The Hamster Horror Story (Day 3 of Challenge30)
Poor old Leaflit. He was a second hand hamster if you like - well we got him when he was at least 1 and a half and he didn't last to Christmas. He could barely even walk, or feed himself in the last few days, bless him, so to be kind we took him to the vet, as we didn't want him to suffer anymore.
My five year old was very sad for about an hour, but when I said we could get a new one after school the following day, she cheered up, especially as I agreed to getting two!
My three year old as soon as she was told about Leaflit's demise, was like "Yay! We can get another hamster.
After all there were two hamster Christmas presents going spare.
So after school the next day, me and two excited girls went to the pet shop and fell in love with all the little rodents there. And so begins the hamster horror story...
Our favourites were the feisty Syrian hamster who was trying to eat through the glass, who the pet shop people had lovingly named Fat Harriet and two little Russian hamsters who the girls named Owlette and John on the spot. They decided they liked the little Russian hamsters more, so John and Owlette it was.
The lady at the shop made sure we had the right set up for them at home and I told her about Syrian hamster Leaflit, she packed them away in the pet box so we could carry them home. And carry home we did, as carefully as possible walking home, with the trusty double buggy.
We got home and I wanted to show my husband one, so I tried to pick one up and the little bugger jumped out my hands and zoomed under the sofa.
The next two hours involved dismantling the sofa, making rattling noises to try and keep the hamster moving and playing a intricate game of hide and seek tag, which 'John' was rather good at. In the end We finally got him with stealth tactics by putting a large tub over him and then some card underneath to keep him in and transport him (the classic spider catching trick) to the cage, where his brother 'Owlette' was already sleeping safe and sound in the hamster wheel.
A sigh of relief was sighed by all.
Next morning at ridiculous o'clock, my five year old came running into our bedroom saying the hamsters had gone!
I said "Don't worry, they'll be hidden under the wood shavings somewhere."
So I went to have a look, and ended up getting a chopstick to check every inch of the sawdust and the cage.
But THEY BOTH WERE NOT THERE!
They had squeezed out the cage bars. Our set up wasn't suitable after all.
I spotted something whizzing across the floor and under the sofa and realised it was the escape artist known as 'John'. After some more stealth tactics I managed to catch him and put him in the travel pet box.
The other one I had not seen one hair of and the door of the living had been open all night. He could be anywhere.
On the way to school, we decided we would take these hamsters back and get the feisty female BIG hamster. But first I had to locate the other hamster...
When I got back to the house, I thought I heard rustling noise, so I looked in a plastic box full of papers and notebooks and stuff that was near the hamster cage (that I had looked in at least 3 times already) and lo and behold there was the other escapee.
I called up the pet shop to tell them what had happened and arranged to return these two little ions of fun and pick up the aptly named fat Harriet - no chance she'd escape from the cage!
Once I had Harriet safely in a cardboard pet box, I popped just across the road to buy something from the Pound Shop, it was literally just 30 seconds away from the Pet Shop. As I was paying Harriet was emerging from carrier bag.
I rushed back to the pet shop.
They put Harriet in two cardboard boxes just to make sure I could get her home. I starting walking home as fast as I could (a 20 minute walk).
I stopped briefly to empty out my handbag, so if she did nibble through the boxes before I got home I'd had somewhere to put her. I could hear her constantly nibbling and kept an eye on her progress on the way home.
I made it back about three quarters of the way and she was out, trying to get out the bag. I grabbed her, almost dropped her on the pavement (that would have been the end) and got her in my handbag and prayed she wouldn't nibble a hole in that.
5 minutes later we were home.
My handbag safe and sound, apart from a little 'present'.
And I got Harriet into her new home, safe in the knowledge that she could not squeeze through the bars.
Hamster Horror Story Over.
I hope.
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Hamsters, to be taken with a grain of salt, not meaning that you actually need to eat them... ;) Thanks for the story. Namaste :)
nice