Snubbed by a Hamster

ANOTHER "STODGHILL SAYS SO" BLOG:

Sophie, the little hamster who has lived with us for about ten months, rightly feels she is one of the family and expects to be treated accordingly. When she wakes up about eight in the evening and comes down from the nest she has built on the fourth floor of her cage she expects to find the door open.
She checks to make sure everything is just as it should be, watches television for a minute or so, then comes out and strolls around the top of the table. This goes on for a while, then when she tires of it she stands by her plastic ball. When it has been turned so she can climb inside, she is ready to roll from room to room looking for places where she can get stuck and has to be rescued.
But last night she overslept. When she finally came down it was only fifteen minutes before our bedtime so the cage door was closed and locked. This annoyed her so she stared at Jackie for a minute or so. This failed to produce results so she tried it with me. Again no reaction. Angry now, she tried gnawing on the bars on the door. Even this proved futile so she went up to her second floor and turned her back on us. This is a hamster's way of showing she feels nothing but contempt for everyone present. Turn your back, that'll show 'em.
I hated to go to bed with Sophie feeling she has been badly mistreated so I tempted her with a favorite treat, a hamster yogurt drop. She continued the snub for a short time, then the desire for a treat overcame her disdain. She came over, took the yogurt drop, went down to the first floor with it and turned her back on me.
So that's the way it goes when you displease a hamster. They don't forgive what they see as poor treatment, at least not easily.This morning Sophie was ready to be her usual sweet self again. Being offered a few sunflower seeds and a raisin helped. It's a tough job, staying on a hamster's good side.

My two kids had hamsters when they were little. Loved this story. Thanks for the memories, Dick!

Rats are the same... they have to have their routine. If I were to forget to give Maris her chocolate drop after she's taken her antibiotics she'd speak to the union and there would be an all out strike.

Dick,
If you substitute the word hampster for wife, would there be a big difference?

Dick, even your titles make me smile, and I must dive in to see what is going on with you. Thank you for the lighter side of life that you share with us, as well as all the other offerings.

Pets all seem to have their own personalities, and each is endearing to us. They truly enrich our lives, regardless of their size. They are so forgiving and trusting.

Abe, I think you could put most any name from a household in place of hamster, and it would be quite true. My cat and Al would both fit!

My sister had a hamster once. I think her name was Georgina. Her cage sat on top of the TV stand, very close to the front window. Mum hung some pretty new drapes and Geogina must have thought they would be a nice too, so she pulled the drape into her cage and chewed a four inch hole into it and padded her bedroom very nicely. My mum never really got over it; I think the hamster was off the "cute" list after that.

Poor Georgina was just doing what comes naturally. In the hamster world, anything within reach belongs to them. The air slits on their plastic balls are very thin so it's amazing what they can pull through them. If while rolling around in the ball, a hamster goes back to the same place every day and spends a lot of time there you can bet he has found something to pull inside and put in his pouches. They don't understand why that isn't perfectly okay. After all, it's right there in plain sight and they are one of the family, aren't they?

Dick Stodghill wrote:

They don't understand why that isn't perfectly okay. After all, it's right there in plain sight and they are one of the family, aren't they?

Exactly. If carpet, for example, wasn't there to be chewed then why is it put on the floor, so close to small nibbling mouths?

That being said, two of my ratty girls won't take anything unless they get the green light from me, even an open bag of chocolate drops is only sniffed until they know they can go ahead and take a few.

One of the family Dick? If my kids were nibbling on the drapes, I think I would have a whole lot to say to them, but that hamster never seemed to listen. Just looked at you and twitched her whiskers like "who, me?"

Gina your rats have a lot more willpower than I do. Chocolate and I go back a looong way!

Pam wrote:

Gina your rats have a lot more willpower than I do. Chocolate and I go back a looong way!

Same here. If they wait too long they find that the packet is miraculously empty and mommy is mysteriously sticky in the lip department.

Dear Dick,
I really like Sophie's accommodations. I could live there if I were a tad bit smaller.

I see that you and Jackie have given much thought to her comfort and entertainment. Is there a TV in that compartment? I can just see her sitting on the hampster couch and eating raisons and sipping vitamin water watching Rescuers Down Under. She is a beaut!

love,
Betty

You pretty much described Sophie's life, Betty. She doesn't have her own TV set but she enjoys watching Jackie's 25-inch set. She doesn't care too much for my little 13-inch set beside it. Maybe she just doesn't like the History Channel or old black and white movies on TCM.

Abe F. March wrote:

Dick,
If you substitute the word hampster for wife, would there be a big difference?

I hope so.

Glad to see you here, Alice. I told you it was a good place.

Dick

When you are right, you are so right. You are always right!
Thank you so much for telling me about it.


Best,

Alice