Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Peanut the Hamster's Final Escape
Peanut the Hamster passed away sometime early today. She has not been well for the last 2 weeks or so. We suspect that she may have had problems due to the smoke from the fires, but we don't know for sure.
Peanut escaped a number of times as chronicled in this Blog. However, she always came back. Unlike our previous hamsters, she never bit any of us and had a great disposition. Definitely a good hamster experience!
Thanks for spending the last year or so with us, Peanut.
Peanut escaped a number of times as chronicled in this Blog. However, she always came back. Unlike our previous hamsters, she never bit any of us and had a great disposition. Definitely a good hamster experience!
Thanks for spending the last year or so with us, Peanut.
Labels: Hamster
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Peanut the Hamster Escapes Again
Our hamster, Peanut, has escaped a number of times. I have done blog entries about this in the past. She has always shown up again, but usually after getting a good day or so of freedom hiding who-knows-where.
Last weekend while we were camping, we took Peanut to some friends to take care of her for the weekend. We warned them about Peanut's wandering tendencies and the precautions to prevent an escape. It didn't matter. Peanut seemed to sense their weak defenses and exploited them last Sunday night around 7pm. The family taking care of her was devastated. They have 3 dogs and other assorted pets. They are next to a creek outside, so they have raccoons, rats, and other varmints in the area too. As of late last night, there was no sign of Peanut after 24 hours.
The trick that I suggested was to leave 1 pile of food inside the cage and wait until around 10pm when she wakes up to search for her. However, that didn't work last night. They still left the cage in a dog-free area with some food out. This morning, they saw that the food was gone. After a quick search, they found Peanut in the little hamster penthouse curled up asleep.
This was Peanut's longest adventure yet. The hamster-sitting family was greatly relieved. My girls took it all in stride. They really didn't seem worried about her -- even though we had serious doubts that she would be back this time. Now that she is back though everyone is very happy.
Last weekend while we were camping, we took Peanut to some friends to take care of her for the weekend. We warned them about Peanut's wandering tendencies and the precautions to prevent an escape. It didn't matter. Peanut seemed to sense their weak defenses and exploited them last Sunday night around 7pm. The family taking care of her was devastated. They have 3 dogs and other assorted pets. They are next to a creek outside, so they have raccoons, rats, and other varmints in the area too. As of late last night, there was no sign of Peanut after 24 hours.
The trick that I suggested was to leave 1 pile of food inside the cage and wait until around 10pm when she wakes up to search for her. However, that didn't work last night. They still left the cage in a dog-free area with some food out. This morning, they saw that the food was gone. After a quick search, they found Peanut in the little hamster penthouse curled up asleep.
This was Peanut's longest adventure yet. The hamster-sitting family was greatly relieved. My girls took it all in stride. They really didn't seem worried about her -- even though we had serious doubts that she would be back this time. Now that she is back though everyone is very happy.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Peanut's Day Off
OK, we have NO IDEA where Peanut the hamster spent her day when she escaped. Mom and the girls nearly tore the house apart looking for her. They moved furniture, cleaned out many dusty areas, and searched everywhere they could think of. Peanut was too clever and didn't give up her hiding spot.
Towards the end of the day, there were concerns that she had either escaped outside or departed to the afterlife. No one would believe me that she had holed up somewhere for a daily nap (being nocturnal after all) and would come out in the evening. The girls went to bed very sad that Peanut had not been found.
That night, she showed up about 10 feet from her cage in the den. She was exploring along the floor. I easily picked her up and returned her to her cage. She was very hungry and thirsty, but left no clue as to where or how she had spent the day.
I guess she just needed a day off.
Towards the end of the day, there were concerns that she had either escaped outside or departed to the afterlife. No one would believe me that she had holed up somewhere for a daily nap (being nocturnal after all) and would come out in the evening. The girls went to bed very sad that Peanut had not been found.
That night, she showed up about 10 feet from her cage in the den. She was exploring along the floor. I easily picked her up and returned her to her cage. She was very hungry and thirsty, but left no clue as to where or how she had spent the day.
I guess she just needed a day off.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Missing Varmint
We got the girls a new hamster a couple of months ago. We have one of those fancy plastic cages with tubes, a running wheel, etc. for our little friend. This morning the girls found the top of the "condo" part of the cage open and the hamster was no where to be found. As of now, Peanut (the hamster) is still missing.
Maybe this isn't an 11:00pm news breaking story, but it is meaningful to my girls! Hopefully we will have a happy ending.
Maybe this isn't an 11:00pm news breaking story, but it is meaningful to my girls! Hopefully we will have a happy ending.
