About those Hamsters

I like having pets. I have lived on a farm, then our homestead, then in a succession of rented houses and apartments. Someday I may write about all the pets, livestock, and dogs over the last 45 years. I distinguish dogs from pets in my life because from the first dog as a senior in high school, I trained my dogs to do a job. I've always had working dogs, especially Australian Shepherds. My last dog, Chynna, was the epitome of my dog experience. She was trained in obedience, agility, assistance work and rudimentary scent work. She died almost three years ago just short of her 15th year. I don't feel like I have the time or energy to properly train a dog at this stage of my life. 

But the house felt too quiet and empty with no other living things. I wanted something that required minimal cage upkeep, relatively quiet, cute and fun to watch. I raised fancy rats for years, they are great and interactive companions, but needed to have the cage cleaned frequently and do not fare well with the heat in my usually unconditioned home. I wanted a desert animal, but gerbils (used to raise those too) are illegal here in southern California. 

Enter the dwarf hamster. From the deserts of Siberia, they can take the heat (up to 85 in my house) that my rats had suffered from. They urinate much less than rats and will use a litter box so their cage does not get very smelly. They are so small and adorable to watch and look at. I started with 4 robo hamsters (adopted through Craigslist), unbearably cute and tiny but not interactive. They really didn't seem to notice my existence. The next adoption was of two sister Campbell dwarf hamsters. Not as tiny, but they react to my presence. 

My first hamster study:

The top three are of Sydney, she loves to climb on the bars of her cage and sometimes wave her arms through the bars to try to get treats.

The bottom two sketches are Paris, only seen from above because she lives in a large plastic tub. I intend to do more hamster study sketches because they are so much fun.