Adopting Beanie, My First Hamster

I had been researching, DIYing and buying hamster supplies for almost a month when the exciting day arrived. The day I would get my very first hamster. He was going to be a male, brown or black eyed, Golden, shorthaired Syrian, and I wanted to name him Sunchip.

On Saturday, February 9th, 2019 my family and I left to get my hamster. After the seemingly eternal drive we arrived at a pet shop and hurried inside. I struggled to contain my excitement as I rushed to the hamster section, where I was told by  Employee-Dude that they had no male hamsters, to prevent accidental litters. Oh well, I’d get a female. We had checked another shop but their hamsters were too young to sell, so I was limited to the selection in the one store.

I browsed the hamsters. I saw a pretty Black Syrian, and several Golden Syrians, and I admired the adorable Roborovskis. Then I caught a glimpse of a Mink-Banded Syrian, fast asleep with her siblings in a plastic igloo. She was longhaired, but I still decided to take a look at her.

Employee-Girl took the little mink-banded hamster out. I realized she had red eyes, not super red, but more of a burgendy. The hamster peed on Employee-Girl, who was probably thinking she was losing a sale because hamsters pee like any other living thing, and the hamster leaped from her pee-covered hands and fell four feet onto the cement floor. I was immediately concerned, but the hamster seemed fine. Employee-Girl quickly scooped her up and I held the adorable little hamster, who proceeded to poop on me.

I was not phased by a little hamster poop because I was stuck in awe-mode. Her soft fur, prickly little claws, twitchy little pink nose, tiny toes, and beige and white coat! She was more than amazing. It was indescribable. I knew that this feisty, adorable, soft, precious, marvelous hamster had to be mine. While I was in another world the hamster started to squirm, as she wasn’t tame, and she brought me back to the present.

Employee-Girl gently took my hamster from me and returned her to the tank. I knew she was the one, and I didn’t need to hold any more hamsters. I excitedly told Employee-Girl I wanted the hamster, and while Employee-Girl left to get a carrier box Employee-Dude came over and started talking about hamsters. He said something along the lines of, “Syrian hamsters hate tubes and will get stuck in them, and Russian Dwarf hamsters are more aggressive.” I knew he was gabbing false information so I nodded politely trying not to start blasting hamster care information at him. After all, I was just the customer who knew nothing about hamsters and had only spent a month researching their care.

When Employee-Girl came back she put my hamster into a cardboard carrier with some bedding and Oxbow kibble. We signed a paper and headed to the front desk. After paying we wrapped the box in a jacket because our Februaries are always nasty, and we carefully dashed to the car and set off for home with my female, red eyed, Mink-Banded, longhaired Syrian hamster, named Beanie.

Some Thoughts:

  • I should have bought/brought a hard plastic carrier; hamsters are known to chew out of those cardboard boxes and get lost in cars.
  • Don’t expect to get the same colouration as you planned!
  • Always get the species you planned on getting, no matter how cute the other species are.
  • Have everything set up at home so you can get your hamster into the cage ASAP.
  • Do all of your own hamster care research.

This post was so much fun to write, and I hope you enjoyed it! If you’re interested in more hamster-related content be sure to like this post and follow the blog, and I’ll be back on Tuesday with more small pet care, DIYs, recipes, cage setups, stories and more, have a ham-tastic day!

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