Two Hamsters And A Hole

Mimi : We won't get very far if you keep getting in the way like this.
Momokuai : Well, I found the hole first!
Mimi : Excuuuuuse me, I knew all about this hole long before you were born.......

We Smell A Hole

Momokuai : Mom, I think I smell a hole here.....
Mimi : Yeah, just let me get a little closer and I will be able to reach those plastic inside.

The Pillow

Hand-sewn little pillow stuffed with red beans. I have sewn several for them and each time they get too soiled I have to throw them away. This is 2 days old. When Mimi was little she couldn't do without 2 things - her plastic house and her pillow. When she had stuffed enough food in her pouch the next thing she'd do is look for her house to deposit her food. If you change the house she will rush about frantically looking for the old one and she would look so utterly pathetic and lost that you just have to return her old house to her (I tried to giver her a bigger home). When she had her babies, she couldn't do without her pillow and little blanket. She must drag the pillow into her already very crammed apartment and use the little piece of blanket that I sewed for her to hide the door so I couldn't peep at her babies. Very mean -- after all that I had done for her. Now that her babies are all grown up, she can sleep anywhere and without her pillow. Her precious and memorable blanket has long been accidentally thrown out. By me. So sorry, Mimi!

I Don't Like To Sleep Alone

No matter how much space you give them they still want to find the narrowest space to snooze. Their favourite place, besides their plastic house, would be this tight spot under the tunnel. And they don't like to sleep alone. When they were a bit smaller you can find THREE of them snoozing inside that narrow tunnel, all plastered together.

Lean On Me

Mmm...hmmm..it sure is good to be able to lean on someone when you are that sleepy.

Ballin' Around

Due to its popularity (sometimes all 3 will force their way into one ball) I bought one ball for each hamster. Wear and tear sets in rapidly - what used to be clear plastic is now scratched and blurry. Poor hamsters will not be able to see the world clearly but then again I read that hamsters have very poor eyesight. However, I observed that the trouble is only with not being able to see food that they've dropped at their feet. When I call Mimi (she is the only one who responds to her name) from a distance, she will turn to look at me and come bouncing (rolling to be precise) to my feet. All pet lovers will understand that feeling of deep pleasure when their pets come bouncing/rolling when they call. It's worth all the crap picking and piss wiping.

The Ball

When I first bought this hamster ball it was lying around rather uselessly. All of them freaked out when I put them inside and scratched furiously to get out. So I just left it out in the porch with the other hamster wheels. Momokuai was the first one to venture inside and she would use it as her personal toilet cum cycling ball. Gradually they started to develop an affinity for it and now that they realise it's THE way to get onto the floor and roll all over the house, they will bite their cage furiously to let you know it's time for the ball! Momokuai is also the only one who is smart enough to open the door. Not just once but 3 times! She knows how to get the ball into a tight corner and she will start biting and clawing at the door endlessly until it comes loose. Food is the only way to coax her out of the darkest and most-difficult-to-reach corner (like the back of the couch or fridge) of the house.

Nibble Nibble

AnAn eating....again. Hamsters nibble all day long and even while they sleep. Or half asleep. She looks like a character from Batman.

Freedom

Who needs a hamster ball when I can get onto your lap and down your leg and onto the floor?? Mimi is the only one who loves climbing up my trousers and as far up as my neck. She doesn't shun human touch like her babies do and loves using me as her stepping stone to freedom. Well, that's what she thinks.

End Of The Tunnel

I am so sleepy...this tunnel is just too long....zzzzz

Rare Treats

I bought these for myself but found out that Mimi and the girls loooooove them. These biscuit fingers are about an inch and a half long but they can stuff the whole length into their pouches! If they can, they will steal from one another and the winner gets to look like Jay Leno. However, this is not a daily treat because they are salted.

Chestnuts

Another favorite - chestnuts!

Sweet Corn

Fresh sweet corn - a favorite food for my hamsters.

Never The Twain Shall Meet

This is not Momokuai but her father Momo. To prevent them from multiplying, all the males are separated from the females by a distance of.........500 kilometers. My sister has adopted all the males while the females remain with me. Do you know that hamsters breed monthly if allowed to? God forbid.

Those Were The Days My Friend

Those were the days when Ping, An, Momokuai and Le would snuggle up to mama Mimi for milk. When they fell out of their house Mimi would stick her head out sleepily and take them in her mouth to bring them back inside. Sometimes I have to wake her up to do that and if she is still in dreamland I would pick them up with chopsticks and put them back with her. I heard that if you pick them up with your hands she might eat them.....:( Now that they've grown I wonder if they know that is mama? Because there was one occasion when Mama and Momokuai bit each other drawing blood. I am learning that they are so unlike humans in many ways.....hamster lovers can't help treating them like babies all the time!

Nice N Fluffy

All nice and round and fluffy after their bath. Wish they would let me cuddle them! But hamsters being hamsters - they cannot stop scurrying about. Just wait till you're fast asleep.....

Bath Time

They hate getting bathed. I have to shake the hamster ball really hard to get them into the sink. Everything is done to make bath time a most comfortable time - water at just the right temperature, soft background music, nice dry towel to whisk them away before they get chilled, a good rub (no hair dryer now because the noise freaks them out) and an assortment of goodies for them to munch on as soon as I let them into their cage. And yet they hate bath time.

Mess!

Woke up at 6am to.....this! I have stuffed the hole with plastic, as compact as I possibly could AND with the help of a screwdriver. I went further to block it with their cage but Mimi still manages to do this everytime I let them out on the covered porch. AnAn is looking guilty for her mother's mess....Ok I am going shopping for bricks today.

Give Me A Pillow

The little pillow is a must when they want to snooze. It will be dutifully dragged into their little house. AnAn's getting bigger by the day - a little too big for the house.... :)

Momokuai

That's Momokuai at barely a month old, snuggling up to Mimi her mom. Why has she got such an odd name? Her dad is called Momo and out of a litter of 4, she is the only one who looks like Momo. We named the 4 "Ping An Kuai Le" for Peace and Happiness. She happened to be Kuai thus Momo-Kuai.