Hampster Rolly Balls...'Fun Fun!'

Much to my dismay, my daughter decided (un-beknownst to me) to purchase a wee critter ~ Hampster.

Since she's been working steadilly at 'Tim Hortons', she thought she'd buy this vermant and take care of it. 'Surprisingly'...she has taken care of it - pretty good, I might add, for the past 2 months.

Her next trick of venue, was purchasing a Hampster Ball

.

The unfortuneate thing (mostly for the wee critter), is the fact that, when I work long hours, my son has taken a shining to spinning the 'hampster ball', and trying to 'dizz-out' the poor thing.

It's a sick scenerio....or rather (I'm waiting for the hampster to re-gurge it's 'little prizey's' into the ball).

I wouldn't label my son as 'cruel' (he's far from that), however, I've found him to be 'over-zealous' when he extends his 'playtime'.

The wee critter must have a 'hay-day' everytime he's around. I try to hide the critter; unfortunatley, sonny-boy finds my hiding spots.

What is it with kids?

I know I was once a kid, but...I never felt the need to dizz-out my pets.




[edit on 5-12-2007 by TheDuckster]

Ok...

I've accidently 'kicked the poor hampster ball tonite - was struggling to go to the bathroom.

That poor S.O.B. went flying. Jeeese...can that hammy ball sail. Didn't mean it...

My son wasn't anywhere in sight. Thank God. Probably would've heard an 'Olympic Kicking Score

My sister had one of those when we were much, much younger. It was really funny watching my cat bat the hamster around the room.

Oh wait, maybe it wasn't funny.....

Poor hamster.

reply to post by TheDuckster


Don't hide the hampster from the kid. It would most likely be easier to hide the kid from the critter. Get him to go outside and shovel all the snow or leaves into the neighbor's yard.

If that doesn't work then put him (the kid) up for adopton or something. Either that or get him to sign up as a new member here at ATS. Maybe that will occupy his time.

reply to post by Duzey


Actuallyyyyyyy..um..it was 'kinda funny'.

I never knew how many 'spin revolutions' a rodent could achieve. lol

Poor thing.

reply to post by Sanity Lost


Every once in awhile, we let the hammie out. She needs exercise.

I'm sorry that I accidently kicked the 'ball' and let her spin.

For the first few seconds, upon watching the ball spin outrageously, I was um....mesmorised. Then I felt bad for the poor critter.

But....

I saw the recovery-spin-rate for the hampster and thought:

Damn...this critter could out-do ASTRONAUTS when it comes to the 'gyro-spins'. The hampster recovered 'gloriously', and proceded to maneuver the ball, as if there was no interuption.

Hamster Pinball?

Those hamsters are pretty tough, aren't they?

On several occasions, Fred (my sis's Teddy Bear hamster) would bounce down the long stairway to the basement. He'd hit the ground running (literally ) and speed off like nothing had happened.

Maybe this will explain why hampster keep comming back for more.

*********
Breaking News -

Proof that a giant hampster is the cause of Earth's rotation

"A huge hamster sits inside the globe and constantly spins it. It's obvious!" - click here for the truth!

*********

Only the sane will inherit the Earth, but who is sane these days?


:bash::bash::bash::bash:




[edit on 6-12-2007 by Sanity Lost]

I used to have lots of Hammy's when I was wee. (they were all called Hammy btw). They are the cutest things. But I hate hamster balls and them dragster things you can get for them too. Whereas we think it's fun to see the wee things rolling around the floor, the poor creature is trying to run for it's wee life. Looking back to my childhood I wish I'd let all my Hammy's go. It was only recently I read that there are wild hamster communities in the UK but when I was small my mum used to say the cold would kill them. How stupid was I. They come from Russia and that's really cold. I think you'd really make your Hammy's day if you smashed that ball and told your daughter that's a no-go area. Sorry if I'm being a bit soft but when I see hamster balls lined up in the pet shops I want to break the lot of them.

reply to post by wigit


I was thinking along the lines of making a secured 'Hammy route line".

Hubby and I were laughing about this not too long ago!

It would be be totally 'self-secured', and with..(get this??!? lololol)...Sensor lines!!!

We got really bored one night, and starting imagining/needed entertainment, about setting up a stinkin 'hamster route'.

Here's how it goes:

The central point (hammy's cage) can be linked to tunnels. These 'tunnels' can go around the perimeter of the apartment! (Okay..bear with me on this one...lololol) The tunnels would be equiped with wee 'sensors', that would detect a hamster's movement in that 'said sector'.

The sensors would 'trip a wire' and you'd hear 'which sector the hammy was in'!!!

WHOOP whoop! *HAMSTER ALERT* - Sector 7!!!

I know it's retarded. lololol

**The crazy things we come up with when we're bored!**

~Ducky~

That's a great idea, just get rid of the ball.I saw a short piece on hamsters on a David Attenborough programme. When the female hamster is ready have her babies, a male comes along and acts as midwife. He helps her pull out each baby and bites the sac off and licks it clean then puts it on a teat so it can get milk. He does this with every single one, then he cleans up the nest thoroughly then he cleans the mum. Then he immediately humps her and goes away, till next time she's about to have babies. I'm still trying to figure out if that's selfish male behaviour, or the opposite.

[edit on 7-12-2007 by wigit]

reply to post by wigit


That is the most amasing (loving/instinctual?) thing I've heard in ages!!!

Wowwww!!!

I 'starred' you hon!

~Ducky~

reply to post by TheDuckster
Thanks very much for the star. If I ever find that piece of film I'll u2u the link to you. p.s and if you get rid of the darned ball I'll give you a star as well.


Found this on the BBc site.

Hamster is excellent midwife

The males will pull the pup from the birth canal (Wynne-Edwards)

Male Djungarian hamsters not only make excellent fathers, they are also exceptional midwives.
The little creatures will help pull their offspring from the female's birth canal, lick off the birth membranes, open the baby's airways, and then eat the amniotic fluid and placenta with the mother.

There are not many mammal males that will do this. Indeed, the offspring of many species are just as likely to be eaten by their fathers as receive a comforting paw.

But Dr Katherine Wynne-Edwards and her colleagues at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, have shown Djungarians (Phodopus campbelli) to be totally caring in their behaviour.

Hormonal fluctuations

The researchers were interested in what was happening to hormone levels in the animals and how this might be influencing the "behaviour of fatherhood".

The researchers are interested in the hormones that will influence a father's behaviour (Wynne-Edwards)

"Djungarian fathers have hormonal fluctuations similar to the mother's around the time of birth," Dr Wynne-Edwards told New Scientist magazine. Oestrogen and cortisol levels rise before the birth, then fall away afterwards as testosterone rises.

This does not happen in the closely related Siberian hamster (P. sungorus), which was also studied under the dim light of the lab so as not to disturb the animals during birthing.

Although fathers in both species care for their young, Siberian hamsters only appear on the scene well after the birth. Djungarians, on the other hand, which live in a harsher desert environment, remain in the burrow at the time of birth, and help keep mother and young warm enough to survive.

Pup nostrils

"We hypothesised that because of the early hormonal changes, Djungarians would show the full range of paternal behaviour," said Dr Wynne-Edwards. They did.

In their description of the birthing, the Queen's researchers wrote in the journal Hormones and Behavior: "Males licked amniotic fluid as the pup was born, mechanically assisted the delivery, licked pup nostrils so that the pup flushed from dark purple (unoxygenated) to a bright pink (oxygenated), cleared pup membranes, consumed placenta, carried neonates, rebuilt the nest area, and remained with pups as the female laboured to deliver subsequent pups."

The males even baby sat when the females left the nest to feed.



[edit on 7-12-2007 by wigit]

reply to post by wigit


Where's your link hon?

You presented a wonderful picture 'to mind'!

For posterity...I'll hold on to the hamster rolly ball...for now...the wee critter not only provides 'entertainment', but she gets to explore the world around her, and exercises her wee bones!

~Ducky~



[edit on 7-12-2007 by TheDuckster]

Hi Ducky, I've had a look around but don't think it exists online. Shame. Plenty of babies on youtube but none in the wild with the daddy midwive. Loving them hammies though, ain't they like wee bears.

reply to post by wigit


The wee critters, they make my heart melt. ahhhhh

~Ducky~