We've got a new roborovski hamster, to replace Alysia (aka Big Silly), who died on saturday, aged 2½.

We haven't decided on a name yet. She's been living with Ruby (aka Babykin) for a day now and they've been getting along well so far.

Just a quick post today with some updated hamster news.

Vande died earlier today. When we adopted him and his brother last summer, Vande was the larger of the two and Graaff was noticeably thinner. Over time, Vande got thinner and started to drink a lot. We think he may have developed diabetes, which can be common in Campbells Hamsters. So far Graaff seems to be ok.

We lost Hank last month, on the 29th. He had gone quite quickly from being a chubby animal to being quite thin. He had developed a series of tumours which over the months slowly grew and spread. We took him to the vets when they started to appear and he was given some antibiotics. While he was able to live a normal life, without being in any pain, it seemed cruel to have him put down. We were told that an operation would be very risky. Operations on small hamsters have a very low success rate. We looked after as well as we could. He died in his sleep, overnight.

You can tell it's a Bank Holiday, because the roads are busy and it's raining.

We were 'up North' yesterday, to attend a Hamster Show at Lymm, in Cheshire. We only came 2nd in the hamster racing this time.

The track used for the Hamster Racing

The Old Cross, in the centre of Lymm.

This morning, we went to the Cheshire Oaks shopping centre, near Ellesmere Port. We got there shortly after opening time, and it was already busy. By the time we left there were lines of cars snaking through the car parks, looking for spaces. When we got to the motorway, there was a long queue of traffic on the opposite carriageway, trying to leave at the junction. They can't have been wanting to visit Ellesmere Port itself - the town isn't that interesting.

A few weeks after Orna gave birth to her first litter, there was a second litter. This was only 3 babies. We have put Mr Orn and the boy babies in one cage and kept Orna with the girl babies.

We have also hatched some more quail, including some white ones. They started off yellow but when feathers appeared, they came out white. In the photos, they have the white feathers but their heads are still yellow.

Click on the thumbnail to view the image

The National Hamster Council had a Hamster Display at the show. This allowed members of the public to handle hamsters and discuss animal ownership and welfare. We went to help out, and had an interesting time talking to people in the display tent. We also managed to go out into the rest of the show to go around some of the stalls and events.

Click on the thumbnail to view the image

Orna's babies are proper tiny hamsters now, rather than the pink blobs in the original photograph.

We had to be very careful taking the early photos. You shouldn't disturb the nest or touch the babies because if the mother detects a 'foreign' scent, she might believe the babies are under threat from a predator, and she's likely to eat them. We have heard stories of this happening to other hamsters, and we didn't want it to happen to ours.

At about day 11, their eyes started to open and they became more active - although some had escaped from the nest and been exploring before then. Now (day 13), they are very active and leave the nest quite often.

The final photo also has a picture of one of the 3 quail chicks which have hatched so far this weekend.

Click on the thumbnail to view the image

I was away at a conference on tuesday morning so I missed the birth Orna's babies. We thought she might have been pregnant because in the last week her size seemed to double and she became much bigger than Mr Orn.

There seem to be 5 tiny pink blobs in the nest. Both Orna and Mr Orn seem to be looking after their kids. Since Orna craves attention whenever she hears one of us in the room, we feared that she'd neglect any babies but that doesn't seem to be happening too much.

I have received a number of comments and messages recently, telling me that Syrian hamsters shouldn't be kept in pairs or small groups. I know the people sending these messages are well meaning, but I wish they would stop and actually read my web site.

I do not have any Syrian hamsters. We only have dwarf hamsters, and they can usually be kept in pairs or small groups. Any mention of hamsters being housed together will always refer to dwarf hamsters. I know that Syrian hamsters should be housed separately when they get older but that's completely irrelevant to me.

We briefly looked after some Syrians but they were kept in their own cages. We don't have them any more.

p.s.

I also keep getting messages asking whether any of the hamsters are for sale. Sorry but they are all pets and not for sale.

The opening day of this years show was very badly attended. Many people were obviously scared off by the weather forecast predicting hail and snow. We got both during the day but only in small bursts.

We were there as part of the Hamster Show, but got some time off to wander around the show. The arena events had very small audiences compared to last year. Some of the tents and stalls in the further reaches of the site were either empty or closed.  

Click on the thumbnail to view the image

Perl the robo died in the night. She'd been looking very old and frail for the last few days. We adopted her last year because she was being beaten up by another hamster, and their owners didn't have room to separate them.

She lived with Ruby (aka Little'un or Babykin) for a while. When Zosima (Little Silly) died, leaving Alysia (Big Silly) on her own, we put the three girl robos together.

Here is a photo of Orna, with her new friend. Yesterday we called him 'Mysteron' (shortened from Mr Orna), but his name seems to have settled on Ornald. Although I sometimes call him Bjorn (shortened from Boy Orna).

Ornald is on the left, with Orna on the right.

We went to a hamster show in Alcester today. I took a short break during the day to walk around the town. It looks like a nice historic place, with plenty of old buildings.

We went with 3 hamsters - Orna and Graaf were being entered in the show. Vande came along to keep Graaf company. We came home with 4 hamsters. Emma decided to buy a 'boyfriend' for Orna.

Here are some recent animal photos, mainly the Quail chicks and a few hamster pics.  

Click on the thumbnail to view the image

I thought I'd collect together any useful pet related web sites, mainly ones to do with pets we own (at the moment: hamsters, degus and quail). I'll add more sites to the list as and when when I find any.

• Hamster Heaven. This site has a very active forum, where a lot of experienced hamster owners discuss hamster ownership.
• Degu Rock - website about Degus, also has a forum.
• Coturnix Corner. A forum for Quail owners.
• Emma's Hamster Wiki.

Just a quick note about the show. I've been quite busy recently which explains the lack of posts this week.

This years Christmas show was quite well attended, and there wasn't much left over buffet food at the end. The only unclaimed item was a plate of salad.

During the show, we went out to a nearby aviary and bought another quail hen. She should improve the male:female ratio, so our current hens don't get too much 'attention' from Dan and Waylon.