By Carol Stiffler
Interested in a hamster? Email nbynews@mynewberrynews.com.
Our newsroom looks a bit like a zoo right now.
We’ve got the resident cats, Toby and Agnes, and sometimes the giant goldendoodle, Jake.
For a while now, we’ve also had Hammy and Sammy, a pair of hamsters one of us rescued after recently finding them unceremoniously dumped on the icy sidewalk.
We brought them to the office – naturally – and named them Hammy and Sammy. They’re classic, fawn-colored beauties. Hammy is the rowdy one; Sammy is more of an introvert. They both seemed to be girls, but we aren’t hamster professionals. While we wondered what to do with them, we set them up in a cozy cage and gave them fluff, food, and water.
About 10 days into their residency, they made a big ruckus and we peeked at them… and found a handful of tiny pink hamster babies.
Sammy went first, producing nine offspring. Well done, Sammy. Great—but shocking—work.
Hammy was second, and she gave birth to seven babies later that same day.
We hadn’t intended to own hamsters, and we certainly didn’t hope to own 18 hamsters. Yet we now have two adult female hamsters and 16 hamster children. Eight. Teen. Hamsters.
No, we have no regrets about rescuing them off the frigid sidewalk. That was quite cruel, but they’re safe now; their past chapter has slammed closed.
The babies have soft fur now, and their eyes have opened. Most have dark eyes, but one baby has red eyes. Some of the babies like to run on the exercise wheel. On Monday, we gave them tiny pieces of corn tortilla chips, and they ran around with them in their mouths like tiny puppies. They make us laugh and coo.
The pet store in Sault Ste. Marie declined to take them in and get them adopted, so we’re trying to rehome them. Do you know anyone who wants a hamster?
We’d like them to go to kind homes, and we’ve got some fluff and food to send home with them. We don’t have 18 cages or watering bottles, though, so we hope you can find those at a shop in town.
To be a good hamster parent, you just need to be kind and willing. Keep them safe at home, and feed and water them. We’ll be separating them by gender as soon as we can tell them apart so our 18 hamsters don’t turn into 88 hamsters.
Hamster math could be a new thing.
Free hamster with your new subscription?
Free hamster for your kid’s birthday?
Free hamster for your cat to watch like Hamster TV?
How can we help you realize all your hamster dreams?
If you’re wondering if your hamster would eat you if you died, National Geographic magazine assures you that yes, it would. But the odds are truly in your favor. Go for it!
Interested in a hamster? Email nbynews@mynewberrynews.com.
