An the family grows.....

[Artisans_uk]

After bringing Fey home at the weekend, our family has grown once again.

I was looking on Gumtree and had spotted a number of recent adverts for dwarf hamsters. I contacted the person on Monday and there was still one hamster that needed re-homing and they thought that she was female. So I went to the address with my transport cage.

When I arrived and got talking quite a story unraveled...It seems that someone else had bought a pair and then quickly couldn't cope with the pregnancies and pups and so this other family had acquired the pair and the first litter.

I was shown the parents, both in the one cage, although I was pleased that it was a large cage but there wasn't much in there and no duplicates of anything. I also saw the remainder of the previous litter, two girls, still in the same cage but again, nothing duplicated and with a shelf.

I gave some important advice and stated that with the parents, it was really important to remove the male and give the female a break after a litter to build up her own strength. I explained that as soon as mum had given birth, she would be able to get pregnant and if the parents were kept together then the health of the mother was being seriously compromised and it really wasn't fair not to give mum a rest. I warned that if they just left her in a cycle to get pregnant, give birth, get pregnant that both mum's health would deteriorate and the pups were more likely to have problems.

As most people here who know me, I don't have any first hand experience with pregnant fluffs or litters but I have read threads on here and hopefully absorbed some vital information.

I tried really hard to emphasize the important points and told them about HC too but I don't have much hope that anything will change.

Anyway, I can home with another beautiful little girl, Marram. She is 8 weeks old and very very cute:-

Marram discovers pumpkin seeds.

Marram loves apples but only as a rare treat!

Hmm, that drop looks too much.

So much food to enjoy!

Marram loves to be handled and has been exploring the sofa already. She is getting to grips with her flying saucer - she didn't even have a wheel in her original home. She is quite a climber too, so I will have to watch that.

More pictures to follow.

I don't have much hope that anything will change at her original home but at least I can give Marram a loving home here with the other girls (and Henry the house guest budgie).

[Piebald]

I'm at work and can't get the pics but good for you and I'm sure Marram is lovely!

[Heather]

Oh she's just beautiful! What kind of dwarf is she? I'm trying to learn more about dwarf hamsters but I really struggle to tell the different kinds. I feel sad for the poor mum . I can't look at hamsters for sale any more because I want them all and I end up getting myself upset wondering what kind of life they'll have.

[Mistouflette]

Oh wow she is so beautiful! So photogenic too, she's gorgeous! :O

It is sad for her mum, but the best we can do is what you did, educate people and hope for the best. You did well, and HC is a gold mine! I used to work at a vet clinic and it used to happen all the time, I would talk until my tongue turned blue, give all sorts of flyers and information, but ultimately, people listen only to what they want to hear. So we save the ones we can, and fervently hope for the best for the others.

At least Marram has found you She will be very happy! Again, she is very lovely, I can't stop saying it because it's true lol I've been gawking at her picture for the past 5 minutes!

[Artisans_uk]

@ Piebald - thank you, I hope that you'll be able to see her pictures later.

@ Heather - Thank you. She's a winter white but there'll be some campbell in there too, so a hybrid. So far she has lots characteristics similar to Bracken, who is a WW.

I know exactly what you mean, Heather. Since losing Aspen and Bindle, I have been scanning Gumtree for a sideboard (honest) but I still had sneaky looks at the hamsters but I knew that I wanted to get my next robo from a breeder and I definitely wanted a pure WW. Having come back from the show with Fey, on Saturday, the other cage that I had prepared, just in case, was pulling at the heart strings, so I gave in as Marram's advert was still showing on Gumtree.
I will still be able to find my pure WW, hopefully by the Topcliffe show next month but I also had in mind that I would re-home another fluff, as Aspen and Bindle had both been rescues.

[Artisans_uk]

Originally Posted by Mistouflette

Oh wow she is so beautiful! So photogenic too, she's gorgeous! :O

It is sad for her mum, but the best we can do is what you did, educate people and hope for the best. You did well, and HC is a gold mine! I used to work at a vet clinic and it used to happen all the time, I would talk until my tongue turned blue, give all sorts of flyers and information, but ultimately, people listen only to what they want to hear. So we save the ones we can, and fervently hope for the best for the others.

At least Marram has found you She will be very happy! Again, she is very lovely, I can't stop saying it because it's true lol I've been gawking at her picture for the past 5 minutes!

Thank you Mistouflette for your kind words. It plays on all of our minds doesn't it, the life that other less fortunate fluffs lead due to lack of education, interest and other reasons.

Marram is a gorgeous girl, I am lucky. She has just had some play time on the sofa with me. I'll post some more photos for you to see when I have them.

[Willow Wisp]

Wow Marram is just totally gorgeous and such a pretty and unusual name she has too
Congratulations

Regarding her mum, you did your best and that's all anyone can do, hopefully her owner will find her way here to HC, even if she doesn't register she may lurk and read and learn, fingers crossed

[kyrilliondaemon]

She's adorable

[Heather]

I've always liked syrians and honestly hadn't looked at buying a dwarf hamster until I got Mary, but he stole my heart when I saw him and has completely changed my mind. They look cute, but I had always heard 'oh dwarf hamsters aren't friendly' so avoided them, which was silly! I completely adore Mary, I call him a hamster dog because he runs to greet me when I walk into my room haha. He's the most friendly lovely little hamster. Gumtree makes me sad, I see adverts on there 'hamster with extra large cage' but when I look the cage is so small and I really want to go get the hamster. It really comforts me though to see how many people there are on here that really spoil their hamsters!

[Artisans_uk]

Originally Posted by Willow Wisp

Wow Marram is just totally gorgeous and such a pretty and unusual name she has too
Congratulations

Regarding her mum, you did your best and that's all anyone can do, hopefully her owner will find her way here to HC, even if she doesn't register she may lurk and read and learn, fingers crossed

Willow thank you for your comments, so far all the fluffs in the family have taken their names from characters in the Duncton series of books by William Horwood. I believe there is a hamstery called Duncton Hamsters, not sure if it too takes it name from the William Horwood books.

I am so grateful for everything that I have learnt from people on HC. Indeed, fingers crossed Marram's original owners will find their way here too.

@Kyrillion - thank you, says Marram, with a blush.

So much excitement here since the show on Saturday and the Topcliffe show to look forward to in just a few
weeks.

Heather, I have only had the pleasure of dwarf hamsters after I had Pipsy as a house guest for a while, who sparked my initial interest (I must finish the intro story about myself that I started last week). I have been fortunate to have such a friendly family of fluffs, everyone who meets them comments on how laid back and friendly they are. I am glad that Mary came to you and stole your heart.
At least there are some hamsters that are on sites like Gumtree for no fault of their own that get the opportunity of second homes, along with rescuers such as SynNix. We do what we can.