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!

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???

Handmade Hammy Gift #1 – Funky Tunnel-Tube

I promised you some handmade crafts to fill those hamster-stockings! And here I am with instalment number ONE!

Now before I begin I would like to point out that this can actually be done for ANY occasion, so that could be your hammys birthday / they just need cheering up/ or like I am demonstrating here, Christmas of course!

It is not expensive, it is some thrifty thinking and just perfect to make your hammy’s feel that festive spirit!

WHAT IS IT?!
It is a decorative tube for your furries!

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO MAKE??
No more than 1 minute!

WHAT WILL YOU NEED??
Some wrapping paper, a used up toilet roll/kitchen roll or even pringle tube, some sellotape and some scissors!

WHAT TO DO:

Step 1

When wrapping up those Christmas presents – keep hold of the scraps that you cut off and would otherwise throw away. You wont need much! If there aren’t any scraps, just cut a small section off and place to one side.
This is the brilliance of this little gift is that it doesnt need to be Christmas wrapping paper. It could be birthday wrapping paper or even just a pretty designed wrapping paper. Whatever takes your fancy (I would still to paper though as the foil wrapping papers may not be so good for hamsters cages)

Step 2.

Take your tube/tunnel and place it in the centre of your wrapping paper scrap. Remember if you don’t have an actual tube bought from a shop a used up toilet roll inner-bit is just as good and practically free as you’d only throw it away anyway!!
If you have a bigger furry, a washed out pringles tube with the ends popped out is also perfectly good! Just make sure that you have enough wrapping paper for whatever sized tube you are using!

Step 3

Use small tabs of sellotape to stick down the wrapping paper as it covers the tube.  Trim the excess paper from the edges as you want it to look all neat and voila! You have yourself one funky tubey-tunnel for your hamster!!!

Quick, easy and doesnt need to cost you any extra pennies! It really can be whatever you make of it and it can brighten up your hamsters environment! Who said handmade had to be complicated!
Use that imagination of yours!

That’s one hamster stocking filler down, I wonder how many more to go?!
Lots of love!
xxxxx

The Cracks Begin To Show…

So my Saturday post has been swallowed up by the internet.

Its really annoyed me because now I have technically missed a blogging day and I haven’t missed a day since the start all the way back in May.

I will put this down to experience.
Damn you WordPress!

Your Sunday Riddle will be right with you guys!

xxxx

Munching & Crunching

I took too many photo’s of Dexter eating his sweetcorn cob to just post one picture.
So I have put three together showing the process of his munching. His eyes are way too big for his belly as he chews of the niblets and stuffs them into his pouch.

Such a cutie!

And apologies for the short post today. I am writing this on the 11th (last Sunday) to be posted today as with my new job I struggle to find time to post every day if I dont prepare something in advance.
So today’s post is just a visual treat for you all, a bit of cuteness to brighten your day If if its anywhere near as cold and dark as its been the last few days then you may need it

Have a good day folks
xxxx

“Change The Channel Mom!”

There is nothing worse than a stroppy, demanding hamster.
Oh wait, yes there is.
A stroppy, demanding hamster with the telly remote! :O

We are very encouraging toward the hamsters when they are exploring out of their cages. Its nice for them to get a change of scenery, smell the different smells and lick everything they come into contact with – for them, its an adventure

So Casper was out exploring away, when he decided to sit on the TV remote.
Lucky for us, he doesnt have the weight behind his little paws to actually push the buttons down.

So sorry Cas, its going to stay watching cr*p TV for the time being

Oh don’t you pull that face at me mister!!!

Do your furries have a favourite TV show or films?? Hammy Potter and the Philosophers Stone perhaps?

*Insert pet pun in here*

The Sunday Riddle #22

Loving all the comments on my Sunday Riddles Keep ‘em coming! Its awesome to see the thought train of my lovely readers for some of these riddles.

Last weeks was a clever one  

Jack and Jill are lying on the floor inside the house, dead. They died from lack of water. There is some shattered glass next to them. What happened to Jack and Jill?

Cupcake, RumpyDog, Scienerf and Doggys Style all figured with fishy riddle out

The ANSWER:
Jack and Jill are goldfishes, and something has smashed their goldfish bowl! Poor Jack and Jill

So for this weeks riddle I am testing your riddle skills all over again
I hope you are ready for this one!!

I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?

Hmmmmmmm I wonder what it could beeee? ? : P

Good Luck Folks!!
xxx

10,014 Views, 94 Countries, 186 Posts, 1,616 Comments, 18 Videos And Counting… :D

Looking at my WordPress stat’s page is usually a pretty routine affair.
I check how many views I get for the day, have a secret celebratory dance, and then have a closer look at what posts have been looked at most blah blah blah. As fellow blogger’s you know the drill.

Well yesterday I had a littler more reason to dance than usual.
I have crept over the 10,000 all time views border.
TA-DAHHHHHH!!

So I thought my post today would be dedicated to a few statistics from the Hamster Diaries blog which actually will act as a reminder that my blog is actually quite a hit Blogging everyday is not the easiest thing in the world and takes a fair amount of discipline and patience to get into a routine. Having settled into a pattern (or there abouts after the new-job-time-management-shake-up thing)]

First post date:
Sunday 13th May 2012
 Number of posts:
186
Number of comments:
1616
Total number of views:
10,014
Overall average views per day:
80
Most views on a single day:
132
Number of countries reached:
94
Most country views:
United States
Likes on Facebook:
15
Most popular post(excluding homepage): 
How to tell whether your hamster is a boy or girl
Number of videos on Youtube:
18
Most popular video on Youtube:
Newborn Baby Hamsters
Number of views for this video:
447
Lifetime video views on Youtube:
1118

Writing this post has actually put a smile on my face. Who knew blogging could be so satisfying
Have a fantastic day everybody!
xxxx

What NOT To Feed Your Hamster

Treating your furry needn’t be a chore. Finding new and tasty treats for your hamster is simple enough.
However there are a few things that you cannot feed your hamster and its super duper important to be aware of these things. The last thing you want to do is give your furry an upset belly or worse!!

I have taken this list from a website called smallanimalchannel.com and they have actually provided really informative notes alongside each treat-no-no so you know why not to feed them to your pets too.

Some of these may be obvious (like chocolate for example) but its always handy to see a long list of naughty foods in one place.

• Almonds — contain cyanide, which can kill hamsters in enough quantity
• Celery, whole stalks — stringy texture could choke a hamster
• Chocolate (particularly dark chocolate) — contains theobromine, which causes circulatory problems for hamsters
• Unwashed fruits — poses danger to your hamster from pesticides
• Garlic — may cause indigestion
• Kidney beans, uncooked —toxic to hamsters
• Lettuce, iceberg — can cause liver problems in hamsters if eaten in excess
• Onion — N-propyldisulfide causes damage to the hamster’s red blood cells
• Peanuts — contain aflatoxin, which is toxic to hamsters in too large a quantity <<<< thank goodness I only give my hamsters these in moderation, I had no idea they could be toxic.
• Potato, Potato tops — toxic to hamsters
• Rhubarb, Rhubarb leaves —toxic to hamsters
• Spicy or seasoned products — may cause indigestion in hamsters
• Sugary products — bad for hamsters’ teeth and are fattening
• Tomato leaves — toxic to hamsters
• Unwashed vegetables— poses danger to your hamster from pesticides

Stay safe out there hammys! Eat well!
Click here to see what is GOOD treats for hungry hamsters