Goodnight, tiny Miles
Tiny Miles posed for me while he enjoyed some time in the playpen
If you have been listening to my podcast, you probably already heard the news - little Miles passed away a few weeks ago on May 29th, 2024.
It was both happy & sad. Prior to his passing he made enormous strides, in both coming out of his shell and spinning & pacing significantly less.
I honestly didn’t think I’d see this kind of progress from him - he had been with me for about 5 months and the spinning & pacing seemed to only escalate. I suppose after almost a year in a small, pet-store cage, taking 4-5 months to detox seems reasonable!
He was the only hamster I had no photos of… until May 21st, when he popped out of his nest mid-day, hopped into a transport cup and happily snacked, sniffed & groomed in the playpen. If I got close to the playpen he would start pacing and spinning again. So I left him to his own devices and watched from afar. I couldn’t believe it! He continued to come out every day, each day getting a little braver, with body language clearly more relaxed, even if I was around.
This lasted for a little over a week. I was so happy to see him, to see how much progress he had made, to feel that contented feeling of giving a hamster the home they needed.
And then one day, he didn’t come out.
Had it been any other week, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. I hardly saw the guy! But after one day of not seeing him, I knew. And there he was, his sweet, tiny little bod, buried in his nest.
It’s bittersweet to see a hamster make so much emotional progress and then lose them, right as they get there. But at least I can know that he was happy & relaxed at the end, after such a stressful beginning.
I wish I could say I knew Miles more. I don’t feel like I knew his quirks, his likes or dislikes. He seemed to like flax seeds, like most hamsters, and freeze dried tofu. But otherwise, the sadness I feel is knowing I didn’t really get to know him.
One thing I do know is that he reminded me of Steven and Oscar, my other husky / white faced Roborovski hamsters who came before. They were also very shy and skiddish in the beginning, and, like Miles, unbelievably cute. Sometimes I would marvel at how a creature like this just exists in the world. We didn’t breed them, we didn’t even interact with them much until the 1990s (Roborovski hamsters, that is). And here one is, in my office, doing impossibly cute things all day long.
The world is a mysterious and magical place!
Sleep well, my little Miles.
Gotta love those little robo legs!
