A Tale of Two Hamsters

Now, before anyone jumps all over me, I know that hamsters do not have tails.

This past summer, my middle son, almost 10 years old, got a pair of female hamsters from his dad. They are dwarf hamsters and very cute. They were named Smokey and Tiny. One being grey and one being smaller and tan. To start off, Tiny started to grow.....and since she wasn't smaller than Smokey anymore, we changed her name to Snoopy......because of her habit of poking her nose out of her shavings to see you whenever you approached the cage. She is very cute that way.

On to the story about Smokey. Smokey got sick with something called Wettail. It is a disease of hamsters where they get diarrhea and hence, their tail stub gets a wet look to it. This is treatable with a medicine aptly called Dritail...........original. While you are treating a sick hamster, it should not be in the same cage as a well hamster.......so we had to quarantine her. Since I only had one cage, we made a makeshift infirmary out of an ice cream pail with holes in the lid. This was good for a day or so. Did I mention that hamsters chew?? Anyway, I noticed that Smokey was trying to get to the holes of the infirmary, but not being all that bright, I figured that everything would be fine. Early in the morning I was rudely awoken by the sound of my cat playing by my bed. I hate when he does this as it usually means he wants to go out. So, I turn on the light and pick up my housecoat................................AAAAAAACK!! There is only half of Smokey laying there. Apparently she chewed her way out of her ice cream pail. Disgusted I pick up the remains and scenes from movies run through my head........The Godfather and the scene with the horse's head in the bed............Stuart Little, "We don't eat family members". And then, I can't get back to sleep.......I am wondering what I am going to tell my poor son about his pet. I was actually suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. When it was time to get the kids up for school, I gently woke my son. In my very caring nurse voice, I tell him...."I have bad news"......"What is it?" he askes. "Smokey died".........."Can I see her?"........ummmmmmmmm "No, son, that isn't a good idea"......."How do you know she is really dead? Maybe she is just sleeping".........ummmmmmmm ummmmmmmmm, "No, she got out of the cage"......"Maybe she is still running around the house".....ummmm ummm ummmmmmm , "Honey, Ginger found her"..........blank stares........then, the lightbulb comes on over his head. "OHHHH, he ate her?" "Well, only half of her"..........."COOL!" .........I will never understand boys. But, of course, being the big old softy that I am, I can't leave it at that. I promise that we will get another hamster to replace her.

On to hamster tale number two.

We buy Whiskers........a little grey hamster that looks an awful lot like Smokey. And since we weren't going to be home for a couple days, I purchase a whole new hamster kit including a cage. I figure, if we end up with another sick hamster, I wanted a proper hospital for her. We bring her home. Decide to try to put her in with Snoopy. Well, Snoopy had decided she didn't really like having a roommate, and promptly attacked poor Whiskers.........but we got her out and all was well. Now, I have twice the cages to clean and such. This was fine for a few months......then, one day Whiskers was acting strange, not running on her wheel, not eating her food........hiding under the shavings all the time. One morning I came home from working the night shift. I go over to the cages, like I always do, greet the furry little critters to see them poke their noses out of the shavings..........."Good Morning, Snoopy!" Out pops a little tan coloured nose to say hello.........."Good Morning, Whiskers!"............I look in the cage, and there is Whiskers, lying with her four little feet sticking up in the air. UGH, here we go again. As gently as I can, "Son, I have some bad news".........."Oh, what?"......."Whiskers died"........."Did she get out of the cage?"........."No, son, she died peacefully in her cage, not running scared from the cat"......."Oh, can I see her?"..........."Sure, I left her right there for now"..........he goes over, looks at the cage, says nothing..............I ask him, "Do you want to find a little box so we can bury her in the back yard?"..........."No......she's just a hamster, Mom."..................boys..................