th July my 28 month old Syrian boy Lucas passed away in his nest. I wasn't ready to lose another ham so soon after Bolt, so it's taken a little time to write this memorial...
After having 3 female hamsters, Luke became the very first male Hambob when I spotted him in P@H in May 2014. I had wanted a long-haired hamster for a while, and when I saw a tiny, beautiful 8 week old black-and-white fluffball racing round the tiny glass enclosure I knew he was coming home with me. After I bought my first two dwarf hamsters in 2012 I decided that any future hamsters would be rescues. Luke remains my only exception to that rule :)
- I've never known a hamster run as much as you did. So much for the theory that boys are more laid back than girls - whenever you were awake, you were on the move. Under the fluff there wasn't much to you - you adored food but you were always the smallest of my Syrians, probably because you burned it all off. Wheels, flying saucers, you adored any moving object I gave you...
- I've never had such a nervous hamster as you. It took six months of daily taming before you were really comfortable being handled, mostly because your 'fight or flight?' instinct was, well, a bit Monty Python (aaargh, a hand/noise/new toy/piece of food... RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!)
- I never laughed so much at a hamster as the night you were running in your wheel on the bedroom floor, when I appeared in the hallway & simply said 'Hello, Lukey!' You literally shrieked, bounced out of the wheel and ran straight at me, until you realised that running towards the big scary thing might not be a good idea, so you raced under the bed & wouldn't come out for 10 minutes :D
- I never realised a hamster could imitate an eel until I tried brushing your fur. Mostly you kept yourself tangle-free with some diligent grooming, but occasionally you would miss a bit, and I'd try to brush it out with a soft toothbrush. You would do anything to avoid the brush, including flipping over onto your back & trying to eat it, or trying to stuff yourself into the crook of my arm, so as little fur as possible was exposed...
But I knew your time was coming 3 days before you passed away, when you stopped wanting your free-roaming time each night. You, my quicksilver boy, were suddenly not moving much, and when you did, you were very stiff and slow. You passed away sometime in the early hours of Monday 11th, after our last cuddle the previous evening, when you finally stopped eating. I knew I would find you gone when I got up.
Run free Lucas, although there will be new hamsters in my life at some point, you have a left a hole that needs a little time to heal first. Goodbye, my beloved boy...
After having 3 female hamsters, Luke became the very first male Hambob when I spotted him in P@H in May 2014. I had wanted a long-haired hamster for a while, and when I saw a tiny, beautiful 8 week old black-and-white fluffball racing round the tiny glass enclosure I knew he was coming home with me. After I bought my first two dwarf hamsters in 2012 I decided that any future hamsters would be rescues. Luke remains my only exception to that rule :)
- I've never known a hamster run as much as you did. So much for the theory that boys are more laid back than girls - whenever you were awake, you were on the move. Under the fluff there wasn't much to you - you adored food but you were always the smallest of my Syrians, probably because you burned it all off. Wheels, flying saucers, you adored any moving object I gave you...
- I've never had such a nervous hamster as you. It took six months of daily taming before you were really comfortable being handled, mostly because your 'fight or flight?' instinct was, well, a bit Monty Python (aaargh, a hand/noise/new toy/piece of food... RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!)
- I never laughed so much at a hamster as the night you were running in your wheel on the bedroom floor, when I appeared in the hallway & simply said 'Hello, Lukey!' You literally shrieked, bounced out of the wheel and ran straight at me, until you realised that running towards the big scary thing might not be a good idea, so you raced under the bed & wouldn't come out for 10 minutes :D
- I never realised a hamster could imitate an eel until I tried brushing your fur. Mostly you kept yourself tangle-free with some diligent grooming, but occasionally you would miss a bit, and I'd try to brush it out with a soft toothbrush. You would do anything to avoid the brush, including flipping over onto your back & trying to eat it, or trying to stuff yourself into the crook of my arm, so as little fur as possible was exposed...
But I knew your time was coming 3 days before you passed away, when you stopped wanting your free-roaming time each night. You, my quicksilver boy, were suddenly not moving much, and when you did, you were very stiff and slow. You passed away sometime in the early hours of Monday 11th, after our last cuddle the previous evening, when you finally stopped eating. I knew I would find you gone when I got up.
Run free Lucas, although there will be new hamsters in my life at some point, you have a left a hole that needs a little time to heal first. Goodbye, my beloved boy...