All About My Past Hamsters (2007 to 2014)

[SKB_Hamsters]

I have been recently organising my hamster photos on my computer. Looking back through these photos brought back so many lovely memories of my past hamsters. So I thought I would introduce my 5 other special girls who are sadly at the bridge with Sherbet – Honey, Caramel, Cotton, Cookie and Toffee - and tell you a little about each one of them and the time we spent together. I have learnt so much from these girls which I have used this knowledge for Sherbet and now Pumpkin.

First I will introduce you to


Honey and Caramel - My First Hamsters

I got Honey and Caramel on the 29th November 2007. They were my Red Eyed Agente, female Russian “Hybrid” Dwarf Hamsters.
Honey and Caramel both had very different personalities. Honey, my dominant and smaller girl, was the most active, loved to explore and run in her wheel although she did have a bad habit of chewing the wheel stand. Caramel, my submissive and larger girl, she was the laziest I would normally hear her eating away food which was buried in their nest whilst Honey was out exploring. They were easily distinguished from one another by their dorsal stripe. They both loved their sand baths - I really enjoyed watching them rolling around having so much fun in the sand. They also loved sunflower seeds.

They were initially housed in the Savic Spelos cage – which I know was tiny but as the pet shop staff had told my mum this was the perfect cage for a pair of dwarf hamsters – so I had no choice - even though I was buying my hamsters, cage and all the essentials. I hated this cage as it was tiny that I could hardly fit any toys inside, the wheel was so noisy (replaced with a silent spinner), they used to use the tunnels as their toilet which made a mess outside their cage and very difficult to clean. The bottle also leaked and the first night all the water from the bottle had leaked soaking all their substrate – which meant the substrate had to be replaced as well as the bottle – luckily Honey and Caramel were both fine.

Honey and Caramel were soon upgraded to the Ferplast Mini Duna cage – in which they both adjusted to well and continued to get along – I didn’t use a house for my girls instead I pilled bedding beneath the cage shelf for them to create their own nest with.

Honey and Caramel really enjoyed playtimes which they had inside their metal playpen which they used to love running around exploring. I did try them with balls but after the first experience, when both lids came off and I panicked thinking I had lost my girls – luckily Caramel was contained within the ball as it had rolled onto the entrance and Honey was nearby exploring behind a storage box. I never liked using the balls for Honey and Caramel since that experience – instead they were mainly used to transport them to the playpen and then back to their cage.

I tried taming Honey and Caramel but they didn’t take well to taming – I tried many methods but none seemed to work – I think we were all as evenly nervous as one another. I never gave up trying they did respond well if I wore gloves, which helped me to feel less nervous and this did help them to feel more comfortable with being handled this way – although occasionally would bite. I used to place my hand in the playpen – Honey would be inquisitive and then bites whereas Caramel would climb onto my hand allow me to pick her up although occasionally she did bite. Caramel was the friendliest. Even though I couldn’t handle them much I still loved them both and I did get a lot of enjoyment from watching them exploring both the playpen and their cage.

They enjoyed each other company until they were around a year old. When one morning I could hear a lot of squeaking coming from their cage – when I went over to see what the problem was I could see Honey climbing on top of Caramel and she was biting her around her neck – where she had several bite wounds. This was so upsetting to watch and they were soon separated as I was worried that Caramel could be more seriously harmed. This was the first disagreement I had witnessed before this they always got on well with one another. Caramel sadly had to go back into the tiny Savic Spelos cage until I could get her a larger cage – a barred cage similar in size to the mini duna. They both adapted very well to living alone – they seem both to prefer having their own space and this also allowed Caramel to advance further in taming – she started to feel confident with being handled whereas Honey still used to bite.

Caramel sadly passed away first, on the 2nd August 2009, her death was fairly unexpected and very upsetting. I had just returned from my holiday and had collected my girls from relatives who were looking after them. I had interacted with Caramel earlier in the day and bit later on I went to clean her cage and get her out for a playtime. She would normally wake up when I moved her cage but there was no sign so I checked her house – Caramel was curled up and she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. She was the first hamster I had lost and it was very hard. That night I could hear a lot of squeaking from Honey cage, I went over to see if she was ok and she was sitting facing toward where Caramel’s cage once was. It was like she was calling out to her sister – which was upsetting to watch. Honey continued to do well – she did have fur loss on her lower back which had been a problem for a while. Later that week Honey didn’t seem her usually self, she was very wobbly, if she tried climbing onto anything she fell over she did seem quite distressed so I moved her cage to a quieter room in the house so she could relax without being disturbed often. I also moved her bowl and bottle near to her house so she could access them easily. Sadly on the 9th August (a week after Caramel passing), Honey sadly also passed away – my mum was checking on her early in the morning and noticed she wasn’t doing too well and my mum comforted Honey in her hand and she passed away peacefully.

These 2 girls made a big impact to my life they started my love for hamsters and I learnt a lot from the time we spent together. I would love another Russian Dwarf Hamster as I do miss not having one but at the moment I do prefer Syrians, although I must admit I did consider buying a Russian Dwarf when I was looking for a new hamster before I got Pumpkin but my heart was telling me to get another syrian.

Honey – 29th November 2007 to 9th August 2009
Caramel – 29th November 2007 to 2nd August 2009

Here are a few photos of Honey and Caramel – unfortunately I don’t have many photos of them but I have many lovely memories of our time together. I also have a couple of their toys which I have kept to remind me of them.

Picture 1 – Honey (Right) and Caramel (left) – being handled with gloves
Picture 2 – Both - show the difference in size and their different dorsal stripes
Picture 3 – Honey
Picture 4 - Caramel

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Next, I will introduce you to Cotton, my first Syrian.

[Wanna Hamster]

Wow! So much info! They all sound very lucky to have such a great ham-parent!

[Drago]

Those two sound like a lovely bunch! That's heartbreaking how honey seemed to sense her sister had passed on, poor sweet girl. May your little ones Rest In Peace, and hopefully we can hear more lovely stories of these two!

[cypher]

What a lovely beginning to your life with hamsters SKB, a very special pair of girls & it was really nice to read about them & the great life they had with you.
It was sad that Honey missed her sister & passed away so soon after her but they have left you with so many memories to cherish & I think the memories of our first hams are always extra precious.

[Hamsterita]

I really enjoyed reading about your pasts hamsters. It's a bid sad to know that they aren't among us anymore but it's good to know that they had a beautiful life and that they were so special to you.

It's curious how they passed so close in time to each other. They were old hams, and they were sisters, so maybe it was just their time, maybe as cypher said Honey missed her sister, or maybe even they got sick with your relatives or something. The first two possibilities are kinda sweet. Obviously their passing was terrible, and there's anything good about it, but it's like romeo and juliette or the notebook (from nicholas sparks), they couldn't live without each other.

Out of curiosity, why do you prefer syrians?

I'm eaguer to read about the others

[Pebbles82]

I am also looking forward to hearing about the other hamsters! The story of Honey and Caramel was nice to hear about Sometimes it's good to reflect back on things some time afterwards.

[BorisPasha]

Lovely to hear about Honey and Caramel, they looked very sweet and it's nice they managed to live happily together for a year before having to be seperated. Must admit though it brought a tear to my eye to read about Honey squeaking towards where Caramel's cage had been. It must have been really hard to loose them so close together but must have given you some comfort to know that they would be together again.

I'll look forward to hearing about Cotton

[Thin Lizzy]

Aww SKB, what a detailed and beautiful thread.
Caramel & Honey 2 little beauties.
Any hamster that has a forever home with you will always receive the bestest of care and true love.

[flowerfairy]

Awwww what gorgeous looking girls. They clearly had a great bond. Lovely to hear about them.

[SKB_Hamsters]

Thank you Wanna Hamsters, Drago, cypher, Hamsterita, Serendipity7000, BorisPasha, Thin Lizzy and flowerfairy. They were both were very special to me and I'm so lucky that Honey and Caramel were my first hamsters - reflecting back over the time I had with both of them helps me to realise how much they taught me about hamsters - so many valuable lessons, experience and knowledge which I still use today. I still have their playpen (although it is now held together with cable ties) which I have used to tame all my Syrians in.
It was so hard seeing Honey heartbroken and missing her sister - this made me realise even though they were no longer living together they must have still enjoyed one another's company. It was hard to lose them both within a week of another - I thought Honey would be around for a bit longer as she looked healthy and her normal self so her sudden decline was very unexpected and difficult to cope with.
My memories of these girls are so precious.

I will be introducing Cotton later this week/weekend.

Originally Posted by Hamsterita

... It's curious how they passed so close in time to each other. They were old hams, and they were sisters, so maybe it was just their time maybe as cypher said Honey missed her sister, or maybe even they got sick with your relatives or something. The first two possibilities are kinda sweet ..
they couldn't live without each other.

Out of curiosity, why do you prefer syrians?

I think it was due to old age or possible due to their genetics (as they were pet shop hamsters). I think Honey did miss her sister as she was squeaking facing towards where Caramel cage - seeming confused - during the night after Caramel passing. I don't believe they got sick at my relatives - they didn't look ill but Honey decline looked like it was caused by old age. They probably couldn't live without one another.

I think the reason I prefer Syrians Hamster, as my Syrians have really enjoyed a lot of interaction and loved to be handled and fussed over compared to Honey and Caramel who mostly liked to be left alone and weren't so keen on being handled. Also when I go to get a new hamster - my Syrians have looked at me in a way I just can't say no to - winning over my heart. In the future I would like to have a Syrian and a Russian at the same time but at the moment I only have the space for one cage.