The Metallica Chronicles

[Fluffagrams]

Since the individual threads have lost their images when Photobucket went down and with the hamstery consisting of more hamsters than before, I thought I'd combine all the latest news from Metallica Hamstery in one place and what better place to start than with a photo of Matthew, one of the first hamsters to be born at Metallica Hamstery:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4281/35587255601_e6a08e429d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WdHZfr)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/WdHZfr) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Matthew, along with his mother Victoria has had a very busy weekend and travelled with me on the train to go and stay with Vectis in preparation for our trip up North on the Saturday. He was a good boy in his show pen during the journey and I presume was well behaved for the judge at the show because he earned himself a Best In Show. All of his success got him a little bit excited on the Saturday night and he thought he'd have a little party, making as much noise in his tank as he could. I don't often share a room with the hamsters and now I know why.

[Thin Lizzy]

Wonderful that we'll get all of your hamily news in the same thread.
Photobucket have really made me mad and I didn't use it. It's so sad to see some threads and the pics blacked out.
Lovely Matthew!

[cypher]

It is a shame that all the photos from the individual threads have gone now but it's a great idea to have all the Metallica team in one place for updates now.
Sweet photo of the handsome Matthew, his after show party made me laugh :)

[AprilPearl]

I'm annoyed about Photobucket too. Also mystified as to why the photos I posted with Photobucket are still showing up, despite me only having a free account.

Matthew is looking very handsome. He was clearly very excited about his BIS!

[BorisPasha]

Well done Matthew on your BIS :D You're looking very handsome there, but then you always do :)

[dreamtree1234]

It's quite disheartening that Photobucket did that terrible disservice to their loyal customers. I'm glad that you decided to create a thread for the entire Metallica hamily. Congrats on Matthew being awarded Best in Show. He is so deserving of this prestigious award. I'm sure you must be extremely proud. He certainly looks as handsome as ever in his latest pic. It is wonderful that you were able to stay with Vectis during your trip. I know you must have had a marvelous time together. Congrats again, Fluffagrams and Matthew!

[Fluffagrams]

Matthew is looking very handsome. He was clearly very excited about his BIS!

He can be quite an excitable little guy sometimes, the complete opposite to James in some respects but in other ways he's got his similarity.

It is wonderful that you were able to stay with Vectis during your trip. I know you must have had a marvelous time together.

I had a lovely time and Vectis was such a fantastic host. It was nice to be able to have a proper chat outside of shows as we're often both busy at shows and don't really get a huge amount of time to chat. I also found it really interesting watching and learning from her interactions with Rogue. I hope it will be helpful when I eventually get my own dog (I'm currently not allowed with my current living arrangements).

[Hekomi]

I love your Chineseys! Having them in one great place sounds lovely. I wish I could reach through the screen and cuddle them. :)

[Fluffagrams]

Matthew was feeling adventurous yesterday, so much so that his playbin couldn't contain his desire to explore and somehow he managed to climb out. Thankfully, he did not get far but wasn't amused at having to be returned to his carrier to go back up to the hamster room.

This has only happened once before when Jessie climbed out of a box but this box was much deeper than the one Jessie had escaped from and was my smooth sided playbox rather than one of the ones with meshed sides. I honestly thought that there was no way he could climb out but he's a cheeky boy and worked it out.

I will be putting a lid on Matthew's play bin in future because although I supervise them, you only have to take your eyes off them for a second and they're doing something silly.

The funny thing was that I brought Matthew down for his playtime today and he was more than happy to play in his carrier with the Fitch. Daft boy!

[dreamtree1234]

I'm so relieved that you were able to catch Matthew in time. He's quite the little Houdini keeping you on your toes! Lol, Matthew preferring to be in his carrier with the Fitch instead of being inside his play bin - what a silly ham! He's like a little kid enjoying the wrapping paper instead of the actual present. :)

[cypher]

lol! cheeky boy :) They are such clever little climbers they seem to be able to achieve the impossible with ease1
Glad he didn't get too far although I'm sure he wasn't too pleased to have such an adventure end so soon!

[AprilPearl]

Gosh, he must be quite the adept little climber! How cheeky - glad he didn’t get far.

[Fluffagrams]

Gosh, he must be quite the adept little climber! How cheeky - glad he didn’t get far.

For a chunky lad, he's surprisingly agile.

If I hadn't have been supervising him, I don't know where he could have ended up... If they escape in the hamster room, there's not many places they could go but they tend to have their play time in the living room where there's all kinds of things they could hide under or behind.

[BorisPasha]

Matthew was off on a hamventure, or at least he thought he was :mad:

You are so right though, they can do anything if they put there mind to it ;)

[Hekomi]

Poor Matthew, his adventure was cut short by a crafty mumma! I'm glad he's safe and sound now. :)

[Fluffagrams]

So the latest news at Metallica is that Jessie has had a change of heart over her caging (again) and is now back in the Pets at Home Wire Cage that she got so cross over back in January. To start with she was in a Mini Duna but she missed the bars so I put her back in a wire cage and she's happy again. It's a bit of a pain in some respects as I now have to find a place to store a Hamster Heaven in case we need it again and I had to choose which toys were best to put into her smaller cage but if she's happy, then that's the main thing.

James has decided that he is absolutely not old and has actually been playing at playtimes rather than sitting there thinking about it.

Victoria and Daniela/Juno have been building tunnels in their cages and have been working on burying their toys to keep them safe. I still have not decided if Daniela will retain her pet name or will be called Juno instead but when I do, I'll let you all know.

[Fluffagrams]

I've finally decided that my little Danish Princess will be called Juno instead of the name I had originally given her. As time went on, Juno just seemed more appropriate.

Juno was the name of a Roman Goddess and given how close Metallica Hamstery is to a Roman City (one of my earlier name choices for the hamstery was a Roman one) , it seems quite fitting.

Anyway, here's a couple of recent photos from the hamstery...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/36120509066_89aa05f3d7.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X2R3VG)James silly face (https://flic.kr/p/X2R3VG) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4140/35336452980_f829722a0e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/VQyynj)Victoria (https://flic.kr/p/VQyynj) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/35322108424_0bab744441.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/VPi3eo)Matt Level (https://flic.kr/p/VPi3eo) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[AprilPearl]

I really like the name Juno and it corresponds well with the name her breeder gave her.

That picture of James is adorable!

[Fluffagrams]

That picture of James is adorable!

He's normally such a handsome boy... I have no idea where those ears come from though... he was shown for 18 months and those ears never showed themselves. :lol:

[BorisPasha]

He's normally such a handsome boy... I have no idea where those ears come from though... he was shown for 18 months and those ears never showed themselves. :lol:

He's retired now, so he's just relaxing and letting his ears hang out :mad:

Lovely pictures of James, Victoria and Matthew. I think Juno is a lovely name and suits your little Danish princess very well :)

[AprilPearl]

He's normally such a handsome boy... I have no idea where those ears come from though... he was shown for 18 months and those ears never showed themselves. :lol:

There should be a showing category specifically for the best ears :p

[Pebbles82]

I also like the name Juno. Lovely photos :-)

[Thin Lizzy]

AWW Juno is such a lovely name.
That pic of James is so very, very cute.
Lovely seeing Victoria.

[cypher]

I really like the name Juno too, great choice for her.

Lovely photos of the hams, James face in that first one is priceless lol!

[GhostsInSnow]

They're all such gorgeous hams! I love your little ones so much!
Arlo told me to ask where Jessie-Fluff is

[Fluffagrams]

I decided I'd put a Ikea Knuff level in Victoria's cage but she really wasn't happy about that as I had to move all of her special things to do it. I couldn't bear to see her upset so I put her cage back and here she is making sure everything is back to how it should be:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4331/36547042940_bf98f28135.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XFx9A1)Victoria (https://flic.kr/p/XFx9A1) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Here's one of Juno having been learning all about the importance of looking cute from Victoria:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4395/36771877022_ec5f0d1931.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y2ptVG)Juno (https://flic.kr/p/Y2ptVG) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

And since we're on the subject of looking cute, I was looking through the photos on my phone the other day and came across this one of Matthew at 6 weeks old:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/36771876862_634a5a27ee.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y2ptSW)Matthew (https://flic.kr/p/Y2ptSW) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

And finally one of Jessie-Fluff for the handsome Mr Arlo:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4376/36943073375_953127aff8.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YhwUCX)Jess (https://flic.kr/p/YhwUCX) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[AprilPearl]

Victoria certainly knows how she likes things! Lol she does look pleased with herself for getting you to put her special things back in the "right" places. I hope someone else can properly appreciate the knuff shelf.

Juno is certainly flexible - looks like she is nibbling her toenails there!

6 week old Matthew is just so adorable and small. I love how his feet are sticking out.

And Arlo loooks very handsome.

[Fluffagrams]

6 week old Matthew is just so adorable and small. I love how his feet are sticking out.

And Arlo loooks very handsome.

That was a photo of Jessie as GhostsinSnow said Arlo wanted to see one. :)

Matthew seemed to grow ever so quickly, he already weighed more than his mother did when he was 6 weeks old... He's 54g now.

[AprilPearl]

That was a photo of Jessie as GhostsinSnow said Arlo wanted to see one. :)


My bad! I misread. They are a similar colour too. Tell Jessie I meant to say how pretty she is :)


Matthew seemed to grow ever so quickly, he already weighed more than his mother did when he was 6 weeks old... He's 54g now.

I suppose all Chineseys look tiny to me! Ah one day I will have one...

[cypher]

Victoria looks so sweet in that first photo, she knows what's best bless her :) I've found my Chineseys to be very particular about there cages & not at all happy if their human dares to mess with them ;)
Juno, Matthew & Jess are all looking very cute too!

[Fluffagrams]

I suppose all Chineseys look tiny to me! Ah one day I will have one...

If you think Matthew looks tiny then you'll certainly think Juno is tiny... she's more than half the size of him at 25g.

I was hoping to breed from her this summer but at the moment she's just too small for me to want to risk it.

[GhostsInSnow]

Arlo is very happy to see pictures of beautiful Jessie-fluff. He sends her hammy kisses

[AprilPearl]

If you think Matthew looks tiny then you'll certainly think Juno is tiny... she's more than half the size of him at 25g.

I was hoping to breed from her this summer but at the moment she's just too small for me to want to risk it.

Oh my, is Juno fully grown (I am thinking not)? She must be robo sized!

And, well, a 50g hamster does seem tiny to me seeing as all of mine have been syrians and around double that when I first got them as babies! Sorry Matthew... I still recognise your amazing ham-someness (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun) and masculinity.

[Fluffagrams]

Oh my, is Juno fully grown (I am thinking not)? She must be robo sized!

And, well, a 50g hamster does seem tiny to me seeing as all of mine have been syrians and around double that when I first got them as babies! Sorry Matthew... I still recognise your amazing ham-someness (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun) and masculinity.

I'm pretty sure that she's not fully grown but Lord James didn't really hit his adult weight until he was around 8 months old so there's still time for Juno to grow although possibly not enough time to breed her. Victoria was and still is a small Chinese at 32g and somehow she managed to produce Matthew but Juno is still noticeably smaller than Victoria.

I think Matthew gets his size from his grandfather (Victoria's father) who actually won the Best In Show at Hereford this year...I thought that it was rather nice that Grandfather and Grandson won the BIS and RBIS of the Dwarf Section.

My sister's Syrian is 209g which seems huge when you're used to dealing with Chineseys. I've had Chinese pretty exclusively for over five and a half years and think that because I'm so used to them and the way that they hold on to you with their entire bodies, I actually find Syrians more difficult to hold.

[BorisPasha]

They're all such sweet fluffs :) Victoria is obviously a lady who like things in their place ;)

I always thought Victoria was so small but I can hardly imagine how tiny Juno must be at 25g :)

[Fluffagrams]

They're all such sweet fluffs :) Victoria is obviously a lady who like things in their place ;)

They're all pretty particular about their cages and can get quite upset about their special things. It's for that reason that I don't tend to change much in their cages and each hamster will usually only have one toy that they're happy to get swapped out every so often.

It's a good thing that I'm not really worried about doing themed cages, I think they'd hate me for that. ;)

[Thin Lizzy]

They're all so tiny, cute and perfect!
So glad Victoria made sure everything was put back in its place. Such a sweetheart.

[dreamtree1234]

Aww, they are all so absolutely adorable and perfect in every way! They are just the cutest ever! :)

[Fluffagrams]

The other day Matthew gave me a bit of a fright, I was getting him out for playtime and I found a bit of blood on his bedding. I could at least reassure myself that because he's male, it wasn't going to be a pyo but I still wanted to find out what had happened to my precious boy. It turned out that he had a small cut behind his ear. I've seen plenty of skin splits in my time to know what one looks like and this was definitely more of a scratch than a skin split and on inspecting his cage, I found that it was caused by his bendy bridge. Needless to say I've taken it out and have sanded it down to make it safe again but he's a cheeky boy and chews things so it's something I'm going to have to keep an eye on if I put it and his level back in his cage.

Although I'm going to the show on Saturday, the hamsters are staying at home (I'll explain why later) so it should heal by his next show on 30th September.

[BorisPasha]

Oh that would have been worrying, I'm glad you managed to figure out what had happened though. Hoping it heals up soon so he can get back to winning more rosettes :)

[cypher]

It's always a worry when something like that happens but at least you found the cause really quickly & I'm sure Matthew will be all healed up soon.

[dreamtree1234]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that handsome Matthew had a boo-boo. I'm glad that he were able to find the culprit so he can begin to heal. I'm sure that your hammies will be surprised that they aren't coming along with you to the show; they always win such lovely rosettes. Have fun at the show. :)

[Fluffagrams]

Matthew is all healed up now, thankfully he'd not lost any fur so I'm not having to wait for that to grow back before I show him. He's still just as daft though. Here he is the other day, eating his cucumber from above:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4377/36382694394_3c09f84abe.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Xr1Puo)Matt Cucumber (https://flic.kr/p/Xr1Puo) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

He likes to sit on his perch in his cage like a bird:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4433/36382666754_575ed9d239.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Xr1FgQ)Matt Perch (https://flic.kr/p/Xr1FgQ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

I have an apple tree in the garden and the apples are finally ripening so I thought that I'd treat the hams to a small piece each. It's not something they get very often but they were happy about it. Here's Victoria enjoying hers:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4357/36382694644_1cd4ed7ab5.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Xr1PyG)Vicky Apple (https://flic.kr/p/Xr1PyG) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Jessie felt that I hadn't taken enough photos of her lately and she wanted to remind everyone of how cute she is:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4428/36382694124_f0f9d806f8.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Xr1PpJ)Jess (https://flic.kr/p/Xr1PpJ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Little Juno wanted to enjoy the last of the sunshine before she had to unpack her winter woolies:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4437/37029430906_79d4cbc184.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YqavHU)Juno Deckchair (https://flic.kr/p/YqavHU) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

She was also treated to her very own 'friendly ghost' which I found in the Halloween section at poundland.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4343/36405234703_a966e471ba.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Xt1kWp)Juno Ghost (https://flic.kr/p/Xt1kWp) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[cypher]

Lovely photos of them all :)
Good to hear that James is healed up well now.

[dreamtree1234]

I'm so happy to hear that Matthew is all healed now and will be ready to show anytime. Aww, what adorable pics of your hamcrew! It did my heart good to see them all doing so well; their lovely personalities shine so well in the pictures. :)

[Thin Lizzy]

What little beauties! So good to hear Matthew's healed and those pics are so cute, especially the second one, that made me laugh.
Victoria, Jessie and Juno looking so pretty and innocent.

[BorisPasha]

Gorgeous pics, Matthew is such a character with his upside down eating and perching up high lol. I'm glad he's all healed up :)

Victoria, Jessie and Juno are all so beautiful but Jessie's face lol, she always has to make sure that everyone remembers how cute she is, though I don't think we would ever forget :)

[Coco61]

Wonderful update on the Metallica crew. Glad Matthew has healed so quickly.

[Fluffagrams]

Gorgeous pics, Matthew is such a character with his upside down eating and perching up high lol. I'm glad he's all healed up :)

As he's matured into his true personality, he's got to be more and more of a character. He's such a clown.

[BorisPasha]

Them each having their own personalities is what makes them all so special :)

[GhostsInSnow]

Arlo is pleased to see Jessie-Fluff in the thread and offers seed presents to her.

I love your guys though seriously, it was weird not seeing them at Real London

[Fluffagrams]

Arlo is pleased to see Jessie-Fluff in the thread and offers seed presents to her.

I love your guys though seriously, it was weird not seeing them at Real London

Some of them will be at Drayton although I still haven't made up my mind about Juno. She came 2nd in her last show but she's just so tiny that I'm not sure on her chances of placing.

Juno has been a busy little girl lately with her housekeeping and has moved the substrate from the front end of her cage to the back so her nest is pretty much submerged entirely. Unfortunately this evening she discovered that she couldn't reach the mesh window to beg for some more seeds. Fortunately she seems to share Jessie and Matthew's ability to climb up pretty much anything and before I knew it she'd got up to the mesh panel. Such efforts didn't go unrewarded of course and I am so weak when they start begging. ;)

[Fluffagrams]

Well Juno is going to have to come to the show because Victoria has decided to rule herself out by getting a skin split.

Victoria is nearly 18 months old, she's never had a skin split before and has had a two month break from showing and she decides to get a skin split less than a week before the show. I don't think she could have timed it any worse really.

Thankfully though, Victoria is fine in herself and seems unphased by it all and Jessie's had six skin splits so at least I can say that Victoria is in the hands of someone who is experienced in it all.

[Thin Lizzy]

Sorry to hear Victoria's gotten her first skin split. I'm sure she'll heal in no time.
Good Luck to Juno for the show, not that she'll need it!

[cypher]

Sorry to hear Victoria has a skin split Fluffagrams, fingers crossed it will be healed up soon, I know it doesn't generally seem to bother them at all but I'm sure you'll both be glad to see it gone!

Hope tiny Juno does well at the show.

[BorisPasha]

Sorry to hear about Victoria, hope it heals soon but I'm glad she is still ok in herself :)

Good luck to Juno at the show on Saturday :)

[Fluffagrams]

I think it upsets me more than it does Victoria. She's happily hamstering about and still trying to prove that the judges have been right when they've called her cute.

I'm not overly hopeful for Juno's chances at the show but with Vicky's absence, there will be a space in my show pen carrier and I may as well bring her to see what the judge says about her. Matthew will also be coming to the show.

[BorisPasha]

Good luck at the show Juno and Matthew :D

[Fluffagrams]

As predicted, Juno did not do that well at the show although she was a very good girl for the judge and tried Vicky's trick of pulling cute faces in the hope that it might score her some extra points... It didn't and I've decided that for now I'll be taking Juno off the show team and she'll stay here as a Pet-Only hamster, where her cute charms are guaranteed to work.

I came home with a new Roborovski (he has his own thread), a Syrian who is staying with me until the Weston-Super-Mare show when she'll be going off to another exhibitor and a secondhand perfecto tank which was going to be home to Matthew.

Here he is exploring his new cage:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4484/36769415774_fae4738215.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y2bSho)Matt's Cage (https://flic.kr/p/Y2bSho) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

He's liking the additional interest that the levels are providing.

[dreamtree1234]

I'm sorry that Juno didn't place well on the last show; she is a gorgeous ham with so much personality. It is surprising that her special charm didn't work for the judge, but I'm sure she will always successfully work her magic on you. She is a real charmer and I love her. I'm also sorry to hear that Victoria had an injury and hope that she has a full and quick recovery.

I'm glad that Matthew got a new cage. It looks awesome with all the levels, and he surely seems to be enjoying it. :)

Congrats again for getting Joshua; he is a true cutie!

[Thin Lizzy]

Such a shame Juno didn't win anything, hopefully she'll get another chance to wow the judges.
Loving Matthew's new cage.
Met Joshua in your introduction thread and what a little cutie.

[Fluffagrams]

If only they scored points for being cute! lf she were entered in the Pet Class, she might actually stand a chance but because the Main Show is judged on certain criteria and she's so small, she'll have marks taken off in size. She also lost out in type (shape) as she's too small to really get an idea of her type. She can stay home with James and Jessie (and hopefully a Jamantai pup or two).

[Fluffagrams]

James was not best pleased with me the other day because I took his bridge out of his cage so that the visiting Syrians would have something to play with in their cages and this bridge was one of the very few things that was Syrian friendly. However, we've only got one visiting Syrian so James was able to have his bridge back. He sat on it as soon as I put it back in to make sure that I never took it away from him again.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4501/36827042124_55202a9387.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y7hdA9)James (https://flic.kr/p/Y7hdA9) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Victoria's fur is starting to grow back although she's still got the scab on her skin split. It had scabbed up several days ago but she'd knocked the scab off whilst she was cleaning herself and the skin underneath had obviously not quite healed. It was unfortunately quite a nasty skin split so I'm hoping that it doesn't leave too much of a scar.

Here she is, being Victoria and milking every chance she can for cuddles.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4461/23684458678_b0b62fdb72.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/C5V3pQ)Vicky (https://flic.kr/p/C5V3pQ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Juno swears to me that she has been growing although I keep telling her that growing ears does not count unless she wants to be a mouse. Juno thinks that being a mouse is a good idea, particularly as Chinese Hamsters are supposedly known as a 'mouselike hamster'.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4475/36867646483_7605cddf5e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YaSjRi)Juno (https://flic.kr/p/YaSjRi) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[cypher]

Aww poor James! Glad he got his bridge back & is a happy boy again :)

Sorry to hear Victoria's skin split has been such a bad one, fingers crossed she'll be all healed up very soon & it won't scar.

Juno such cuteness! Who needs to grow when they have ears like that ;)

[BorisPasha]

I love Matthew's new home, it looks really good and interesting for him. I'm sure he'll have plenty fun exploring.

I'm glad that James is happy again now he has his bridge back :)

Juno and Victoria look beautiful and it's a shame Juno didn't do well at the show. I'm sure she'll have a great time staying at home with Jessie on show days and who knows what mischief the two of them will get up to :mad:

[dreamtree1234]

Aww, what bliss having a triple dose of cuteness seeing pics of handsome James, cuddly Victoria, and the adorable, "mousey" Juno!!! I had the hugest smile on my face when I saw these gorgeous photos. I'm glad that James has his treasured bridge back and thought it quite silly that he on it to protect it from being taken away again. I hope that Victoria's skin split heals without leaving any scar. She is quite a beauty, and I just love how she is wrapped around your thumb. That photo just captures my heart. Juno aspiring to be like a mouse with big ears is so precious. Regardless of her petite size, she has enormous charm going for her. As the saying goes, "The best things in life come in small packages!". :)

[Fluffagrams]

I have come to the conclusion that my Chinese are the masters of manipulation. You already know about James being upset that I’d taken his bridge away and I think I told you about Vicky’s disapproval of a wooden level being added to her cage. This time it was Jessie’s turn... I had to rearrange the hamster room because Matthew’s tank is too awkward to put on the shelving unit. I decided I’d put Matthew’s tank on the bookcase and Jessie would move from the bookcase on to the shelving unit. I put her on the fourth shelf which is underneath Vicky and Juno adjacent to Joshua. Unfortunately Madam was not happy with this so my other option was to put her on the second shelf where Matthew’s cage had come from but that was adjacent to James, which really is the worst combination given her track record for flirting with him so I had to move James. At the moment he’s at the very top, next to the spare show pens but I could move him next to Joshua, I haven’t decided yet.

(The things I do to keep those Chineseys happy)

I had both Juno and Joshua out on Saturday for their health checks and you know how people say that Robos are the smallest species of hamster? Well Juno begs to differ. She is smaller than he is and weighs 5g less than he does.

[BorisPasha]

It sounds like a puzzle trying to work out where the best place is to put everyone to avoid hamtrums and flirting lol.

I hope you manage to work out a combination that keeps them all happy, and you too of course :mad:

Awww poor little Juno, smaller than a robo, oh dear but as they say good things come in small packages so don't you worry Juno ;)

[Fluffagrams]

I’m sure Jessie would love to be given a 24/7 opportunity to flirt with James but I doubt James would be less keen.

Nevertheless, it seems like my little diva is happy with the new arrangements, I decided to put James on the same shelf as Joshua and he seems indifferent to it so for now everyone seems happy with the arrangements.

[Thin Lizzy]

Aww triple delight and a huge overload of cuteness.

[Fluffagrams]

I couldn't post this the other day as my internet at home is a bit iffy and I can't seem to share properly from Flickr using my phone but Sunday was Matthew's birthday. Here's the photo from his birthday photoshoot:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4466/37636126611_4ca65cd3be.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ZkLZdF)MattBirthday (https://flic.kr/p/ZkLZdF) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

He had a lovely birthday dinner of Applaws Chicken Cat Food and Mealworms.

[BorisPasha]

Sounds like a delicious birthday dinner for your handsome Matthew :)

[cypher]

Lovely photo of the birthday boy :)
Birthday dinner sounds great, I'm sure he really enjoyed that!

[dreamtree1234]

I'm glad that everyone is happy with the new arrangements in cage locations. :)

Matthew's birthday photo pic was great! Happy Belated Birthday, Matthew!!! His dinner sounded great, too. I'm sure he enjoyed it tremendously. :)

[Fluffagrams]

The show team aren't at their best at the moment as Vicky's fur has still not quite grown back fully after her skin split. She was entered in the show on Saturday but didn't place. Matthew came third in Normal Chinese but I don't think he's at his best either. Metallica Hamstery only has two shows to go now until February 2018 so I'm hoping that both Matthew and Victoria will remain at least in a presentable condition until November. Victoria however may not re-join the show team next year as she's getting on a bit now. She's already 18 months old and if she retires at a similar age to James, I've only got about two months left with her showing.

Juno has also been taken off the show team because her rather small, mousy appearance aren't doing her any favours. It's not worth disturbing her tunneling and burying things if she's not got much of a chance.

Thankfully I picked up a new girly on Saturday to hopefully help out with the issues that my show team are facing. I'm planning to give her a try on the show team and she's also due to be paired with Lord James to produce the next generation of Metallica's Show Team. Depending how things turn out, she could also end up being paired to Matthew.

Here she is! Meet Vectis’s Cora Josephine at Metallica:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4451/37605999070_e55210dbdf.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Zi7zmj)Cora (https://flic.kr/p/Zi7zmj) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Despite being several months younger than Juno and over a year younger than Vicky and Jess, she's already bigger than them both!

[Thin Lizzy]

A Belated Happy Birthday to Matthew.
Congratulations on Cora, she's gorgeous!

[cypher]

Congrats on little Cora, she does look very sweet :) Hope she takes a liking to James!

[BorisPasha]

I hope James and Cora get along great and poor James doesn't get his nose scratched or his tail bitten ;)

[dreamtree1234]

Congrats on getting adorable Cora Josephine! She is such a beauty and love the name, too. I hope that she does well for your show team and the pairing with James goes wonderfully, too. I will be keeping my fingers crossed. :)

[Fluffagrams]

Cora made her debut on the showing team last week and would have come in joint fifth which is not too bad for a young hamster on her first show. She was a little bit frazzled by the end of the day but the show was busier than I expected it to be so I'm pleased with her.

I've made the decision to retire Victoria because the ruffling on her fur that the skin split has caused has not recovered as well as I'd hoped it would and Victoria's fur was usually something she scored well on and made up a few of the points she usually loses on size. Victoria was usually a reliable show hamster so to lose her from the team means that our results will probably take a bit of a hit but these things can't be helped and I believe that in time we'll get through it. In the meantime I've got two assessed judgings left to do and I won't be able to enter those shows so it won't matter if my show team are a little ropey.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4495/38061800176_d82a1f9712.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ZZoF95)Vicky (https://flic.kr/p/ZZoF95) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/38084640532_6a49b474a9.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/212pJMj)James (https://flic.kr/p/212pJMj) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[BorisPasha]

Well done to Cora :)

Good luck with your next two assessments, I'm sure you'll do brilliantly

[CMB]

Congratulations Cora and happy retirement to Victoria.

[dreamtree1234]

I'll be wishing you the very best on your two assessments; I'm sure you will ace them. Congrats on Cora's placing in the show; I'm sure she will continue to be a strong contender in your show team. Have tons of fun enjoying your early retirement, Victoria; you still are a beauty.

[Thin Lizzy]

Happy Retirement Victoria.

[Fluffagrams]

Less than two months after Victoria got a skin split that ended her show career, Matthew went on to develop a skin split. Thankfully his doesn't look as bad as Victoria's did so I'm hoping he'll heal well and will be able to carry on showing.

This weekend there was a fair few firework displays around us and poor Matthew was having such a tough time with it and yesterday Cora decided to join him in being anxious but she at least had the sense to bury herself deep in her nest after a while.

Juno on the other hand was completely unphased by it all and sat up on the top of her hammock hoping there would be some extra seeds on offer.

[cypher]

Sorry to hear that Matthew & Cora has such a hard time with the fireworks, it was quite stressful here too but thankfully it's over now.
Sorry to hear that Matthew has a skin split too, I think this is the first I've heard of one in a male, hope he heals up & is looking his usual handsome self really soon.

[BorisPasha]

Oh no poor Matthew :( I hope he makes a speedy recovery. Who would have thought that little Juno would be so brave, she has obviously been having lessons from Jessie and is using every opportunity to beg for more seeds :mad:

[Fluffagrams]

Sorry to hear that Matthew has a skin split too, I think this is the first I've heard of one in a male, hope he heals up & is looking his usual handsome self really soon.

They seem to occur in males a lot less frequently than in females which is why I was surprised to see one on the neck of one of my boys. Thankfully his hasn't seemed to be as bad as Jessie's usually are and Victoria's was quite a nasty one too. I don't think she'll ever get her perfect fur back.

Oh no poor Matthew :( I hope he makes a speedy recovery. Who would have thought that little Juno would be so brave, she has obviously been having lessons from Jessie and is using every opportunity to beg for more seeds :mad:

Oh Juno is brave for such a tiny hamster and I think she's been learning all she can from Jess and Vicky. Who'd have thought that this is the same girl who didn't understant that the most important part of begging for seeds is waiting for them rather than running off when the seed approaches.

[Fluffagrams]

Well I spoke too soon about Matthew's skin split as this morning he was out and about in his cage and I noticed that his skin split had taken a turn for the worst. I've seen a fair few of them now and I was quite concerned about how this one was looking so I took him off to the vet to get it looked at.

He's got some inflammation around it so it could have been that something had got in to the wound that was irritating it but we've got some antibiotics and some metacam for him and I've been told to bring him back in two weeks if it's not healing.

He was ever such a good boy though... all his show experience comes in handy when you need them to stand nicely whilst they're being looked at. We've not seen this vet before and she said she'd never had a hamster behave as well as Matthew did so he got himself a few extra treats when I put him back in his cage afterwards.

I'm not sure what impact this will have on his show career as his fur may never lie as it used to but we'll have to see what happens.

[Thin Lizzy]

So sorry the skin split is worse than normal, what a brave and good boy Matthew was at the vet. Fingers crossed the metacam gets it healed up soon.

[SimonandSyril]

What a naughty little boy! Glad you found him before anything bad could happen- Silly hammy

[cypher]

Hope the meds work quickly & Matthew is better again really soon.

[Fluffagrams]

I thought I'd give a little bit of an update on Matthew now he's been on his medicine a couple of days. :)

His split has scabbed up and is starting to look more normal and the surrounding skin looks less sore so it looks like the medicines are having a positive effect on him. He's loving the extra wet cat food that I've been giving him with one of his medicines hidden in and the extra seeds he gets after his other medicine.

[cypher]

That's good to hear, I'm sure he's enjoying those extra teats :)

[Fluffagrams]

Matthew knocked the scab off of his skin split on Monday night and he really wasn't himself which concerned me a little bit but when I checked him again the next morning, he was feeling more like himself and his split had reformed another scab. This morning I checked him over and I now notice that his fur is just starting to regrow so I'm hopeful that it will protect his skin a bit more while he continues to heal.

I'm almost certain he will have some degree of scarring given the nature of his skin split which is a shame as he was one of my better show hamsters but hopefully we'll have another show team hamster ready to start next year's season.

[cypher]

Glad he's feeling more like himself again, the split is healing over & his fur is growing back now.
It's a shame if he has a scar that prevents him from doing well in shows now but he will always be a very handsome ham :)

[BorisPasha]

Awww poor Matthew. I hope he'll recover fully from it so that he can get back to his winning ways, but as cypher says he will always be very handsome (maybe just a little more rugged than before) :)

[Fluffagrams]

Victoria's fur stull remains ruffled from her skin split which leads me to think that Matthew's may behave the same. Victoria's fur was one of her better features show wise (being cute isn't a criteria) and although Matthew had nice fur, he seems to score better than his mother did elsewhere so there's hope that he can make up the points he'd lose on fur.

James usually did well despite fur being one of his worst features (those moult lines) so it's not everything, it just depends on whether they can score enough over the rest of the criteria to still be in with a chance of placing.

[Fluffagrams]

Matthew’s Silent Runner arrived today so I added it to his cage in place of the spare Trixie Wheel he had been using. He is currently unimpressed by it... it’s clearly not smelling manky enough yet for him to trust it.

[CMB]

Hopefully ha can get it the way he likes it soon. :)

[BorisPasha]

I could swap you with Artie's wheel? Save me a smelly cleaning job :mad: ;)

[Fluffagrams]

I could swap you with Artie's wheel? Save me a smelly cleaning job :mad: ;)

Lol.

He's made a start in 'mankying' his wheel up although it's not quite up to his normal standards. ;)

[dreamtree1234]

Matthew is so silly. :) I hope it gets manky enough soon.

BP, I'm sure Artie would be quite disappointed if his smelly wheel disappears soon even if it is for a good cause, lol. :)

[Thin Lizzy]

Aww bless Matthew, It made me smile that he's got a new wheel, I wonder how long it'll take for him to get it just like his old wheel lol!

[Fluffagrams]

Aww bless Matthew, It made me smile that he's got a new wheel, I wonder how long it'll take for him to get it just like his old wheel lol!

The wheel has now reached sufficient levels of mankiness. He's now put some stuff in it so it makes a nice loud rattle when he runs... It's certainly not a silent runner when Matthew has anything to do with it. ;)

Speaking of Matthew, he's trying his best to comfort me since I lost Jess. Here's one of him the day she died...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4576/38866450042_e8b0ff67ca.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22duHvC)24130331_781311795385473_52169772998371521 73_o (https://flic.kr/p/22duHvC) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

It's very different handling him than it is to handle the Cormes babies but he's better at the Chinesey cling than they are...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4574/38866449882_3209000788.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22duHsS)24831538_783289991854320_24291054381257324 31_o (https://flic.kr/p/22duHsS) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[BorisPasha]

Looking very handsome Matthew :) I suppose it's natural that he would be so good at the Chinesey cling, given that his Mum is an expert :D

[Thin Lizzy]

A little darling!

[dreamtree1234]

Aww, what a darling, sweet ham Matthew is comforting his mum. It is so heartwarming and touching to see his gentle spirit and love shine through in those pics. Please give him an extra cuddle from me and let him know that he is a very good boy deserving extra treats from Santa Paws.

[Fluffagrams]

Matthew has such a lovely nature really. He loves his playtimes and looks forward to them but he's also quite a gentle and loving hamster.

Here's another shot of him being loveable:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4544/38146070865_14244fbca1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/217QzSZ)Cuddle Matt (https://flic.kr/p/217QzSZ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Juno thinks she's just as cute as everyone else but she's got the bestest ears in the whole hamstery:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4569/25160853558_644dcb2b6e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/EknXaY)Juniebug Earsies (https://flic.kr/p/EknXaY) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[Coco61]

Those ears are just great -super cute. Matthew sounds like a really lovely boy. Looks one too!

[BorisPasha]

Such adorable pictures of Matthew and Juno :D

[dreamtree1234]

Amazing pics of both Matthew and Juno! The loving expression in Matthew's large eyes are just heartwarming and touching. He sounds absolutely marvelous and so lovable. Juno's extra cute ears are so darling, and I love the way she is cocking her head to the side as if asking "I'm the cutest one of them all, right?". She is such a darling, sweetheart. I love how their wonderful personalities come out in these pics. Such lovely hams!!!! :)

[Fluffagrams]

Juno is a little charmer... what she lacks in size, she certainly makes up for it in character.

Cora is now living on her own again after she decided that she'd had enough of putting others first. Here she is enjoying some peace and quiet in her egg box..

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4590/38495730814_78fbe00f37.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21DJFAN)single cora (https://flic.kr/p/21DJFAN) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[cypher]

She's certainly earned some peace now! Looking lovely there Cora :)

[BorisPasha]

Yes Cora definitely deserves some peace and quiet after doing such an amazing job with the pups :)

[dreamtree1234]

Enjoy your peace and quiet, lovely Cora. You definitely deserve it after caring for all your cute pups. You look so lovely in your egg box. :)

[Thin Lizzy]

Well done Cora, you've done us all proud, now it's time for some well earned rest and lots of treats.

[Fluffagrams]

Cora had lost a bit of condition since coming off of the litter but that is to be expected and I saw it in Victoria after she had Matthew. Thankfully Cora has already started to pick up again and will soon be looking her usual self.

The hamsters all had a lovely Christmas and each of them got a present to unwrap (well chew through) with their favourite treats inside. The first to get into their present was Victoria who happily sat eating her treats. Matthew got quite excited about his and in his excitement, threw it across his cage. It was quite funny to watch. James, having damaged bottom teeth needed help to open his and little Juno needed help as she somehow didn't manage to get through hers. Little Louise was afraid of hers and hid from it so I've taken it out of her cage and will give her the trats inside over the next few days. I'll let her off because she's still a baby really.

[cypher]

Aww poor little Louise bless her :) Zen was always like that with treat parcels but I'm not sure it wasn't just a ruse to get me to open them for her ;) I'm sure Louise will love her treats with a little help from her mum!
Glad all the hams had a good Christmas :)

[BorisPasha]

Sounds like they all had a lovely time with their Christmas presents. I laughed at Matthew throwing his across his cage lol, wish you'd got that on video :mad:

[Fluffagrams]

So did I BorisPasha. Some of them were so sweet with their presents that it would have been nice to look back on from time to time.

The other day I worked out that 27 Chinese Hamsters have passed through Metallica Hamstery in the six years that I've been back into hamster keeping. 25 of them have been Normals, 2 have been Dominant Spots and I've not yet had a BEW. One day I'd like a BEW and I still wish I'd have got that lovely girl I saw on the sales table at the SHC Christmas show. My breeding focus is on Normals though and a BEW is not going to help in adding more richness back into the Normal's colour.

Anyway, back to my current lot. Matthew has had to be removed from the show team yet again in the run up to a show as 'the curse of the skin split' is not finished with us yet and Matthew has another one. I was hoping to take him to Bradford Champs but he's very unlikely to be ready in time.

Here he is before he got his skin split hoping for more seeds on Christmas morning...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4727/38824742654_80d2963c66.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/229NXmJ)more seeds (https://flic.kr/p/229NXmJ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Juno has decided that she's the new Head Housemaid now that Jessie is gone and spent ages putting her cage right with a bit of creative housekeeping after I'd cleaned it. Here she is showing off her Megazorb mountain...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4686/24665981437_9d494102eb.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DzDAW2)little housekeeper (https://flic.kr/p/DzDAW2) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Supervising the seed distribution...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4730/39533811671_1ff6a4b33b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23et7SB)26239258_798102780373041_64051268964509216 01_n (https://flic.kr/p/23et7SB) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

I thought this one was too cute not to share it...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4599/25662941478_815a194602.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/F6Khqf)excuse me (https://flic.kr/p/F6Khqf) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

The Cormes are now bigger than little Juno and she is, once again, the smallest hamster in our hamster room. It's a shame she never really grew into her potential as it would have been lovely to have bred her. Her type is pretty good... she just needs more of it and although she's got white cheek flashes and several white patches on her belly (a fault in showing terms) the rest of her colour is a nice warm brown.

[Thin Lizzy]

These pics are gorgeous. Wishing you and your hamily A Very Happy 2018 xx

[BorisPasha]

Aww poor Matthew, such a shame he will likely miss the show. I hope he recovers quickly from the skin split.

Juno is just so pretty, that little face melts my heart every time :)

[Fluffagrams]

Matthew did end up missing the show as his fur hadn't really grown back but hopefully he'll be ready for our next show in a couple of weeks time. Here's a photo of the handsome little chap...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4701/28075854809_c268d31f2b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JLY6ue)Cute Matt (https://flic.kr/p/JLY6ue) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Talking of handsome little lads who had to miss the show, here's little Captain Jack...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4628/39822953922_8a722861a2.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23F23MQ)Jack (https://flic.kr/p/23F23MQ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

and here's the distinguished old gentleham Lord James...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4664/28076022619_46276db48a.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JLYXnv)James (https://flic.kr/p/JLYXnv) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[dreamtree1234]

Just catching up on the last few postings on your wonderful thread. I'm so glad that you and all the hamily had such a lovely Christmas and the opening of the hams's presents sounds like it was tons of fun and quite entertaining, lol. I'm sorry that Matthew had a skin split and had to miss the show. He is quite the handsome, impressive little fellow indeed. I will be wishing for his complete and speedy recovery. Hopefully, he will be able to compete in the next showing. All the pics of your hamily are SO charming and adorable. I just love their expressive eyes; they all truly melt my heart. You have such a gorgeous hamily, Fluffagrams.

[Fluffagrams]

I thought I'd give a little update on everyone now that the four boys from The Cormes have gone off to their new homes.

James: James is now over two and a half and despite having a week in November when I was rather concerned about him, he seems to have picked up and is like a whole new hamster. He's attempted his own version of scatter feeding too which surprised me because he's always been rather reluctant in the past.

Victoria: She's also getting on a bit and will be two at the beginning of April. She's actually developed a lovely rich colour as she's aged and I actually contemplated putting her back on the show team but yesterday I discovered she had a skin split so she probably won't be showing.

Matthew: Matthew is nearly 17 months old and after recovering from his skin split at the beginning of January, went on to develop another one on Valentine's Day... just after I had entered him into the Bath show. He seems to be recovering okay but I'm not sure when or if he'll be showing much.

Juno: Finally Miss Juno has decided to grow a little bit more than just ears and she's actually got a nice rich colour. She's been a busy little bee building tunnels in her cage and has taken on Jessie's role as Chief Seed Distribution Supervisor.

Cora: Cora lost a little bit of condition after being separated from her babies and looked rather mousy for a while but she seems to have picked up again now. She's been a little bit skittish which is why I've not taken her to shows this year but I'm hoping she'll calm down again.

Jack: After being picked on a bit by Alex when he was a bit younger and being separated, little Jack really has begun to thrive. He now weighs in at an impressive 41g which is not only heavier than his father was at that age but also Matthew. He made his show debut last week and did reasonably well but didn't place. He's livelier and more confident than Alex.

Alex: Alex is definitely his father's son... prone to laziness and loves to cuddle. He is notably smaller than his brother Jack but I'm hopeful that he'll hit a later growth spurt like his dad. Alex has attended two shows and came home with some prize cards last week.

Louise: This little lady has been a bit slow to grow but what she lacks in size, she certainly makes up for it in character. She's cheeky, playful and intelligent and I think she'll be the perfect candidate for my attempts at having a 'trick hamster'. Louise also made her show debut last week but placed bottom of the class, despite the judge thinking she was cute.

[Fluffagrams]

Since I last posted, there has been a few events that I thought I'd update you on.

As you know, Victoria was put to sleep earlier this month due to complications of an ovarian tumour and not long after that, I became increasingly concerned about James to the point where I thought that I was going to lose him too. I decided to switch his diet to include some softened food because although his dental situation has not changed, I didn't think it would do him any harm. Sure enough after a couple of days on the softened food he returned to his normal self and started gaining the weight he'd lost.

I also found out that one of Victoria's surviving sons who had gone on to live at another hamstery (Jamesy) had also died. By the sounds of it, he actually died before his mother meaning that Victoria was only survived by her two sons Matthew and Oakley as well as her grandchildren via Oakley.

After a rather pleasing return to the show team at Dawlish, Matthew's performance yesterday was rather disappointing and he was actually beaten by Juno. It was pleasing for her of course but I am wondering if this is the start of a downward slope for Matthew's show career. He'll never lose the scarring that his first skin split has caused and because of that his fur just doesn't lie as nicely as it used to. I'll reconsider his position at Andover although both James and Victoria were retired at a similar age to what Matthew is now.

The Cormes have been growing with Jack weighing in at 50g which means that he is larger than his father ever was. Alex has been a little bit slower to grow but is still 43g and Louise finally hit a growth spurt and is now as big as her mother although she is rather pale in colour at the moment.

[cypher]

That must have been a real worry with James, good to hear he's picked up & is doing well again now.
Sorry to hear that one of Victoria's lovely boys has gone to the bridge too soon.
Jack is quite a chunky boy now! Alex is a good size too.

[dreamtree1234]

I'm so sorry that Victoria as well as her son Jamesy had passed to the bridge - such heartbreaking news. They will be greatly missed. Hugs to you, Fluffagrams. May it give you comfort that they are once again reunited and having a ball at the bridge.

I am also sorry that James gave you quite the scare. Thankfully, he is doing much better now. He is such a sweetheart.

Matthew is a truly stunning, handsome hamfellow. I'm sorry that his past skin split has altered his latest showing placement, and I do hope that this is just a temporary thing. He is quite the charmer regardless. I am happy for Juno though. She deserves to be recognized for her beauty, cuteness, and those amazing ears of hers. I'm sure she loves and takes her job as Chief Seed Distribution Supervisor seriously, lol.

I hope that Cora is back to her self again soon. She is such a great mum. I'm glad to hear that Jack, Louise, and Alex are all thriving and doing so well.

[BorisPasha]

I'm very pleased James is doing better, though it's sad to hear that Victoria's son Jamesy has passed.

It's a shame that Matthew hasn't regained his show condition after his skin splits but it was lovely to hear that Juno did well at the show :)

[Fluffagrams]

I thought that you might like to see some pictures...

Those famous earsies...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/910/41719013921_8a81c98e54.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26yyRnt)Juno (https://flic.kr/p/26yyRnt) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

(The photo looks a bit pink because I'd pulled the curtains in the hamster room to keep the sun off of the cages)

Captain Jack looking quite grown up...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/956/39911311470_baec93a672.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23NPUpQ)Grown Up Jack (https://flic.kr/p/23NPUpQ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Cora in a rare cuddly moment...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/865/26851062987_412b95a62b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GUJHxR)Cora (https://flic.kr/p/GUJHxR) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[dreamtree1234]

Aww, it is always such a delight to see your precious hamily! Juno looks so inquisitive and cute on her rainbow fleece shelf. I think the pink glow adds a lovely touch, too. Captain Jack looks so handsome and distinguished. Cora is a darling, being all sweet and cuddly. Awesome photos as always. :)

[BorisPasha]

I do love these pictures but Juno really does have the best ears :mad:

[SimonandSyril]

The pictures of your hams still don't fail to cheer me up!

[Thin Lizzy]

You have a stunning hamily, so much gorgeousness. Juno's ears are blooming beautiful!

[Fluffagrams]

I thought I'd update you on the latest happenings at Metallica...

Firstly, I made the decision to rehome the hamster formerly known as Louise as a pet as she didn't really have what I was looking for in a breeding hamster in terms of colour or type. As sweet as she is, I had always decided that I'd be keeping two of The Cormes on a more permanent basis and her brothers Jack and Alex are closer to where I want to be with my breeding plans. I felt that Louise would make someone a really nice pet so she'll be off to her lovely new home in a couple of weeks time.

Some of you that have been following Metallica Hamstery for a while may know about our struggles with skin splits and by the time she was PTS, Victoria had four. These skin splits also appeared in her son who was part of a litter that had several incidences with unexplained deaths. In fact Victoria outlived four of her children and I don't feel comfortable breeding from Matthew not knowing what is going on with the skin splits or the sudden deaths of his siblings. It's a shame because Matthew has a lovely face and before his skin split, had nice sleek fur that wasn't overly prone to moult lines.

My next planned pairing will be between Charlotte and either Jack or Alex.

James has made improvements since he gave me a scare at the beginning of April. I honestly thought I'd lose both my oldies in one week but some changes to his diet saw improvement. He is now given soft food every day in addition to having Burgess Dwarf available. Unfortunately one of his damaged bottom teeth has now fallen out entirely but since they never grew after the incident occurred, it doesn't seem to have made a huge amount of difference to him. His top teeth grow quickly and need trimming on a weekly basis but he is very accepting of having this done.

To finish off here's some photos:

Lovely Old Boy:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/825/28283677678_8245c07d05.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K6keZ9)lord james (https://flic.kr/p/K6keZ9) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Lazy Alex likes lots of nice places to sit:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/975/27284810717_dcf3008aab.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hz4MCZ)alex shelf (https://flic.kr/p/Hz4MCZ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Those famous earsies:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/949/27284810907_08d97860b8.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hz4MGg)those ears (https://flic.kr/p/Hz4MGg) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Charlotte is channelling her 'Inner Victoria':

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/952/28283677438_ab74b73a66.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K6keV1)charlotte cling (https://flic.kr/p/K6keV1) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[dreamtree1234]

I'm sorry that Louise will be re-homed soon, but I'm sure that she will be much loved and will make the perfect pet at her new home that you found for her. It is a shame that Matthew won't be able to carry on his line as he is such a handsome and sweet ham, but I totally understand the concern about the skin splits and unexplained deaths. Hopefully, Matthew will be with you for a very long time and have no more skin splits. I am sorry to hear that the ever charming James lost his tooth, but I'm glad that he is still doing well and accepting his top teeth trimming without any fuss. He is a real darling, lovable ham; he looks so distinguished and handsome in his pic, bless him. I hope that the pairing with Charlotte and either Jack or Alex goes well, and you will be blessed with a lovely, thriving litter of pups at your hamstery. Alex looks totally chilled in his photo; Charlotte is quite the cuddly, little one and I totally adore her precious paw cling, lol. Juno is so inquisitive and precious with her most endearing ears. I totally love all of your hamily and send them all lots of cuddles from me. :)

[BorisPasha]

I'm sure it must have been a very difficult to rehome Louise as a pet, but I'm sure she will have a lovely home.

That must have been quite upsetting for you to hear that four of Matthew's siblings went to bridge so young. It's a shame that Matthew won't be a dad but in the circumstances it's completely understandable that you don't want to breed him.

Keeping my fingers crossed that things go well for Charlotte and Jack or Alex :)

[Fluffagrams]

In some ways it's hard to decide who you keep out of a litter when they're all so cute but I know that as a breeder, I've got to stay focused on my aims if I've got any hope of getting anywhere with the show team. My show team have unfortunately not been particularly successful these past few months due to Matthew's skin splits and The Cormes not yet reaching thier potential so I really need to be disciplined with who I am keeping and breeding.

Louise is going to live with a friend of mine though so I'm sure I'll be kept up-to-date on her progress. She will be leaving at the end of the month.

[BorisPasha]

It's lovely that she's going to your friend and you'll be able to keep in touch with how she's getting on :)

[dreamtree1234]

I can only imagine how difficult and emotional it must be to have to decide which pups to keep when you love them all so very much, but I think it is absolutely admirable and wonderful that you are giving so many people an opportunity to have magnificent hamsters in their lives. I am sure that your friend is thrilled to soon be getting one of your beloved hamsters. I'm sure that Louise will be very loved, and it is wonderful that you will be able to get updates and pics of her, too. :) Hugs to you, Fluffagrams.

[Fluffagrams]

The hamster formerly known as Louise left Metallica Hamstery on 31st May to go to her new owner. I think she's settling in well though.

In terms of other residents of the hamstery, Alexander has been through a bit of a skittish, nervous spell so I've downgraded his cage in the hope that he'll settle down. I've seen improvements in him already and he no longer wants to go and hide every time I walk in the hamstery. He even begged for seeds yesterday which is an improvement.

James is still doing well despite his advancing age. I can't believe he'll be three in August. Here's a recent photo of my 'Golden Oldie':

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1726/42730160851_e99e309cab.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/286Vf8e)34599683_878972125619439_69147916903645184 0_o (https://flic.kr/p/286Vf8e) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, baby Charlotte is doing well. She's mastered the 'Chinesey Cling' and has learnt how to beg for seeds:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/28856692888_68a465fb23.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KXY6rJ)33685721_874109016105750_141502869566337843 2_o (https://flic.kr/p/KXY6rJ) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1731/42680855862_48c88904f1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/282yxtd)34029277_875582202625098_12741901295477063 68_o (https://flic.kr/p/282yxtd) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Charlotte's teacher has been little Juno who lives in the adjacent cage. Juno takes her supervising duties very seriously:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/28856692988_217e8cdeb4.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KXY6ts)33653457_873555909494394_561911486593210777 6_o (https://flic.kr/p/KXY6ts) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[Thin Lizzy]

Cuteness overload and wow at James turning 3 in August. He really is a beautiful golden oldie.

[dreamtree1234]

Cuteness galore!!! I can't stop smiling and oohing and awing at your amazing hamily's latest pics. I'm glad that Alexander is now less skittish after his recent cage downsizing. Wow, James turning three in August is amazing; he looks to be in such amazing shape and is as handsome as ever! Aww, Charlotte mastering the Chinesey cling is just way too precious for words!!!! Lol, Juno sure is the amazing teacher instructing Charlotte of all the different seed begging tricks. I'm so glad you have her to supervise the distribution of goodies process; I'm sure she is great help, lol. She cracks me up with laughter! :)

[cypher]

Aww James is such a handsome little man & looking great, I can hardly believe he's almost 3 either!
Charlotte & Juno are both just too cute!
Hope Alexander will continue to gain confidence now.

[Coco61]

That is a lovely photo of James, as handsome as ever. That chinesey cling by baby Charlotte is super cute and super super cute in real life. She is such a tiny cutie!
They are all such a gorgeous crew, Fluffagrams.

[Pebbles82]

Such beautiful photos of beautiful hammies. James is a lovely old man. I love Charlotte - Juno's face has stolen my heart though! And such a great photo of the Chinesey cling!

[BorisPasha]

So much loveliness :D

[Fluffagrams]

I think it's about time for an update... some of you who follow any of Metallica's social media channels may already know some of this but just in case you missed it.

Lord James is doing well and other than a few moult lines, he's looking remarkably good for his almost three years. He'll celebrate his third birthday next Saturday so I'm trying to think of what I'd like to do to make it special for him.

Juno has been a busy little girl building lost of tunnels and supervising Charlotte. She's still as tiny as she's always been but I don't think that's going to change now.

Cora has unfortunately developed diabetes. At the moment she is well in herself and her urine is free from ketones but I'm keeping an eye on her. I was giving her Burgess Dwarf after I found out about her diabetes, much to her disgust so she was quite pleased when I had to throw it away.

After placing well at Andover, I have decided that for now Jack will take on the Show Team Lead position that was recently left vacant due to Matthew's death. Due to their mother's diabetes, I will delay pairing Jack and Alex so that I can be sure that it's not likely to crop up again on that line.

Alex is unfortunately been through a crisis in confidence which is why I couldn't show him at Andover in June. I downgraded his cage to see if that settled him and it did but when I thought I'd try him in a larger cage again, he returned to his nervous and skittish ways and I've had to downgrade him again. He's usually a lazy but cuddly little boy.

Charlotte is now living in one of the cages I usually use for my adult Chinese and she seems perfectly happy doing her digging and burying things. She reminds me a lot of Victoria in her younger days.

There are also two new arrivals at Metallica...

Meet Lilliput's Benjamin F. Pierce at Metallica (Dominant Spot) and Lilliput's The Knight Bachelor Lucas Matthew of Metallica (Normal). Benjamin arrived last week at Bath and is some rather distant relation of Charlotte. Lucas arrived today and shares ancestors with Victoria and Matthew. Both boys will be joining the show team and Juno will be retired.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/855/43649835632_a47fce98ba_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29vbPoY)Benjamin (https://flic.kr/p/29vbPoY) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/862/43649835492_a700030b2f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29vbPmy)Lucas (https://flic.kr/p/29vbPmy) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Here's a bonus one of Show Team Lead Jack taking his new role in his rather laid back fashion...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/860/43649835812_bb93cf7867_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29vbPs5)Jack (https://flic.kr/p/29vbPs5) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[Sasha04]

That’s great that Lord James is doing good and happy almost birthday! Maybe you can spoil him with his favorite treats? I’m sorry to hear about Cora and her diabetes. Congratulations with Jack! I’m sorry to hear about Alex. Congratulations on Benjamin and Lucas, they are both so handsome!

[Pebbles82]

He's gorgeous! Glad they are all doing fine but sorry about Cora's diabetes - hope she is ok.

[cypher]

I hope James has a lovely birthday, it is hard to know what to get them or how to spoil them when they already have just about everything they could wish for! ;)
Glad to hear that Cora is coping ok with the diabetes.
Your new boys are both very handsome little men, looking forward to seeing more of them.

[Thin Lizzy]

What little beauties your 2 new boys are! I'm going to fall head over heels with them too.
Wishing James a Happy Birthday when it comes, a lovely update on your special hamily.

[Coco61]

I too wish James a very happy birthday for this coming Saturday. Congratulations on the new additions to Metallica and the show team. Jack is showing them how to cope with show days!

[dreamtree1234]

It's so wonderful to read your update. I am wishing James a very happy 3rd birthday; wow, that is SO exciting! I'm sure you will find some way to spoil him even further to celebrate such a milestone birthday. I'm so sorry to hear of Cora's diabetes, but I'm glad that she seems to be coping well with it. I'm truly sorry for your loss of the beloved Matthew; he was such an amazing heart-ham and will be greatly missed by all. I'm sure that Jack will make Matthew and the entire Metallica team proud being the lead of such an amazing show team. He has such huge paws to fill taking over for Matthew, but it definitely looks like he is taking that role with confidence and plenty of rest, lol. That pic is just too precious for words; I love it! I'm so sorry that Alex has been having a hard time adjusting to living in larger cage, but I'm happy to hear that he is downsizing again so he will regain his confidence. Bless him. I'm sorry that the precious Juno will be retiring from the show team, but I'm sure she will have tons of fun continuing her life as a beloved family pet. She is such a cutie pie. Lol, maybe the lovely Charlotte is trying to burrow a tunnel to China! :) Congrats on your two newest additions to your awesome hamily and show team. Benjamin and Lucas are just too cute and handsome. I'm sure they will make great additions to your team. I love their pics and look forward to getting to know them.

[Fluffagrams]

Today is the day! My lovely Lord James celebrates his milestone 3rd birthday.

Vectis’s Lord James, Earl of Metallica was born at Vectis Hamstery on 4th August 2015 and arrived at Metallica Hamstery on 31st October 2015. He joined the Show Team as the original Show Team Lead in November 2015 and won numerous prizes including two Certificates of Merit and an NHC Diploma before his retirement in May 2017.

Happy Birthday James!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1829/43797136972_3d7c6b6f70_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29JcLXf)James Is 3 (https://flic.kr/p/29JcLXf) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[chesca_27]

Happy birthday James! I can't believe he's three! He still looks very sweet with his presents and card.

[Coco61]

Happy happy 3rd birthday Lord James. Looking very handsome indeed with your card and pressies. Congratulations to you too Fluffagrams, happy day for you as well!

[dreamtree1234]

Wishing you and your precious James the happiest of days today. Happy 3rd Birthday, James; you look as cute and handsome as ever posing with your lovely card and presents!!! I'm sure you will be so deservedly spoiled as you deserve total pampering, as always. :)

[cypher]

Happy Birthday James :)

[Sasha04]

Happy 3rd birthday James! You look so handsome and happy! Hope you are having the best day! Congrats to you too, Fluffygrams!

[Thin Lizzy]

Aww James looking ever so handsome and very young for his 3 years! WOW at the big 3.
Happy Belated Birthday James! xxx

[Razor]

Happy 3rd Birthday James! :D

[Fluffagrams]

Charlotte is growing well now and is of a similar size to Victoria. She's been practising her stashing and nest building which will be a useful skill if things go well as she will be up for breeding soon. Unfortunately Cora's diabetes has meant that I'm going to have to delay using Jack and Alex for a bit longer in the hope that they avoid the condition. However their father, Lord James seems like he might still be up to the task and has been proven to be effective. Lord James has another wife lined up in addition to Charlotte making Charlotte and this other girl, his fifth and sixth wives.

Diabetic Cora is still going, still being busy and hasn't really got worse since developing diabetes and now we've found a food she'll east, she seems happy. Unfortunately Lucas, who arrived at Metallica just a month ago developed diabetes not long after his arrival here. He's only four months old and is already ketonic so has less of a positive prognosis. He will never make the show team or be used in breeding, which is a shame because he's a nice looking lad who could have brought some nice features back into my breeding lines. The show team is in the hands of Jack, Alex, Ben and Charlotte with Juno and Joshua as reserves.

Here's a couple of pictures...

Charlotte:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1864/44361311001_fc5120ac75_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2aA4jeF)charlotte (https://flic.kr/p/2aA4jeF) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Cora:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1870/43645182874_d2bf8ba85b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29uLYi1)cora (https://flic.kr/p/29uLYi1) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Lucas:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1857/43645182904_a88bebdd7d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29uLYiw)lucas (https://flic.kr/p/29uLYiw) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

I was looking through some photos yesterday and I found this one of Matthew when he was 4 weeks old with one of his brothers.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1885/44361310861_a2d55f28b7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2aA4jcg)littlematt (https://flic.kr/p/2aA4jcg) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Even as a baby, he had a cheeky face and it's a face that I'm missing every time I go into the hamster room.

[Drago]

Your boys as little ones in the last picture are absolutely adorable! They looked so cuddly as babies. Sorry to hear about Lucas, I hope all turns out alright.

[Fluffagrams]

It's been a while since I last updated this thread and since then, as some of you know, Lucas had to be put to sleep due to the effects of his illness. He was a sweet soul and is buried with the other Metallica Hamsters in the garden.

Our other diabetic, Cora is still doing well. She was a bit unhappy recentely when I moved her cage away from James and next to Juno but now I've moved her back she's back to her usual self.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1977/44063339690_0bea35b3d4.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2a8J8Kh)45351200_1005768642939786_7420930260230733 824_o (https://flic.kr/p/2a8J8Kh) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

James was paired to his fifth wife and got his cheek bitten and although he recovered quickly from that, he developed a respiratory issue that concerned me for quite a while. He has pretty much recovered from that and is in the process of being paired with Charlotte but things aren't looking too promising at the moment. After this pairing he will be retired and his sons Jack and Alex will be next up for pairings.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4876/45880022181_d649692bbe.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2cUg7ac)45462752_1007700056079978_6460225653269594 112_o (https://flic.kr/p/2cUg7ac) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

There is one Chinesey at Metallica that hasn't actually been formally introduced to you all yet... Lilliput's Mr John Bates at Metallica arrived on 27th September and made his debut on the show team a month later, coming fourth in the entire show. He was also awarded his first Certificate of Merit.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4893/45880022551_3e55f0f318.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2cUg7gz)45145524_1004261699757147_7513701184457146 368_o (https://flic.kr/p/2cUg7gz) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

John Bates is usually referred to as JB rather than John.

[cypher]

Poor James has been in the wars! Good to hear he's feeling better now, I hope things do work out with his latest pairing, if not I'm sure his sons will soon do you proud!
Good to hear Cora is still doing well in spite of her diabetes.
Nice to se JB too.

[Coco61]

JB is so cute there. And a CoM already, what a star.

[Thin Lizzy]

Been catching up with your gorgeous thread of fluffiness and beauty.
Every pic had me awwing and squealing with joy. Poor James getting bitten on the cheek. He sure gets through his wives lol!

[Fluffagrams]

I thought that it might be about time for an update from The Metallica Chineseys.

Since I last wrote, Charlotte was paired to James but due to aggression on his part, the pair did not remain together long enough for anything to occur. James was finally retired from breeding and Charlotte was tried with both Jack and Alex and was not too keen on either. In hindsight, it was probably for the best as Alex went on to develop diabetes. I decided to give Charlotte a rest from attempted pairing as she'd become rather high maintenance and brought in Jodie who I had hoped would be a suitable wife for Jack once old enough but she also developed diabetes and could not be used. Jack went on a breeding holiday over Christmas but failed to produce pups.

As you may know, Lord James died peacefully in his bed at the end of January at the grand old age of three years and almost six months and his son Alex was put to sleep less than a week later due to his struggles with diabetes. Jack returned from is holiday the following day as the new 'Earl of Metallica' and will be paired again with both Charlotte and a girl that has come here on a holiday. I am really keen to continue on James's bloodline and Jack is now the only chance I have.

The Show Team have been doing well with John being awarded his second COM at the end of last year and Ben being awarded his first at the beginning of this year. I hope that both of these two lads will remain key members for the majority of this year's shows as Jack faces retirement.

Metallica Hamstery also welcomed Emily Rhiann at the beginning of the year. I didn't actually set out to get another hamster at the Bath show but once I set eyes on Emily, I couldn't say no. She is only the fourth Dominant Spot in Metallica Hamstery's entire history.

Anyway, here's a few photos too...

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7899/32348583317_0961212983.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RhwWP8)John (https://flic.kr/p/RhwWP8) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7811/40325766463_f479e6fcd3.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24rs6rz)Juniebug (https://flic.kr/p/24rs6rz) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7823/46567150264_3d64ed0a9d.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dWYPp7)Ben (https://flic.kr/p/2dWYPp7) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7813/32348595597_bf449f92e8.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Rhx1sR)Emily (https://flic.kr/p/Rhx1sR) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[cypher]

Nice to have an update & good to hear the show team have been doing well.
I know I already said on insta but I have to say it again, Emily really is a gorgeous little girl, lovely to see another dom spot, look forward to seeing more of her.

[Pebbles82]

Lovely to see John, Juni, Ben and Emily. Lord James must still be missed - he had a good life and six wives and should go down in the Metallica Chronicles for that.

I hope you have success with Jack. Sorry about all the diabetes. Sometimes things go in runs. Fingers crossed for good luck with next pairing.

[Fluffagrams]

Jack was paired to Embers (owned by Vectis) last month and their babies would have been nearly three weeks old. Unfortunately the nest was empty at the two week check which meant that the pups either died or were culled.

I’m pretty disappointed as I’m really keen for pups out of Jack and this would have been Metallica’s first litter in almost 18 months but unfortunately this comes with the territory of breeding.

Embers will be returned to Vectis at the Ferndown show and Jack will be paired again to another girl.

[Fluffagrams]

A lot has been going on at Metallica since I last updated and not all of it good news I'm afraid. It's disappointing but it comes with the territory of having multiple hamsters at any one time.

Last time I wrote Lord Jack had been paired to Embers but despite there being some signs of life in the nest to begin with, the nest was empty at the two week check. Embers returned to Vectis Hamstery and instead Jack went out on loan in May. He was paired to Embers again and two other females with Vectis Hamstery but only sired a litter with one of them. His wife Diome had six lovely babies towards the end of June which as you can imagine, I am over the moon about as Jack is one of a very special family line. I'm hoping that at least one will make their way to Metallica Hamstery when they are ready for rehoming. Jack returned briefly in the middle of June but is now out on loan again.

My little Danish Princess, Juno was PTS at the beginning of May. I already knew she'd got an ovarian tumour and we were keeping her comfortable but a weekend of rapid growth meant that I had to make the decision to have her put to sleep. She was my little ray of sunshine and I still miss her.

Diabetes also made an unwelcome return with both John and Ben becoming diabetic within a few weeks of their first birthdays. They were retired from the show team which meant that I had a much weaker show team for Bath. Thankfully Lord Jack managed to come fourth in the overall show so I was pleased with that and newcomer Leo also brought home a prize card. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to show Jack for and have him do well but he's very laid back about the process so he may be kept as a reserve in case of entries needing a boost or it's a particularly busy show that some of the youngsters may find a bit stressful.

[Coco61]

Such an up and down time for you recently Fluffagrams. Excellent news though that Lord Jack produced a litter at the second attempt. Perhaps Embers was just more relaxed at home this time.

[Pebbles82]

Wonderful that you had a special litter in June. Very sad about Juno and sorry that John and Ben have become diabetic. Hope they do ok. Jack sounds like a trooper!

[Fluffagrams]

Since writing last, Metallica Hamstery has unfortunately lost three more Chinese Hamsters... Ben, John and Lord Jack. It's always sad to lose another little soul and at the moment it feels like we've had nothing but deaths in the hamstery with very little good to balance it out but undefeated we carry on.

Charlotte rejoined the show team after a year off and has done better than I expected. I'm really only hoping to gety one more show out of her in a couple of weeks before I consider retiring her for next years show season.

Emily is still small and not keen on growing but between her and Charlotte they like to cause mischief at feeding times. Emily is no longer a permanant member of the show team and is only entered when there is an empty show pen in the carrier.

Leo arrived at Metallica Hamstery in June and is now a member of the show team. He's a quiet and gentle little lad who likes a cuddle. At the moment he's Metallica Hamstery's only male Chinese.

In August, Metallica Hamstery welcomed two of Lord Jack's daughters to Metallica Hamstery. Samantha is the cheekier, more mischievious one and her sister Elizabeth is more laid back. Elizabeth often reminds me of her grandfather Lord James.

Here are some photos of the three newest additions:

Doric Leo George at Metallica

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49002018598_f611bd50e9.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hE99VC)Leo Rosette (https://flic.kr/p/2hE99VC) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Vectis Lady Samantha Louise at Metallica
(Notice that chewed off cable tie in front of her? Sammi likes to destroy things)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49002787332_62c72392d8.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hEd6rE)Sammi Cheeky (https://flic.kr/p/2hEd6rE) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

Vectis Lady Elizabeth Mary, Countess of Metallica

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49002774992_6d5a2193ac.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hEd2LU)Lizzie paws (https://flic.kr/p/2hEd2LU) by Metallica Hamstery (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145876183@N04/), on Flickr

[Ria P]

They are so beautiful and Sammy has mischief written all over her face!

I've never seen a real life Chinese Hamster. Are they as small as a dwarf hamster or more Syrian sized? It's hard to tell from photos.

[Fluffagrams]

They are so beautiful and Sammy has mischief written all over her face!

I've never seen a real life Chinese Hamster. Are they as small as a dwarf hamster or more Syrian sized? It's hard to tell from photos.

They're more dwarf sized but are longer in the body than Campbells, Winter Whites and Roborovskis. As adults they usually range in length from 8-10cm (Females) and 10-14cm (Males) and usually weigh between 30-50g.

I'd never seen or heard of Chinese until I went to the pet shop once to buy some Russians and saw two little Chinese boys. I fell in love with them instantly and knew then that they'd have to come home with me. I've been keeping Chinese Hamsters ever since and at one point that was the only species I kept. I now also have four Campbells, one Winter White and two Roborovskis.

[Pebbles82]

They are lovely :-). So sorry about the losses.

[Vierville]

Beautiful beautiful beautiful little ones!

I was pleased to see that my hamsters are not the only ones with aristocratic titles!

[Thin Lizzy]

So sorry to hear of your recent losses fluffagrams and so delighted to hear of your newbies. You always choose long beautiful names for your hamily. Your pics ooze gorgeousness.

[Otaku]

I too am saddened to read of your losses. Chinese hamsters are lovely and your new additions are beautiful! (Countess Elizabeth is a beauty!)

While it was a case of 'enter sandman' for your lads I hope Jack's lineage continues through his daughters.
(Gosh, now I want a Chinese in addition to a Syrian... I wonder how my parents will feel about me going from "I've decided I would like to have another hamster." to "I would like to have multiple furbabies please.")

[Fluffagrams]

While it was a case of 'enter sandman' for your lads I hope Jack's lineage continues through his daughters.

I see what you did with that... nice one! ;)

The latest update from Metallica is perhaps not as gloomy as we've not had any more deaths as such however, Jack's daughter Samantha had what I believe to be a phantom pregnancy in November and although she appeared to recover from that, she developed a bowel disorder over Christmas. The vets don't think it's cancer and have recommended a basic diet and probiotics but if that doesn't help her, we'll be off to a specialist vet to see what can be done. This has interrupted our breeding plans yet again as the only two breedable Chinese I have are also carrying the show team. I have to decide on whether to take Elizabeth off of the show team to try and breed her or whether I take the risk and hope that one of Jack's other daughters is able to carry on the line.