lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
Kiwi's story is sad in the beginning. She was born and lived with all her siblings in a tiny plastic tote (there were 7 of them in there), boxo, a water bottle and each other...no wheel, no house, nothing to build a nest with.
They were owned by a bunch of asian kids whose parents worked or owned a souvenir store near my work and they left the hamsters there for the kids to play with.
Almost every day I would walk by and see those poor hamsters...the kids picking them up any which way, bopping them on the head, laughing, letting them run on hot pavement on the sidewalk in front of the store (almost getting stepped on by the foot traffic on Spadina). The tote (with no house) was left out in the full sun all day (and we have had some insanely hot days). There was one day that was actually cold and the hamsters were huddled together and barely moving
Soon after this I decided that even if I couldn't help the hamsters I could try to improve their life a bit. I took a small wheel and a tiny igloo to the store, and when I went there I found the tiny plastic tote with just one hamster in it and tucked far away in a corner. I went to talk to the mom, as the kids weren't around. She at first had NO clue what I was talking about...then said "ohhh the rat?". I told her they were hamsters and she told me some had been sold and some had died. She had seen me over the weeks and said I could have the last one if I wanted as they didn't want it anymore.
So poor little Kiwi came home in a small box with me.
She was defensive and still rarely opens her eyes. She was also starving as they didn't have a real diet, just whatever random nuts the kids tossed in there...she was actually taking Oxbow from my hands almost as soon as I got her home. I had to be careful not to get bitten as to her Hands = Abuse/Fear
September 1st I noticed Kiwi had a bigger belly and her nipples were bare like a rat who grooms the fur off around the nipples...I checked on Hamster Hideout forum and was assured she was pregnant...mass reading/information overload time as hamsters and their litters are very different.
Her biting had improved out of the cage, she was much more relaxed with my gentle treatment (less the scruffing for a second to get the belly pic).
Kiwi gave birth to 3 babies but one was stilborn or was culled right after it was born, but she does still have the 2 remaining pups. I am not allowed to touch them for 2 weeks as the mom will kill any pups with my scent on them...I am advised not to clean the cage, just put in water and food. I did remove the dead pup with a plastic spoon...soooo tiny!
So in awhile you will get pics of Kiwi and her babies (if they survive) but only text updates until then
They were owned by a bunch of asian kids whose parents worked or owned a souvenir store near my work and they left the hamsters there for the kids to play with.
Almost every day I would walk by and see those poor hamsters...the kids picking them up any which way, bopping them on the head, laughing, letting them run on hot pavement on the sidewalk in front of the store (almost getting stepped on by the foot traffic on Spadina). The tote (with no house) was left out in the full sun all day (and we have had some insanely hot days). There was one day that was actually cold and the hamsters were huddled together and barely moving
Soon after this I decided that even if I couldn't help the hamsters I could try to improve their life a bit. I took a small wheel and a tiny igloo to the store, and when I went there I found the tiny plastic tote with just one hamster in it and tucked far away in a corner. I went to talk to the mom, as the kids weren't around. She at first had NO clue what I was talking about...then said "ohhh the rat?". I told her they were hamsters and she told me some had been sold and some had died. She had seen me over the weeks and said I could have the last one if I wanted as they didn't want it anymore. So poor little Kiwi came home in a small box with me.
She was defensive and still rarely opens her eyes. She was also starving as they didn't have a real diet, just whatever random nuts the kids tossed in there...she was actually taking Oxbow from my hands almost as soon as I got her home. I had to be careful not to get bitten as to her Hands = Abuse/Fear
September 1st I noticed Kiwi had a bigger belly and her nipples were bare like a rat who grooms the fur off around the nipples...I checked on Hamster Hideout forum and was assured she was pregnant...mass reading/information overload time as hamsters and their litters are very different.
Her biting had improved out of the cage, she was much more relaxed with my gentle treatment (less the scruffing for a second to get the belly pic).
Kiwi gave birth to 3 babies but one was stilborn or was culled right after it was born, but she does still have the 2 remaining pups. I am not allowed to touch them for 2 weeks as the mom will kill any pups with my scent on them...I am advised not to clean the cage, just put in water and food. I did remove the dead pup with a plastic spoon...soooo tiny!
So in awhile you will get pics of Kiwi and her babies (if they survive) but only text updates until then
