surprise ham
So long story short... I now have two hamsters.
Long story: today at work some friends were going to petco for lunch, I jokingly said “oh can you get me a hamster while you’re there?” well, a little while later I get a call from one of them saying “omg they are giving away a free hamster! We’re sending you a picture right now”
I couldn’t very well have a hamster at work but I said I would stop by after work to check it out.
So that night I go to petco and I ask the employees about the free ham. They tell me they don’t have any hams for sale right now. I’m like are you sure?
I should point out that the employees are all maybe late teens to early 20s and seem to have no idea what is going on, how to deal with animals, or even show any signs of wanting to be there at all.
So I start looking around myself, and I find this poor lil hammy in a tiny lil carrier thing. A plastic box that’s is slightly bigger than he is, and there is a hole in the top so he could have easily climbed out. He was under one of the registers! The poor lil guy had a bowl of water but he was so freaked out he kept running through it and getting himself all wet.
I tried to get someone to come and help me but I was waiting a long time, during which I took out the lil guy and made sure he was ok. He was so sweet. Scared but he didn’t bite and he had the cutest lil face.
All the employees said that they weren’t sure what his deal was cuz they had just gotten there but he was free.
It was busy in there and a couple came in and started cooing over the lil guy. I tried to get her to adopt him but her boyfriend convinced her not to get it. Some other families came in with kids. Everyone stopped to look at this lil ham cuz he was so cute. But it didn’t seem like anyone was going to take him.
I made one of the employees put him in an empty hamster cage in the meantime. The real ones they have for the hams they sell. I said, “He doesn’t even have a wheel or food” so he let me put him in a big cage and he immediately started running on his wheel.
He was just so cute and sweet and I felt so bad for him and frankly I was scared to leave him there. No one had even given him food yet even though I asked twice. They told me they would. But I said “To be honest I don’t have the highest confidence in that right now since when I got here he was under a register and no one even knew about him”
I waited a bit longer to watch him and see how he was doing. And then another employee came in and she said she knew what his deal was because she had brought him in. Turned out he was part of a litter that all had gotten wet tail. All of his brothers had died except for him. He had wet tail but was treated and got better and had been healthy for almost two months so now they were giving him away because he couldn’t be sold. She said he was brought in that morning. She also told me he wasn’t any older than 4 months at the most. (she also said that he had spent the night in that dreadful tiny box in her car!! "so she wouldn't forget him this morning" even though its COLD out)
I wasn’t really planning to get another ham. Especially a boy ham (I’ve only ever had girls) but he was so sweet and I just couldn’t leave him there!
Also, Pringles hasn’t been active lately. For some reason she stopped eating... I mean she must be cuz she’s alive but her food bowl remains full all the time. And even the yogurt drops and seeds sometimes sit out for days. I haven’t seen her on her wheel that much either lately. She spends a lot of time in her house. :(
I got her some new food to see if that would help. It’s the mixed kind which I try to stay away from but I figured id give it a shot and sure enough she picked out some pumpkin seeds right away and hid them. So that was a good sign. And then I saw her on her wheel later. So maybe she’s just winding down with age?
She’s about a year and a half.
She seems fine otherwise. Healthy looking. No lumps or bumps. Still skinny at around 150-160 but she’s always been thin like that. Fur is thick and normal.
Anyway with this new guy I figured it might be good for me. If Pringles is winding down I am not ready to say bye to her yet. Having a younger have overlap her might help with the transition.
Right now I'm just trying it out to see if it works. I told the petco people that if it doesn’t I would bring him back (though most likely I'd find him a forever home myself on craigslist rather than take him there again)
I put him in his own cage and I bought him new bedding and an igloo and a wheel and he’s in the living room with Pringles but far enough away that I hope it doesn’t stress her out. I haven’t noticed her come out yet so I hope she doesn’t smell him and freak out.
And I hope he doesn't get too stressed and get sick again.We’ll see how it goes this wknd and if I end up keeping him…
So anyway, that’s how I ended up with 2 again :)
Oh and he doesn’t have a name yet... but maybe Henry or Harry (I've been watching a lot of the Tudors lately)
Long story: today at work some friends were going to petco for lunch, I jokingly said “oh can you get me a hamster while you’re there?” well, a little while later I get a call from one of them saying “omg they are giving away a free hamster! We’re sending you a picture right now”
I couldn’t very well have a hamster at work but I said I would stop by after work to check it out.
So that night I go to petco and I ask the employees about the free ham. They tell me they don’t have any hams for sale right now. I’m like are you sure?
I should point out that the employees are all maybe late teens to early 20s and seem to have no idea what is going on, how to deal with animals, or even show any signs of wanting to be there at all.
So I start looking around myself, and I find this poor lil hammy in a tiny lil carrier thing. A plastic box that’s is slightly bigger than he is, and there is a hole in the top so he could have easily climbed out. He was under one of the registers! The poor lil guy had a bowl of water but he was so freaked out he kept running through it and getting himself all wet.
I tried to get someone to come and help me but I was waiting a long time, during which I took out the lil guy and made sure he was ok. He was so sweet. Scared but he didn’t bite and he had the cutest lil face.
All the employees said that they weren’t sure what his deal was cuz they had just gotten there but he was free.
It was busy in there and a couple came in and started cooing over the lil guy. I tried to get her to adopt him but her boyfriend convinced her not to get it. Some other families came in with kids. Everyone stopped to look at this lil ham cuz he was so cute. But it didn’t seem like anyone was going to take him.
I made one of the employees put him in an empty hamster cage in the meantime. The real ones they have for the hams they sell. I said, “He doesn’t even have a wheel or food” so he let me put him in a big cage and he immediately started running on his wheel.
He was just so cute and sweet and I felt so bad for him and frankly I was scared to leave him there. No one had even given him food yet even though I asked twice. They told me they would. But I said “To be honest I don’t have the highest confidence in that right now since when I got here he was under a register and no one even knew about him”
I waited a bit longer to watch him and see how he was doing. And then another employee came in and she said she knew what his deal was because she had brought him in. Turned out he was part of a litter that all had gotten wet tail. All of his brothers had died except for him. He had wet tail but was treated and got better and had been healthy for almost two months so now they were giving him away because he couldn’t be sold. She said he was brought in that morning. She also told me he wasn’t any older than 4 months at the most. (she also said that he had spent the night in that dreadful tiny box in her car!! "so she wouldn't forget him this morning" even though its COLD out)
I wasn’t really planning to get another ham. Especially a boy ham (I’ve only ever had girls) but he was so sweet and I just couldn’t leave him there!
Also, Pringles hasn’t been active lately. For some reason she stopped eating... I mean she must be cuz she’s alive but her food bowl remains full all the time. And even the yogurt drops and seeds sometimes sit out for days. I haven’t seen her on her wheel that much either lately. She spends a lot of time in her house. :(
I got her some new food to see if that would help. It’s the mixed kind which I try to stay away from but I figured id give it a shot and sure enough she picked out some pumpkin seeds right away and hid them. So that was a good sign. And then I saw her on her wheel later. So maybe she’s just winding down with age?
She’s about a year and a half.
She seems fine otherwise. Healthy looking. No lumps or bumps. Still skinny at around 150-160 but she’s always been thin like that. Fur is thick and normal.
Anyway with this new guy I figured it might be good for me. If Pringles is winding down I am not ready to say bye to her yet. Having a younger have overlap her might help with the transition.
Right now I'm just trying it out to see if it works. I told the petco people that if it doesn’t I would bring him back (though most likely I'd find him a forever home myself on craigslist rather than take him there again)
I put him in his own cage and I bought him new bedding and an igloo and a wheel and he’s in the living room with Pringles but far enough away that I hope it doesn’t stress her out. I haven’t noticed her come out yet so I hope she doesn’t smell him and freak out.
And I hope he doesn't get too stressed and get sick again.We’ll see how it goes this wknd and if I end up keeping him…
So anyway, that’s how I ended up with 2 again :)
Oh and he doesn’t have a name yet... but maybe Henry or Harry (I've been watching a lot of the Tudors lately)
