Just A Bloggers Birthday

Its my biiiiirthday! Yay! Let me celebrate getting a whole year older!

I love birthdays.

Not so much the present part. I love the ‘its my special day’ part which generally boils down to ‘I-can-do-what-I-want-and-get-away-with-it’ part.

The hamsters will soon experience this joy (well next year at some point). Dexter is about 8 months old now! Isn’t he a BIG boy! And so very handsome too Bare in mind this is about 4 weeks out due to the fact they’d be about 4-6 weeks old at date of purchase!

(NOTE: these trackers are from date of ownership not technical age)

Eve is right behind him at about 7 months.

And bubba Cas bringing up the rear at about 5 months old. Doesn’t it seem longer! Feels like Ive had all three of them forever! Its so weird to think they are still so young in their lives

Of course these are educated guesses as they don’t track the ages of their hamsters at the pet store. But at a rough 5-6 week old hamster for sale until today’s date, I have that pretty sussed out.

All of them are just adorable still! They wont quite shake that oober cute baby face just yet. Infact, Im sure they will always look adorable as they do now! And of course they will always be my little bubbahs!

These age trackers are available for whatever event or occasion. They count donations for charity event and ages of children too. Perfect for any blog! I have just used them to track the age of my hammys!
You can design them to kiddies crawling, plants growing or just plain lines. Click on any  tracker to find out more!
Wonderful stuff!!!

Can Syrian hamsters be kept together?

The short (and only) answer is no.

No to girl/boy combo’s, no to girl/girl combo’s and definitely no to boy/boy combo’s.

Syrians are incredibly territorial creatures – they will fight to the death if another hamster is sniffed out. Basically the thing to remember is that Syrians are solitary animals. Even when you have a boy and girl hammy they can’t be kept together for more than 15 minutes even when you want to breed them! Girls will get very impatient and nasty towards the boys and you certainly don’t want to be the one to split up fighting hamsters (and that’s experience talking!)

There really is nothing worse than 2 squawking hamsters biting and clawing at each other in a fuzzy ball of anger – like the fighting dust balls that you see in the cartoons, but nowhere near as entertaining!

As readers of this blog will be aware, I am an owner of three Syrian hamsters, 2 boys and 1 girl. They each have their own cage, their own exercise ball, their own everything! The scent of another hamster is very agitating for them so it’s important to keep things separate.

Eve leaves her smell everywhere anyway so it more of a tease for the boys. But this is manageable. It doesn’t offend any of them, it just gets them all hyped up.

When Dexter smells Casper, or visa versa, problems can erupt. I can end up with two very grumpy, very hissy and very vocal hamsters on my hands! On the very rare occasion that both boys are out at the same time, I will hold one and the boyfriend will hold the other. But as soon as that scent reaches the other Dexter will seriously wriggle about to free himself (gears himself up for a fight – little does he know Casper is twice the size of him!)

The other day both boys were out and I ended up with Casper crawling on my lap and Dexter sat on my chest. There was a very tense moment or two when they seemed to clock each others presence and I had a challenge on my hands keeping them in separate places. As you can see from the picture, Dexter was very wary of something else sneaking about in the background but played the silent, waiting game  instead of the charge into things like a looney game.

I put Casper back in his bed and waited until Dexter had been given enough attention. Letting them actually greet each other would only end in injury and there is no need for such things. Especially as they are both young, healthy hams and giving them even half a second of opportunity should end disastrously.

Note to all Syrian owners: Do not let your Syrians meet! They love your  attention, not another hamsters!

My Gorgeous Dexter

You know when you are cuddling your pets and you suddenly get that overwhelming rush of love for them?
They only have to do something sensationally cute or sweet and you really do get this pang of  ’awwww you are all mine and I love you dearly! How did I ever forget this!’
I only say this because I feel I have slipped into a sort of contempt with the hamsters. Yes, they are wonderful to hold but sometimes the feeling of a chore overtakes the feeling of ‘omg-I-need-to-snuggle-you-right-now’

Well the other day I really did smile from ear to ear at a photo I managed to snap of Dexter. Its like he knew I was taking pics and knew how much I wanted just one decent snap for the blog!

Here he is, my gorrrrrrrrrgeous little Dexter! )

And check out them famous long whiskers! Isn’t he a handsome devil
xxxx

To All Chicken Owners…

Do you own chickens? Do you feel like your not fussed over enough in the pet industry??
Well I may not own chickens but I definitely feel there is not enough hype around you lovely people!

In honour of the chicken owners around the globe I have an EXCLUSIVE treat for you.
You may have forgotten about my little Etsy shop where I design custom shoulder bags based on your wonderful creatures, but I haven’t forgotten about you!

You heard it here first people. NEW and EXCLUSIVE for the bird-lovers:
The Chicken Shoulder Bag

Click on the picture above to go to the chicken shoulder bag detail page.
Or just continue reading!

You can have your choice of two fabulous designs!
Brown with gold detailing (which is the picture you see above) OR gold with brown detailing.
They both look marvellous and really are the unique gift for any chicken owner out there!

For just £5.00 you can be one of the owners of this limited edition creation! Once they’re gone, they are gone!

There is still a sneaky discount for all hamsterdiaries readers – just click here to find out what thats all about!
You can really make someones Christmas oh so special this year!!

Order before TOMORROW to ensure delivery before Christmas (UK residents only)!
And order anyway if you are overseas and stretch out the Christmas feeling for a little longer! Why not?!

xxxxx

The Sunday Riddle #27

Well I was utterly flabbagasted when I had a look at todays stats. Some how without my daily post today I have hit my highest views of the daily – nearly 200 hits today! I am chuffed to pieces! I was starting to lose faith in my blogging abilities with the whole lack of time thing but this really has pepped my confidence right back up there!

So I am delivering todays post with a BIGGGGGG smile on my face!

Last weeks riddle was clearly a tricky one! It stumped you all!
But even that can’t ruin this good mood!!!

The riddle was this:
When I go forward I am really rather heavy. But when I go backwards I am not. What am I?

The ANSWER:

A TON.
Now think about it, process it a little. Ton is heavy and ‘ton’ written backwards is ‘not’ so there we have it! A riddle to baffle your friends with over the Christmas hols!!

And for this weeks riddle I have tried to be a little festive! But there was always the risk of it sounding like a cheesey Christmas cracker joke. So here we go folks!

Who beats his chest and swings from Christmas cake to Christmas cake??

xxx

Who Knows Who’s Nose Is Who’s?

Phew that is a mouthful!
Who can say that quickly after a drink or two??

I have a little party game for you all here.

You may remember something like this when I was away on my holiday in September. The post was Which Hamster Do You Belong To?

Here is the nose version of the game because I couldn’t resist the title pun. I am so easily pleased I tell yah.
Comment all your answers below!

Good luck folks! Answers will be published on Monday so follow to make sure you dont miss out on the results!! ~
Have any ideas??

xxxxxxxx

TGIF

Oh Friday, I have missed you.. Come visit me sooner next week??

Sorry for the short post, I am one BUSY bumble bee!
Thought this would get you all smiling nonetheless!

ENJOYYYY!
XxxxX

Handmade Hammy Gift #2 – A Simple Hamster Treat Recipe

So I may be a bit slow on the whole home made hammy treats feature before this Christmas but I am only just finding time to wrap the presents let alone research and try out things for the blog.
I am sure once the hustle and bustle of Xmas (and my birthday next Friday) is over I can settle back down into a routine

Any ways a neat little idea for your beloved furries can be to make your own little treats for them! They say a way to man’s heart is through his belly – well Im pretty sure the same thing goes for pets.
(Not saying that men are animals… Im not honest! Just that some characteristics may be shared. That’s all!)

So here is a SUPER simple recipe for little pet treats (suitable for small furries – not so much big furries as small bits and pieces can be choked on by big furries!)

What you need?

• Honey
• Assorted nuts (or your furries favourite – so sunflower seeds in Dexters case. Make sure theyre not salted varieties)
• A mold tray (funky shaped ice cube trays are ideal!) You can make all kinds of shapes depending on the tray
• Any oats or even original cheerios are good for this recipe

How long will it take?

About 5 minutes to actually make and then another hour or so to set.

How do you make them?

1. Take a mixing bowl and pour in a hammy portion of the assorted nuts and a sprinkling of oats or cheerios
2. Take a spoonful of honey and dollop it into the bowl.
3. Mix it all together, coating as much of the nut/oat mix as possible.
4. Add a spoonful at a time. Once everything is coated -STOP! You want the mixture to be tacky all over not pourable!
5. Take a spoonful of your honey coated mixture and fill it into the ice cube tray.
6. Once all the ice-cube spaces are filled, pop the tray into the fridge for the treats to harden up.
7. After about 1 hour, have a look at your treats. If they are solid-er, take the tray out and pop out the finished article!
8. If they are still squidgy, put them back in and check again later!
9. Give them to your furry – watch them enjoy the sweet delight!

With this recipe you can swap in your favourite pet nibbles! Like for example, Dexter LOVES his sunflower seeds and peanuts. So I could mix together sunflower seeds, some chopped peanuts and some oats to bulk it out. Chuck in the honey and ta-dah! Dex could have a treaty-delight!!!

How awesome would that be!!

 

 

The Lick Of Love

One of the plentiful problems with multiple hamsters of both genders is that the smells confuse them all.
Let me try to explain this better.
When I hold Eve for a bit, she snuggles on my hand and has a wonder around for a bit before I plop her back into her bed. Ahhh isn’t that lovely. Well yes, that is all very lovely until I then hold one of the boys.

This is the ‘Im gunna lick you’ face.. The eyes all squint up and the nose burrows down.

Now after holding a girl, unbeknownst to me, she leaves her scent on everything she touches (this isnt the smelly-smelly female hamster stink, this is the general female hamster stink that is invisible to humans).
This not only sends both of the boys into a frenzy, but they have a terrible habit of ‘licking’ my hand clean! All that female hamster stink is literally licked clean! And I didnt even have to get up!

I can only describe having your palm licked by a hamster as nerve-wrecking!
Dexter isn’t such a bad licky-ham. He is a bit slobbery but he doesnt bother me too much and the fact he sits still for longer than 10 minutes is a godsend!

Casper on the other hand **bad dum tss** hasn’t quite got the etiquette of licking mastered yet. He uses his teeth to lick so its actually more of a biting, nibbling motion. It kind of tickles for a bit.. until he gets inbetween your fingers – right on that fleshy web bit inbetween your fingers and he ‘nibbles’ that. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is not a pleasant experience!

A quick squeal and a flick of the wrist and he’s off licking the next surface that Eve happened to traipse by.

Oh to be a hamster, Such simple beings!

xxxx

The Problem With Hamster Photography

It is fast become a routine where I base my posts on a photograph I have taken in the week of one of the hamsters. I try to take photos as much as I can because I never know what I will post about. and so having lots of nice, focused photographs makes writing a post for later in the week a hell of a lot easier.

I will be the first to admit however that hamsters are not the most photogenic creatures.

I like to think I have a very high standard of photograph on this blog. It needs to be focused, bright, vivid and all about the hamster.

Its what people want to when they visit this blog to cut the chase short.

So the problem with hamster photography really is they move quickly so its hard to focus and they rarely face the direction you want.
Basically they are the master of avoidance.

I, personally, hate my photo being taken – I don’t have that flawless pout perfected yet so I end up looking like a complete goof. BUT, I love having memories from nights out and days away, so I put up with my goof smile for the greater good of the memories.. Or just pull a stupid face (if I’m gunna look bad, I may as well go all out!)

Hamsters however don’t seem to have this “Ill have my picture taken for the greater good” mentality. And its unbelievably frustrating - especially when I am trying to visualise a blog over here!!

 I find that even the perfectly normal hamster-whisker twitches end up blurring all attempts at decent photography. It has also gotten to the stage where I need to take about 50 pictures in quick succession to even have a remote chance of getting that blissful picture I decide to use on my blog.

I did try using my actual proper camera for some photography, but it ended up being a lot of kerfuffle. And it was never actually handy when I wanted to take the picture.

I am sure all pet-owners will agree, them funny pet moments are fleeting times and rummaging around looking for a camera, switching it on, adjusting the flash settings and then actually lining up the shot ends up being ridiculously time consuming.

So how do you cope with animal photography??
Do you follow any tips when snapping your furry???
Have you got any advice for a struggling animal photographer???