(no subject)
The five little ones who have joined our family are just amazing. Four days old, and they've already almost doubled in size, being about an inch long now. Their skin is becoming pigmented, so that the skin on their backs and the tops of their heads looks darker. They're still quite pink, of course, and they're still bald, and their eyes are still firmly shut... And they have these little, tiny ears that just fracture me. I can't really explain it.
Did you know that baby hamsters chirp? It's so sweet, the way they sing out for Mommy and Daddy...
We got Gressy fixed yesterday. The vet we took him to said that she'd never neutered a dwarf hamster before, only rabbits, but that she was more than willing to try, and that she was lessening her normal rate for neutering, since this was going to be a learning experience for her. I thought that that was terribly nice of her. Gress is doing just fine. This morning, still a little groggy (I suspect), he climbed into my hand and dozed for a few minutes, which just melted my heart.
Since he needed to have ripped-up paper towels as bedding for a little bit post-surgery (the vet said that the cellulose bedding we usually use might catch on Gress' sutures, and we couldn't replace the bedding in the main house yet - we're supposed to not disturb their bedding for two weeks) and because we were concerned that the medicinal smell on Gress' skin and fur might alarm Amber and cause her to eat her babies protectively, (plus, let's face it - Gress might have had a better chance of healing without the babies and/or Amber bumping him in sensitive areas) we got a second house for them and closed off a tube that connected the two... but this afternoon, I could not handle watching him trying to get through the barrier, so I put him back in the house that Amber and the babies were in. It broke my heart, watching him keep trying to go over to help his little girl take care of their babies.
He's *so* attentive. If Amber goes up to get something to eat or drink, or to take a run in the wheel, Gress stays down with their babies, keeping them warm and bathing them as needed. So very, very sweet.
You know... I wasn't planning for this. I didn't expect to have babies on our hands. I wasn't hoping for them. I must admit that maybe, somewhere in the back of my head, I might have subconsciously yearned for it, but it definitely wasn't a conscious decision.... But they are so precious, so amazing, so miraculous... Sometimes, I just want to weep - they're tiny little perfect things...
Did you know that baby hamsters chirp? It's so sweet, the way they sing out for Mommy and Daddy...
We got Gressy fixed yesterday. The vet we took him to said that she'd never neutered a dwarf hamster before, only rabbits, but that she was more than willing to try, and that she was lessening her normal rate for neutering, since this was going to be a learning experience for her. I thought that that was terribly nice of her. Gress is doing just fine. This morning, still a little groggy (I suspect), he climbed into my hand and dozed for a few minutes, which just melted my heart.
Since he needed to have ripped-up paper towels as bedding for a little bit post-surgery (the vet said that the cellulose bedding we usually use might catch on Gress' sutures, and we couldn't replace the bedding in the main house yet - we're supposed to not disturb their bedding for two weeks) and because we were concerned that the medicinal smell on Gress' skin and fur might alarm Amber and cause her to eat her babies protectively, (plus, let's face it - Gress might have had a better chance of healing without the babies and/or Amber bumping him in sensitive areas) we got a second house for them and closed off a tube that connected the two... but this afternoon, I could not handle watching him trying to get through the barrier, so I put him back in the house that Amber and the babies were in. It broke my heart, watching him keep trying to go over to help his little girl take care of their babies.
He's *so* attentive. If Amber goes up to get something to eat or drink, or to take a run in the wheel, Gress stays down with their babies, keeping them warm and bathing them as needed. So very, very sweet.
You know... I wasn't planning for this. I didn't expect to have babies on our hands. I wasn't hoping for them. I must admit that maybe, somewhere in the back of my head, I might have subconsciously yearned for it, but it definitely wasn't a conscious decision.... But they are so precious, so amazing, so miraculous... Sometimes, I just want to weep - they're tiny little perfect things...