Stair Play

I've been feeling a bit mean over Christmas as we have been out a lot for long days visiting various family members and when I finally get in there is barely enough time for a quick cuddle each before I need to go to bed. So today I had a bit of time where I could play individually with each of my boys, and what better place than the stairs!!

Oops, someone's spotted me with the camera!!

 

Patrick really loved being allowed to wander around freely, and after viciously attacking a monkey nut he was off!

 

 

The thing I like about letting them play on the stairs is a) you can make little zones on each step with a variety of toys, b) you can be at eye level with your hamster and easily play with them, and c) they can't disappear easily- at least until they've learnt how to climb up and down the steps!

 



I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I know I did and the hamsters inform me they did too- they certainly got quite a few presents!!

A Hamster Apartment Complex

Thought I would show you Lucy's hamster set up, aptly named the hamster apartment complex. From the bottom up we have Nutmeg & Pumpkin, Crumpet & Muffin, Poppy (who looks like she is having a whale of a time on her flying saucer!) and finally Daisy in the penthouse suite.
I will quote to you what Lucy has said about her hamster establishment on Hamster Central (for those who don't know what HC is- it is a leading forum for hamster owners with thousands of members posting photo, issues and ideas all relating to their furbabies!)

'In regards to any concerns there may be for airflow: The three bincages have fully meshed lids. The base of each bincage is smaller than the lid, leaving a gap around the edge of the lid when stacked. The base itself is not flat, it consists of 4 small lower dipped 'feet', leaving the rest of the base lifted, allowing for airflow.
The lids are very sturdy as they are made with strong wooden frames and strong mesh which is stapled with an industrial staple gun, so it's very strong and the mesh doesn't even bow. So I have no concerns over the collective weight.'

So there we go! Now you have seen both of our 'hammies-at-home' set ups! I will leave you with some cute photos of Patrick in his bedding covered orange last week.

Xmas Photoshoot

As regular readers will know, we do like to set up little photo shoots for our hamsters, and what better time to do it than Christmas!!
We were all very busy in the run up to the holidays and only got one evening in which to do the shoot and find all the props. We actually weren't going to use any of the following photos as our final ones because we couldn't agree on the set, and then the hammies started misbehaving- however as we didn't have time to do another one before we left, these are the only ones we have! (They are pre-Daisy too so our little snowball doesn't feature.) I hope you like them anyway!

 Crumpet

 

 Mabel

 

 Milo

 

 Muffin

 

 Nutmeg

 

 Patrick

(the bottom photo is the first set up we tried and didn't like)

 

 Pip

 

 Poppy

 

Pumpkin

Early Christmas Present

 

 

Our tree is up!! Do excuse the mess, we hadn't tidied it up yet when I took the photo. The hamsters are getting into the Christmas spirit and have even had their first present!!

 



A seesaw!! Milo especially loves it and enjoys sitting in the middle with a snack. It's actually quite difficult to get him to come out of it!

Beth =D xx

Going Home For Christmas!

Yesterday we had the difficult task of taking the hamsters home with us for the Christmas holidays. Lucy had the worst trouble as she has six hamsters!! Two pairs of which aren't currently on speaking terms- so there were some interesting makeshift dividers put into the hamster carriers, in the hope they wouldn't be able to get to each other.
I have only heard good things about their journey so I imagine nothing untoward happened!!

My journey was a little squashed...

Milo and Patrick have carriers each but I haven't had time to get one for Pip so he had to stay in his cage. Although, when I looked at his cage (which is third or fourth hand), the extension was missing a level- this is what it looked like when I got him...

So he has the second yellow barred bit, but not the second orange level, and he's actually gained a little pod by getting rid of the second yellow bars. He now sleeps in there (the photo at the top of this post) and loves it!!

Anyway, he stayed in his cage and the other boys had carriers- which they were very good in. I really recommend these small pet carriers. Mine are the large size as I have syrians, although Lucy has the same size for her dwarfs.

They are now tucked up behind the table in my kitchen where I can keep an eye on them. Not an ideal place, and certainly not as posh as having their own room like before! But it is only for three weeks and with the rest of the family taking up all the space there is nowhere left to put them.

Hope your hammies are enjoying the run up to Christmas!!

AnOtHeR oNe!!!!?????

Oh dear. We have definitely caught some kind of incurable hamster disease in this house. Yet another fluffball has been adopted (by Lucy) from a family that have just had a baby and are moving house, and are unable to keep her on. So here we go then, introducing the newbie!!!

She is a 6 month old dwarf hybrid. Pure white with the BiGgEsT eyes I've ever seen on a hamster! She has really little feet as well so looks almost cartoonish- but in a cute way. She didn't really have a name when Lucy adopted her so she has been named Daisy, which I think suits her.

 

She is very funny to watch as she likes going up on her hind legs and doing a kind of Irish jig, complete with full circle turns.

Her cage is quite a decent size for a dwarf hamster, it is a Ferplast Mini Duna, so there is no need to make another bin cage- a bit of a relief as we have had to make 6 so far!

 

So far she has been a lovely addition to our hamily!!

Homemade Bin Cages

Cages are expensive, and often undersized. We have a cheaper solution!! Storage boxes!

Our bin cages are from Wilkinsons and cost under £10, they are a decent length and you can fit in a good range of toys easily. All you have to do to make it hamster live-able is to drill holes into the lid all the way along.

We found that our syrian hamsters were being very cheeky and chewing their way through the lids starting from where we had drilled the holes so we had to take drastic measures and make our own lids (which has still worked out cheaper than buying a new cage from scratch), but if you have dwarf hamsters or a well behaved, non-nibbling syrian then you can just keep to drilling the holes.

 

I think they look quite funky in all their different colours.

 

 

We bought lengths of wood from B & Q and the wire is made up of 13mm squares, bought online. We then measured the boxes so that the lid would slot over the top, resting the wire on top of the box.

The wood was cut so that the lengths go the whole way along, with the widths sandwiched between. Then they were glued and stapled into position. The wire was also stapled down on top and then the frame painted with £1 tester pots, also from Wilkinsons. So if you add it up, it was around £8 for the box, then £5.50 for both the wire and the wood, then £1 for the paint... = £14.50! For a decent sized cage. bArGaIn!!!!

 

The hamsters love them! It also makes it much easier to get your fluffballs out for a cuddle and is more relaxing for them as you aren't invading their territory as much.

Arabian Nights Photoshoot

Hellloooo!!! How's tricks? I have spent my evening with Lucy and various assorted hamsters, being the photographer for an Arabian Nights photo shoot.
We were thinking, maybe a photo shoot every week with a different theme? Next week is sorted- we are doing a Christmas theme, but has anyone got any suggestions or ideas for other themes?

 Crumpet

 

 Mabel

 

Milo

 

Muffin

 

 Nutmeg

 

 Patrick

 

 Pip

 

 Poppy

 

Pumpkin