Meet My Hamsters

Steven

Birthday: approx June 25

Gotcha Day: Saturday, July 25, 2020 from PetCo

Rainbow Bridge Day: Sept 29, 2022

Steven was the little guy who started it all. I had moved to LA in Feb of 2020 after living in NYC for the previous ten years. OOF what a time to move! I had been thinking about getting a hamster for a while…. I wanted something soft and cuddly but I didn’t want to have to worry about apartment living, leaving a pet during the day or noisy animals. Hamsters felt like the perfect solve- they are quiet, they sleep during the day AND no one has to know you even have one!

One Saturday afternoon I went on a casual look-around-town to see if Steven was out there. I didn’t know much about hamsters at the time- I had a hamster I loved very much as a nine-year-old, I had no idea how much hamster care had changed since the 1990s!

I went to three pet shops before I found him- apparently buying pets at a pet store was a popular move during the early pandemic times! Of course, I had no idea there were hundreds of hamsters in the LA county shelters and small animal rescues looking for a home.

Steven was this little tiny guy, balled up in the back of a brightly lit cage. You could tell he was desperately wanting to sleep but the lights were so bright and he had no where to hide. Poor guy. I had to get him out of there.

I knew going into this I wanted a dwarf hamster- this was the kind of hamster I had as a child and had loved dearly. I also love their round little bodies and tiny arms! I saw that Steven was a type of dwarf, but I had no idea at the time what a Roborovski hamster was!

I purchased Steven (which still feels like such an odd thing, to buy a living thing!) and gingerly brought him home in his little cardboard box. He was tiny, clearly still a young little guy. He was nervous and so was I! I quickly found my way to Victoria Raechel, Something Animal, Munchie’s Place for Homeless Pets & the Hamster Hideout Forum and upgraded him to a bin cage not long after he came to live with me.

I learned what a Roborovski was and realized how hard it is to find info about them. I had no idea what size anything to buy. I didn’t know what was safe! I didn’t know why he kept flipping off of his 6.5” Silent Spinner (the size generally recommended for robos). Steven inspired me to start this website - to share what I learned about robos (and other hamsters) in hopes to help others keep their hamsters happy & healthy.

Steven was so sweet. He was kind, silly, curious, sometimes brave, sometimes shy, sometimes vocal, sometimes indignant. Steven only ever bite a few times while we tried to clip his nails (and really, I can’t blame him for that! It’s no fun for anyone!). Getting to know Steven, to see him grow and change and learn inspired me to get another Robo, Sofia!

Sofia

Birthday: approx July 10

Gotcha Day: Sunday, Sept 13, 2020 from Hamster Rescue in Santa Ana, CA

Rainbow Bridge Day: June 16, 2022

Sofia was my second hamster (as an adult) and I loved how wildly different she was from Steven! If anyone ever thought hamsters don’t have personalities, I have some hamsters they need to meet!

After purchasing Steven from PetCo, I quickly realized there were tons of hamsters in shelters and small animal rescues. While I love Steven very dearly (and have no regrets about purchasing him that day!) I did feel badly about all the hamsters needing a loving home.

I decided to reach out to a few small animal rescues to see if there was something I could do to pitch in- they all said the #1 thing they needed was fewer hamsters! So, I figured, I’ve already learned the ropes for one robo, what’s one more?

Sofia was my little spitfire. She was brave, curious, determined & sassy. She was also my tiniest hamster (just 25g!). Sofia taught me that anyone, of any size, shape or strength can be confident and brave.

Laverne

Birthday: approx July to September 2020

Gotcha Day: Friday, Nov 27, 2020 from Tiny Tracks Rescue

Rainbow Bridge Day: Sept 16, 2022

Laverne & Shirley came to me as part of a fostering program I signed up for with Tiny Tracks Rescue in the LA area (they are based in Orange County & Thousand Oaks). I originally signed up to take just one more hamster, but they had a pair and asked if I could do two. After a few months, I had fallen in love with their funny little personalities and decided to adopt them.

Originally Laverne and Shirley lived together. I didn’t have much/any experience housing dwarves together - it can be done, and in some European countries it’s illegal to house a dwarf alone unless it is absolutely necessary! But correctly establishing and maintaining that bond was something I didn’t know how to do. I saw that Shirley was chasing Laverne and they weren’t sleeping in the same spot (a bonded pair would sleep together, even if they were play fighting). I decided to separate them after a few weeks.

Laverne and Shirley couldn’t be more different. Laverne was feisty. She can be nippy but also seems the most interested in human connection (I know, an odd dichotomy). You can have long conversations with Laverne while she stands up looking at you, turning her head this way and that to get a better look at you. I think she actually understands.

She was really communicative too- she was a machine for little sounds! Clicks and squeaks and chirps let us know what she wanted and when she wanted it (usually now now now!). She also used her sounds to say thanks as she’s eating something she really loved, which was the most gratifying thing in the world.

Laverne taught me that just because a hamster is nippy doesn’t mean you can’t have a relationship with them. Laverne was definitely my most fun hamster, nips and all, she was such a character and always down for a jaunt around the playpen.

As you may see in Laverne’s photos below, Laverne struggled from an ongoing abscess issue near her ear. I learned so much about caring for hamsters through Laverne. Laverne went through countless surgeries and treatments to keep her happy and healthy. Through it all she was nothing but energetic & happy to be doing her Laverne thing. She was an incredible, resilient little hamster who inspired me to live my best life everyday, even if I’m tired or I don’t feel 100%.

Shirley

Birthday: approx July to September 2020

Gotcha Day: Friday, Nov 27, 2020 from Tiny Tracks Rescue

Rainbow Bridge Day: May 23, 2022

Shirley was Laverne’s polar opposite, it is incredible that they are even related! Shirley is mellow and sweet. She’d sniff and then lick all of the tips of your fingers in greeting before slowly looking up at your to ask what you might have brought for her to eat today?

Shirley came to me with a funny scar on the side of her mouth. Before I was able to tell Laverne and Shirley apart (I soon learned their faces and could see quite a difference!) Shirley’s little “Joker” scar helped give her away. It looked like she was always smiling, slyly, from one side of her mouth.

Shirley was the cuddly little hamster I think I was after when I first got into hamsters again. She was this little ball of squish who just wanted to find a cozy corner to eat her seed stash in. She’d happily sit on your lap and eat, or in a playpen, and let you take as many photos as you wanted of her as she does her Shirley thing.

During the height of everything terrible about 2020… I was working in person with a long commute, it was stressful and scary, I missed my friends and my family as I was still new to LA… I would often find myself crying on my drive home from work on the 5 (I’m sure someone had to see me and think, who is this crazy lady driving down the 5 while sobbing!?). Then I would come home to see Shirley’s little earnest face and feel instantly 100x better. This is nothing that a warm, soft hamster, licking your fingertips and asking you for a snack, can’t heal.

Oscar

Birthday: approx Oct 2021

Gotcha Day: Thursday, Dec 16, 2021 from Baldwin Park Shelter in LA —> https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/view-our-animals/

Rainbow Bridge Day: March 16, 2023

On December 10th, 2021, I saw this post from a volunteer at Baldwin Park Shelter in LA county. It was a pic of a little robo, he looked miserable and alone (okay maybe I’m projecting a little) and was listed as a stray. I’m not sure if he was found or dumped, but either way, he had no home and it broke my heart. The volunteer said he was on the list to be put down soon if he didn’t get out of the shelter- the Baldwin Park Shelter doesn’t generally keep or have the facility for small animals.

The other small animals at the shelter were also on the put-down list. Thankfully they were saved thanks to Scotty’s Animals & Home Sweet Hammy Home in Tuscon, AZ!

At the time that I adopted Oscar there was no plan to rescue the others and there was no must-exit-by-date (it could be anytime, so it was a rush to get him out ASAP!). I’m sure if I hadn’t stepped in he would have ended up in that car-trip to Tuscon, but I’m so happy I got him. Oscar was a shy but also sassy (he did NOT like you messing in his bin!). He was also one of my most photogenic hamsters and I so enjoyed capturing his sweet moments when I could.