Monday, May 4, 2009

How About A Hamster?

" Isn't she cute? "

I have been considering whether I would like to get a hamster. Jay has one (it is a dwarf hamster named Jet.) and he seems to enjoy that. We talked about it today and he said that looking after Jet is relatively easy and that watching him play and playing with him is fun. Well, I have Coco and D'Argo and they are awesome. Would they eat my new friend? Also, my right wrist is incapable of twisting normally -- would I have trouble holding my pet? And of course there is the challenge of actually having my parents let me get one. That ought to be fun.

But I have started researching. It seems that hamsters come in three broad varieties: Syrian, which are the larger ones. Dward, which are the smaller ones. And Chinese which are smaller but more mellow then the dwarf ones. Within those there are other variations but I am going to keep this simple here. Apparently, Syrian hamsters are 100% solitary and each one owned needs its own cage. Dwarf and Chinese hamsters can be in pairs or groups provided that you get the bunch at the same time.

I am still not 100% sure which species that I want to buy. I think I want my hamster to be brown, which likely rules out the Winter White Dwarf hamster. Nothing against that breed -- its just that Coco is white and D'Argo is black so a brown hamster seems like it would be unique. I think that there are steps that I need to take before I can really think of going and getting my new pet though. Those are as follows:

1) Get a book on hamsters so that I can research them properly. This may cause me to choose between the larger Syrian variety and the smaller Dwarf counterparts.

2) Go to a pet store and look at / hold different hamsters to see what it is like. Do I like them as much up close as I do in pictures? They look cute but closer evaluation might prove they are not right for me at all. I need to know this before I buy one.

3) Find out how much different things cost. How much is a good cage (I want a quality one -- not some $10 piece of crap!). How much are toys? Treats? A hamster ball? A stand-alone wheel? A hamster house? Food? Vitamin additions for water? The list goes on and on. And of course -- how expensive is a hamster and does it need to go to the vet for anything as a baby? (The way a cat or dog might.)

4) The last preparatory step is to choose where I will be housing my new pet (my nightstand or my dresser are my best guesses right now.) and (ew) making sure that my family will actually let me get one. I am not Mike or Shawn -- I do not just walk in with a living breathing creature without announcing it. Especially when it is small enough to be easily drowned!

5) Finally, if all goes according to plan, I get to go out and get my new pet. Ideally I want to buy everything together so that I can make sure that the equipment I buy will be the right size for the hamster I choose. Then it is just a matter of bringing my little buddy home and letting him / her get adjusted to their new life.

Anyway, this one is going to take some time. My mother is like "Ew! Why would you want a hamster? We already have Coco and D'Argo." So we shall see. Anyway, I just wanted to get the thought out there. You know what they say about positive thinking, hm?

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