Hamsters as Pets

Ever thought to yourself, "Gosh... I wish I had a ridiculously cute pet that took little to no time out of my day, but was also fun to play with"? Well, for those of you out there that were shaking your heads in agreement, I have the answer: dwarf hamsters. Not just one - many. Get three or four. Heck - go nuts and buy a fish tank full of em. And here's why.

Dwarf hamsters, in all honesty, must be the cutest rodent - ever. Not to diminish the cuteness of other furry creatures, but these little guys will have you "oo'ing", and "aww'ing" and using baby talk despite your willpower - regardless of how masculine a man you may be. You have to change their cage every (or every other) week, refresh their food every couple days, and make sure they have water. That's it. Other than that, they're just little fur balls of cuteness that entertain you endlessly.

I have three of my own: Mumble, Scrat, and Buttercup. My boyfriend and I started out with the genius idea to name them after our favorite animated animals from the movies... and then we ran out of ideas. Hence the "Buttercup". Mumble is probably the most thankful, adorable, and loving animal alive that is dwarfed (no pun intended) by a walnut. She cuddles up next to your hand, can't wait for you to pick her up, will come out to say hi to you any time of day, gives you legitimate hugs (she can only reach half the circumference of your pinky, but it's the thought that counts) and gives little, tiny kisses. Buttercup is a little fatter than Mumble with the same brownish caramel coloring, and she's a little rough around the edges. Dwarf hamsters are nocturnal, so they sleep a lot during the day. And unlike Mumble, she really enjoys her sleep. So, waking her up isn't the smartest move in the world, but if you give her a sliver of carrot to apologize, she'll forgive you instantly. They both love getting in their balls and rolling around the house. And they always come rolling right back to their mommy for attention. They love their family.

And then there's Scrat. There's a reason I'm speaking of him last. Scrat is... well, we call him "Satan". Let me preface this with saying that he is confined to his very own cage equipped with all the luxuries a hamster could ever want. One day, a few months after we got them all, he just snapped. Decided he hated everything. People, other hamsters, even his wheel. Hates it all. Will go after the other hammys and your hand with a taste for blood. Will chew on the side of his wheel for hours. Will tip over any food or water you may give him. Will stand on his tip toes and scratch incessantly as the side of his plastic habitat for hours. Yes, hours. He will bite you with his little sharp teeth and won't let go until you fling him into a wall. He wants blood. He's small, and lean, gray and white, and has adorable little eyes just begging you to play with him and hand feed him pieces of corn (or other small morsels of food that appear cute in small amounts). And as soon as you do, he'll make you wish he were dead.

Obviously not a testament for how cute and adorable and perfect a pet they are. Well, he's the exception. There's something mentally wrong with him that we can't correct, and there's not a whole lot you can do for an animal like that. He's content with gnawing on the side of a plastic water dish all alone - power to him. As for the "good ones", as we call them, they're perfect. It's hard to describe how utterly adorable and entertaining they are without images or video, but I'm going to try. For instance, I'll wake Mumble up from her little cocoon she's made in the bedding because I'm home from work and I've decided I need companionship. She's more than happy to come see me, and after a little yawn, she'll climb right into my hand. I'll greet her with some pets on her head (and body - it's very hard just to pet her tiny head!) and feed her a little morsel of something that's lying around. She grabs it with her teeny tiny paws and shoves it in her face. After she's done, she vacuums up the little mess she might have made, gives me a couple little licks and then gives me the sweetest face you've ever seen. And it means, "Thank you, I adore you for taking care of me". That makes any of the cage cleaning, and little bites from Scrat worth it.

Who said "rodents" don't have personalities?