Chinese Mousiness

Friday, 5 January 2007
Chinese Mousiness
Mood: cheeky
Now Playing: with the Beijing Opera
Topic: Chinese Mouse

Okay, skip this posting if you're not into hamsters...

Chinese Hammy Photo Gallery Links.

So you can understand why I call my pet "Mousey" when he's a hammy...

And to see what he looks like—

Click the following links herebelow...

http://goto.glocalnet.net/natal/ham/chinese.htm — I'm putting this one at top because Benji looks just like my Mousey. Note the platypus-tail. That's his gonads under there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Hamster — the original and best Wikipedia description. The hammy illustrated, though is a "white spotted," whereas mine comes in normal natural colour. To see a rather unflattering snap of what he actually looks like (when stressed) click below. My hammy's on the left.

http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/chinese_hamsters.htm — my Mousey's pictured on the left.

http://uk.ask.com/web?q=pictures+of+chinese+hamsters&qsrc=1&o=322&l=dir&dm=all — a gallery of gleddymousey pixx, including one newborn...

http://www.aub.dk/~zannie/hamster/dwarf.htm — a whole gaggle of dwarf hammies, Chinese included...

http://www.hamsterhideout.com/breedschinese.html — another comparison; a gledwood one and a white...

http://www.hamsterific.com/ChineseHamster.cfm — "a Chinese hamster is sometimes called a Mouster"...

http://www.midlandhamsterclub.co.uk/hamster/chinese.html — the (UK) Midlands Hamster Club has some really good online info for glorified-rat-with-pouches-o-files...

http://members.shaw.ca/petitepaws/chdwf.html — a photo of a Mummy with really cute babies. The accompanying text is particularly perceptive for anyone thinking of buying a pet or wanting tips on handling. These animals are very easy to keep but you need to know e.g. they're extremely shortsighted, they orient themselves by sound, whisker-impressions and smell, etc etc just some things that seem very obvious when you know the animals but may take some getting acquainted with...

OK this is my last hammy link but one:—

*******

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Gerbils-Hamsters-2005/Wobbly-Chinese-Hamster.htm — this Q&As page for all rodent-lovers is pretty much here for my own reference...

Of the hamster types available as pets I've had loads of Syrians (mostly as a kid) though about ten years ago I had my famous golden hamster Pandable (named after the big black poppy eyes). He was much loved. My Aussie friends (who come from a country where hamsters are banned to prevent the influx of nonindigenous vermin) said he looked like a cartoon character! Pandable lived to the glorious (for a hamster) age of 3½. Four people came to his funeral (let's face it, that's more than many humans get) and sang All Things Bright and Beautiful. The hymn wasn't my idea (I love my pets but I'm not THAT soppy) but it was a beautiful song. A couple of years ago I had a Campbells and a Siberian winter white living together. Unfortunately the winter white died (of old age, I suspect; I bought them from a dodgy shop) and the Campbells, who was a tiny baby when I got him, was still grooming his dead housemate's fur, which was heartbreaking... Anyway my Campbells Condensed eventually ran to the wheel in the sky and now I have the Chinese Mouse who is the tamest pet rodent I've ever had bar none. If I pick him out of his nest (he has FIVE nests, lazy swine!) sleeping, cup my hand round him so just his head's poking out, he v often continues to doze, he likes to be stroked on his furry forehead... then eventually he wakes with a start, realizes he's not in bed and decides to go for a ramble. When he's determined to move there's no stopping this animal, but most of the time, I have to say (just as Wikipedia put it ) he does display an endearing gentleness of character. Remember I mentioned a disappointing attempted photo session because I just could not capture his true likeness... well the picture of Benji (click http://goto.glocalnet.net/natal/ham/chinese.htm) does sum up some of the Chinese hammy warmth of personality.

The only hammies I've never owned are Roborovski dwarves. Have a click on this: http://goto.glocalnet.net/natal/ham/raborov.htm they are tiny! And you can keep hoardes of 'em together! Which is so entertaining. Especially when you have one running the wheel one way and then another gets on, determined to go for a spin in the opposite direction...!




Posted by gledwood at 7:48 PM GMT
Updated: Saturday, 6 January 2007 12:55 AM GMT
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Comments Page 1 of 1
Saturday, 6 January 2007 - 2:15 AM GMT

Name: "chipper"
Home Page: http://playingwithfire.blogdrive.com

Your hamster myust be cute! The pictures are adorable. Wow, I should have a pet. I miss my cat. I lost him in the divorce (like just about everything else ...).

Reply to this Comment
Saturday, 6 January 2007 - 5:13 PM GMT

Name: "Gledwood"
Home Page: http://gledwood.tripod.com/blog
E-Mail: hammynutter@lycos.com

Well you should get a kitten then. I'd have a cat if I had room. I went for a mouster mainly because he is so little (he was smaller than a clipper lighter when I bought him) and can live in a 10"x10"x18" glass box (fishtank) no problem. Obviously if you're going to have both animals you need enough room to shut hammy away so I can't really do this, also I'm in a room without direct access to the street or back garden. (I know some Americans keep house cats, but that's v unusual here. People like to let their cats out.) I used to have a cat in my teens. She was born in our house because our friends' cat was pregnant and staying (I can't recall why Kitty would have been at our house but she was) she gave birth to a clutch of kittens. We took the smallest one, brown all over called Coco. Because we had her since birth I knew her since she was absolutely tiny. She used to sit up in the palm of my hand (hamster size) and climb up my jeans with her claws to get to me. She was very tame. I taught her to lie down like a baby and go to sleep (I'd never had a cat before so I didn't see how odd this was). When she got older she went jet black. (Black cats are supposed to be lucky here, but they're unlucky in some other places (like Portugual, I think).) Yeah, I would have another cat if I could. I like dogs too but dogs are one hell of a responsibility. I used to know a Rottweiler called Chiquita (what a name for a 14 stone dog!) Even the police said she was well behaved ... (our police used to use dogs a LOT, but you don't see so much of them these days). Oh man I've got lost in my own typing... I said all I wanted to, surely...

Reply to this Comment
Saturday, 6 January 2007 - 5:16 PM GMT

Name: "Gledwood"
Home Page: http://gledwood.tripod.com/blog
E-Mail: hammynutter@lycos.com

Oh yeah, I was going to say if I had a dog I'd want a Rottweiler if it was anything like that one... they're very expensive though... £400-£800 I think.