RIP Crumpet

Today Lucy lost one of her very first hamsters, Crumpet. He was originally bought in a pair with his brother, Muffin, although they quickly had to be separated when reaching the difficult teenage years (fighting, tsk) and have been happily living side by side in their own cages ever since.

He always was rather a chubby hamster so it was noticeable when a few months ago he had a dramatic weight loss, losing about half of his body weight in just a few weeks. Usually very into his food he became less so, preferring to sleep more although still keeping a relatively sunny disposition.

This afternoon, however, he was found curled up in his strawberry house, having passed away quietly and peacefully in his sleep at the ripe old age of about 2 years. Play well at the bridge little one.

Previous Hamsters

 (Millie)

Hi All! I came across some photos of my previous hamsters earlier that I thought you might be interested in. I had lots of furbabies when I was little, with a few years gap in-between the next lot, and it was really nice to remember little details about each one.

 (Mysty)

 (Monty)

Having bought lots of my hamsters from Pets At Home, we often got told the wrong sex for our fluffballs, only to discover the error when we got home and had our first cuddles. Monty (above) was supposed to be a boy, as was Tammy (originally Teddy), below. Luckily, because they were all syrian hamsters (who live on their own) and we had no intention of breeding with them, it didn't really affect us, but it is something to look out for when buying hamsters from a shop.

 (Tammy)

I have had more hamsters over the years although seem to have lost most of the photos along the way. Hopefully they will be printed out on a hard copy somewhere as it would be a shame to lose the memories.

Saying Goodbye

For a few months, Poppy, Lucy's two and a half year old syrian female, had been developing a strange hard lump in her tummy. It didn't seem to be concerning her much and she was just as active as she had always been (very hyperactive!!). She was eating normally and everything seemed fine except that the lump was growing steadily bigger. In the last week, the growth of the lump seemed to accelerate and Pops no longer ran on her saucer or moved about so much, her bottom was so heavy she couldn't pull herself up and over things very easily although she always gave it a go. 

Yesterday afternoon it was decided that we should take Poppy to the vet as the lump was now bigger than a golf ball and she looked incredibly uncomfortable. He said it could either be a tumour or pyometra (puss in the womb). If it was pyometra then there was the option of surgery but as she was over two years old the risk of her not waking up from the anaesthesia was high. Another option was just to leave it until other symptoms appeared as the lump would continue to grow bigger until it squashed poor Pops' insides and she wouldn't be able to eat or poo and may end up in severe pain. Or the third option was euthanasia, whilst she was still relatively comfortable and with all of her functions. 

Lucy decided that she didn't want to wait until Poppy had deteriorated so much that euthanasia was the only option, potential surgery would be stressful and with a high risk rate, especially as the vet wasn't entirely sure what the lump was- so the awful and incredibly sad decision was made to say goodbye to Pops in the nicest and swiftest way. 

We were both there throughout and never left her side, and when we got her home again she was buried in a new shiny flowerpot underneath some sweet peas where she will always be remembered. 

She was such a lovely hamster and will be very much missed in the Sweetbriar household. She had a very happy life once she got to us (rescue hamster), full of toys, treats, cuddles and snuggles.

All Strapped In

We travelled back to Leicester at the weekend, the hamsters and myself all strapped in in the back seat, bathing in the lovely sunshine. Well I don't know about bathing, more fast asleep and dead to the world (in their cases).

Patrick was sweet, he didn't know if he wanted to sleep under the bedding or not so kept alternating between the two. He's such a cutie. Sssh, if you are careful, I'll open the lid and we can go in closer....

Bless him. Can I hear little hammy snores??!

Spinach Leaves

Aaah, bless. I got the boys out for some individual cuddle and treat time last night which I think they enjoyed. They all had a spinach leaf each which some paid more attention to than others. Pip posed for a while with his.

Patrick would barely stand still for photos, and he was soon off exploring after a few nibbles.

And Milo wasn't interested at all, although I note that the leaf I gave him has now mysteriously disappeared from his cage.

A Good Old Photo Montage

 (Crumpet)

Hmm, I have too much time on my hands I feel. The afternoon has been spent playing on Photoshop making photo montages of the hambabies. We have sooooo many photos of the little fluffballs! These are a few of my favs, hopefully some you haven't seen before.

 (Daisy)

 (Mabel)

 (Milo)

 (Nutmeg)

 (Muffin)

 (Patrick)

 (Pip)

 (Poppy)

(Pumpkin)

Playtime Treats

 (Crumpet)

Look at these cute photos of Lucy's hamsters!! All enjoying their Easter holidays and getting full up on treats by the looks of things!!

 (Daisy)

 (Muffin)

 (Nutmeg)

 (Poppy)

(Pumpkin)