The boy who got engrossed with hamsters

Ian, my 9-year old  brother, talked me to getting him a turtle once he gets better grades in school. I didn't really buy his idea because, for one, I am not really a fan of water-based pets. It's either they smell a whole lot or their aquariums require tedious cleaning. Second, turtles are not really the most fun to watch animals, they move slowly and spend a whole lot of time in their shells, secluding themselves from the unkind world.


For these reasons, I decided to get Ian hamsters instead.

Coincidentally, one of my office mates is a hamster breeder. I ordered a pair (one male, one female) for a bargain price of 50 pesos each. I had fun choosing the cage and other hamster supplies from the pet shop along Vicente Cruz cor. Piy Margal St. I had a limited budget so I only bought the necessary supplies. I'll buy the rest when payday comes.HAHA!  I picked up the hamsters from my office mate's apartment and walked home like a happy, blissful child.

Next thing I knew, I was spending most of my time obsessing myself with my new babies. I was either staring at them as they eat or clean up. I was well worried when they started to fight so I did my research and found out that their breed (Siberian/Teddy bear hamsters) are generally solitary so placing  both of them in a single cage wasn't a very good idea. 

After three days of keeping them, I arrived at home from work only to see several squirming, gummy bear-like creatures at the side of the transparent cage. I quickly removed the male (distinguished as having overgrown testicles), trying not to touch the newborn hamsters since I've read that touching them may alter their smell, causing the mother hamster not to recognize her babies and then later, cannibalize on them. 

Now that I have these baby hamsters, the original plan of giving Ian my hamsters can push through without the separation anxiety I'd have over losing one hamster. I guess I'll keep the mother and her babies first while I bring the male one to Pampanga. Hooray! :)

I love my cute, furry babies! The picture above summarizes it all. Any hamster fanatics around? :)