Mushu the Fluffy

[AprilPearl]

Thank you everybody for your lovely kind replies.

And thank you also for the offers of a foster home! It means a lot that you would offer my mum has agreed to care for Mushu while I am away, so I shouldn't need to place Mushu anywhere, but I will bear it in mind should circumstances change. Cambridge University terms are only 8 weeks and there are 3 terms a year, so I will 'only' be without him for 24 weeks in the first year. After the first year, students tend to rent a house together rather than staying in college so perhaps I can bring Mushu with me then. I am planning to post home toilet paper with my scent on it so that he doesn't forget me while I am away.

[AprilPearl]

STOCKING UP ON TOYS

I went to Pets at Home today to find some more toys for Mushu's new cage. To be honest, there wasn't a huge selection. But, I did get him a playpen, three wooden bendy bridges, a comb and a climbing frame.



The panels of the play pen are quite short, so I will definitely not be leaving him alone in there! I have always allowed my past hamsters to run free in a hamster-proofed room rather than using exercise balls, because they seem to prefer it. However, I don't want to introduce Mushu to so much open space all at once and scare him. So, I am going to use the playpen to make the transition.

When I opened the box of the climbing frame I was shocked to discover that the wood was very rough in places. That could give a little foot splinters! Therefore, I am going to thoroughly sand it down before letting Mushu anywhere near it.

[AprilPearl]

All sanded down, smooth and hamster safe now! Ready for a Mushu to studiously ignore, I suspect.

[Vectis Hamstery]

What a spoiled lad Mushu is He is a very handsome floofy ham-man!

If the playpen you got was the metal barred one, I would suggest not taking it out of its packaging and returning it - hammies quickly learn how to climb out of them. There's a good suggestion for a more hamster-proof playpen in the DIY section of the forum (though hammies should still be supervised in it).

I look forward to hearing more of Mushu's adventures.

[AprilPearl]

TOYS!

I let Mushu take a look at some of the things I purchased him in Pets at Home. Here he is checking them out. He wasn't sure about being on the open sofa for the first time, poor baby, so I didn't leave him there long.

https://youtu.be/-kVYSyGjAEg

https://youtu.be/WU_GOziOpdE

[AprilPearl]

LOOK AT DAT FUR!!!

Just wanted to share how long Mushu's fur has become. I can see why a long haired hamster's bum fur (for want of a more dignified term) is called a 'skirt' now, because that really is what it resembles. Mushu wishes there was a more masculine word for it. Perhaps his fan? Nah, still quite girly.

His coat is also looking extremely glossy. It has been suggested that he is a satin coat. Still don't know whether he is or not, nor what colour he is exactly to be honest! If you have any ideas, let me know. But, what I do know is that he is perfect in each and every way.

[AmityvilleHams]

Perhaps a kilt!Regardless it's a very nice bit of extra fluff

[BorisPasha]

Love that pic of him sitting next to his toothbrush, his fur looks perfectly styled lol

[cypher]

That really is some skirt he has! So much fluff
I love the photos of him enjoying his broccoli!

[AprilPearl]

THE MOTHER LODE

I was just feeding Mushu some of his favourite pieces of food on my lap when the cheeky little sod glimpsed the mother lode (i.e. The open food box) and he was off like a flash. He seemed to decide that this was his new mega-store and decanted the contents of his pouches which was actually a plus as it enabled me to extract the piece of spaghetti and green bean he had in there!

Here he is in action (he could hear my mum in the kitchen downstairs which is what he keeps pausing to listen to):

https://youtu.be/zz5IGYp5jEs

And a photo: