The Hamster That'll Never Die
Our old Daddy hamster, Bud, finally passed away. It was about time, this hamster was on his death bed for quite some time now.
Before I got Bud he suffered a hard life. He was roomed with his bitch of a wife, Midge, and their 6 kids. Midge is an over protective mean soul and she used to beat up on Bud every chance she could! So when Bud arrived in my care he had a huge gash on his stomach from Midge biting him every time he'd get close, he had chewed up ears, and most of his fur had been bitten out. Bud also only had 3 legs! I presume he got one caught in his wheel, it broke and it wouldn't heal, so he removed it. Needless to say poor Bud was in rough shape.
After I got Bud I separated him from his wife because he had already knocked her up again and I didn't want any more hamsters! He roomed with his 1 son and they lived well together. Bud regained some strength, healed up, regrew fur, and put on some much needed weight. Then one day his son turned on him! I thought they were having an innocent squabble until I saw blood in the cage. I quickly separated the hamsters and found that Bud's stomach had been yet again bit open and he was bleeding profusely. My husband held the little hamster in a paper towel that became saturated with blood. Bud was struggling to breathe and he slowly closed his eyes, we thought we had lost him. Then suddenly his eyes sprang open, he wobbled around, and started grooming - he made it.
So after the big ordeal Bud got his own cage to live out the rest of his life alone, which was okay with him, he really liked being alone. This little hamster went through a lot in his life, but it was yet to be over. About 3 months ago Bud started growing a tumor in the spot where his leg used to be. Instead of letting this possible cancer bring him down Bud used the tumor as his 4th leg and started running around faster than ever! Bud has always been quick for having 3 legs but the tumor was like rebirth to him. I even gave Bud a wheel to run on after that, which he would do for hours at a time on his tumor!
My husband and I deemed this hamster "the hamster that'll never die". Bud always put up a huge fight in life, he just never wanted to let go. When I got Bud he was already well over a year old and I had Bud for 9 months before he passed. Dwarf hamsters are only suppose to live a year maybe a year and a half. This hamster was really old! Last month I thought we were actually going to lose the little guy. Bud suddenly became very lethargic. He suddenly wouldn't retreat to his beloved home, he couldn't walk more than 3 steps before becoming tired and stopping. He was breathing really heavy and ended up sleeping most of the time in his food dish or under his water bottle, which is never a good sign for a hamster. Bud even lost the sparkle of life in his eyes. My husband and I were scheduled to go on vacation but I didn't have the heart to leave this little guy to die while we were gone. So, we packed Bud up and brought him on the 4 hour car ride to Cape Cod. And it seems like as soon as he got a whiff of that salty Cape air he perked up. Bud got better and better all week! My husband and I joke that he tricked us into a vacation.
After the 4 hour car ride home Bud was still as peppy as ever. The vacation was just what he needed. He was running on his wheel more than ever before!! Bud was looking really great for the past month, he was friendly, plump, and eating and drinking well. I'm not exactly sure what made Bud finally pass in the end, as it kind of happened out of no where, but I know little Bud sure put up a fight. There's just no way he didn't.
And that's the story of Bud, the hamster that'll never die. Because although he may have finally passed from this earth he will forever remain alive in our hearts with his incredible story of survival.
We'll miss you Bud. Play hard across the Rainbow Bridge.
Before I got Bud he suffered a hard life. He was roomed with his bitch of a wife, Midge, and their 6 kids. Midge is an over protective mean soul and she used to beat up on Bud every chance she could! So when Bud arrived in my care he had a huge gash on his stomach from Midge biting him every time he'd get close, he had chewed up ears, and most of his fur had been bitten out. Bud also only had 3 legs! I presume he got one caught in his wheel, it broke and it wouldn't heal, so he removed it. Needless to say poor Bud was in rough shape.
After I got Bud I separated him from his wife because he had already knocked her up again and I didn't want any more hamsters! He roomed with his 1 son and they lived well together. Bud regained some strength, healed up, regrew fur, and put on some much needed weight. Then one day his son turned on him! I thought they were having an innocent squabble until I saw blood in the cage. I quickly separated the hamsters and found that Bud's stomach had been yet again bit open and he was bleeding profusely. My husband held the little hamster in a paper towel that became saturated with blood. Bud was struggling to breathe and he slowly closed his eyes, we thought we had lost him. Then suddenly his eyes sprang open, he wobbled around, and started grooming - he made it.
So after the big ordeal Bud got his own cage to live out the rest of his life alone, which was okay with him, he really liked being alone. This little hamster went through a lot in his life, but it was yet to be over. About 3 months ago Bud started growing a tumor in the spot where his leg used to be. Instead of letting this possible cancer bring him down Bud used the tumor as his 4th leg and started running around faster than ever! Bud has always been quick for having 3 legs but the tumor was like rebirth to him. I even gave Bud a wheel to run on after that, which he would do for hours at a time on his tumor!
My husband and I deemed this hamster "the hamster that'll never die". Bud always put up a huge fight in life, he just never wanted to let go. When I got Bud he was already well over a year old and I had Bud for 9 months before he passed. Dwarf hamsters are only suppose to live a year maybe a year and a half. This hamster was really old! Last month I thought we were actually going to lose the little guy. Bud suddenly became very lethargic. He suddenly wouldn't retreat to his beloved home, he couldn't walk more than 3 steps before becoming tired and stopping. He was breathing really heavy and ended up sleeping most of the time in his food dish or under his water bottle, which is never a good sign for a hamster. Bud even lost the sparkle of life in his eyes. My husband and I were scheduled to go on vacation but I didn't have the heart to leave this little guy to die while we were gone. So, we packed Bud up and brought him on the 4 hour car ride to Cape Cod. And it seems like as soon as he got a whiff of that salty Cape air he perked up. Bud got better and better all week! My husband and I joke that he tricked us into a vacation.
After the 4 hour car ride home Bud was still as peppy as ever. The vacation was just what he needed. He was running on his wheel more than ever before!! Bud was looking really great for the past month, he was friendly, plump, and eating and drinking well. I'm not exactly sure what made Bud finally pass in the end, as it kind of happened out of no where, but I know little Bud sure put up a fight. There's just no way he didn't.
And that's the story of Bud, the hamster that'll never die. Because although he may have finally passed from this earth he will forever remain alive in our hearts with his incredible story of survival.
We'll miss you Bud. Play hard across the Rainbow Bridge.