Expanding Their World

The babies are exploring more and more now. They're three weeks old and they're starting to get big and very soft. The other day, I thought they were ready for a new toy, a big part of every pet hamster's life...the toilet paper roll.

Naturally, they ran away from the big scary brown thing. And then they did the three things they're best at: climb on it, fight over it, and eat it.

Much to my surprise, 007 got there first, and he held his own. In fact he ended up staying the longest. That's him chewing blissfully on the bottom. Gerbil and the Twins rushed right over too.

The twins weren't interested for very long, but Gerbil had a great time trying to balance on top.


Mama Molly, of course, knew exactly what to do with the roll and she had a great time.

It amused them for quite a while, but then the need for food kicked in:

They're growing up, but they're still only half Molly's size. Still a few weeks to go yet!

Some Fresh Faces

Maybe it's time for a break from the hamsters. How bout the other little guys at TAS South?

This beautiful girl is Marley. She is tiny, and very delicate-looking. A true little princess! She's a little shy, but if you hang around for a bit and she realizes you won't eat her, she quickly wants to be your friend.

This little lop is apparently now named Simone, but I've been calling her Fanny for a month and now I can't stop. Admittedly, Simone is a much better name. She looks a little ratty in this photo, especially right next to Lady Marley's pristine coat, but soft fuzzy lop ears make up for everything! She's a serious bunny, who will come check you out in her own quiet way. If she deems you worthy, she will allow you to pet her. (Note to potential bunny-owners: This is the attitude of 99% of rabbits)

I love this big guy! Peter is a 6-month-old Flemish Giant. They're the largest breed of bunny, so when he grows up he's going to be about 20 pounds! If I didn't have Alice, I would totally take him home. He's super-friendly and calm, and loves everybody. And look at those big adorable ears!

We also have a pair of guinea pigs at the moment. These squeaky guys never last long. This is Ginger, and she's with her sister Ella, but Ella wouldn't come out and pose. These two are about 4 years old.

Random Acts of Cuteness

Boxer - such a sweetie! She's stopped biting and is now pretty tame. She's got a big personality!

Grey trying to escape the photo session.

Red Eyes chooses a different escape route!

Mama Molly needs some love and attention too! She's lovely and has become very friendly now that her babies are growing up. She needs a home too =)

The Twins. You see where they get their name - these two are a bugger to tell apart!
007 is the smallest by far, but he gets just as much attention. When they run for food, though, he sometimes gets pushed out of the bowl:
"Mum, let me in!"

Remember, the babies' dad and older brother are available for adoption at Toronto Animal Services!

Lucky Seven

Last night, we went through the batch of babies to try and figure out how to tell them all apart! I'm not sure if we're quite experts at it yet, but we did figure out who everyone was. We reshuffled the numbers, although most of them have silly nicknames now.

Number One - Red Eyes. He's by far the friendliest. He just seems to be naturally tame. The red eyes are freaky looking, but Red is such a sweetie, he loves being handled and he's totally fearless.

Number Two - Gerbil, because that's what he looks like! Gerbil's a fast little bugger, and he pretty much never stays still. He's very tame as well though, and he has lots of fun running all over your hands and arms.

Number Three - Grey. Grey looks a lot like two of the others and we have a hard time figuring out who's who with those three. She's a little shy and uncertain about a giant hand coming to get her, but once you pick her up she's pretty adventerous.

Number Four - Twin #1. This one looks almost identical to another one (Twin #2), as well as Grey. They're tricky to figure out! We think Twin 1 will end up named 'Nadia' or something like that, because she is super acrobatic. She flips, she climbs, she pulls herself up by the front paws. It's very impressive.

Number Five - Boxer. Boxer is a nut. She thinks she can beat everybody up, and yesterday she decided to use her teeth, which was not very pleasant! She's very active and with some more handling, I hope she'll calm down.

Number Six - Twin #2. Twin 2 is the bigger one, although it's not very obvious. He's also a lot more aggressive than Twin 1, and he's picking up some bad habits from Boxer! As seen above, they like to bunch together and look tough. Twin 2 is putty in your hands, however, when you give him seed. A secret weapon!

Number 7 - 007/Jamie. 007 is such a cutie! He is super fast, he can get away from everything and he runs like the wind. We called him 007 because he can run and hide like nobody's business. He might as well be a spy! I think he's the smallest of the group at this point. He's a total sweetheart, once you actually get him to stop moving!

Introducing the Hand

Today was the first day of handling for the little ones! It's very exciting to be the person taming 7 little pets-to-be. They did very well today with being held! Most of them weren't very happy about us catching them, but once they were in the hand they were calm and curious. No bites at all!
Mom Molly (named after a certain other mother of 7!) was not too impressed.

Right now we're trying to figure out who's who. Some personalities are starting to emerge, but there are a few who could be twins! We're going with numbers for simplicity now, but names will soon follow :)

Number 1 has some very distinctive red eyes! He's the bravest of the litter and walked right into my hand when I put it in the cage. No fear there! I know the red eyes are off-putting for many people (plus he's grey, which has mouse-like connotations) - I guess he's trying to make up for his looks with personality!


Number 2 and 3 are almost identical, in fact there's a possibility that I picked up the same hamster twice! They weren't at all sure about being taken out of their cage (and away from Momma Molly!).

Number 4 has an adorable white tail and she was super-interested in the giant human hands.
Number 5 is my personal favourite at the moment. She's going by 'Boxer' for now because when you put your hand in front of her, she bats at it like crazy with her tiny little paws. She was a tricky one to catch, but once in the hands, she posed wonderfully!

And on a final note of sweetness:

I'm pretty sure it's not healthy to live with this much cuteness!
(Remember, their older brothers are waiting for homes at TAS South =)

An Avalanche of Hamsters!

So TAS was suddenly overflowing with hamsters today! Yesterday a whole family of the little guys arrived at the shelter. As so often happens, some people thought they were buying two hamsters of the same sex, and seven babies later realized the pet store's mistake.
The little ones are only 12 days old, and need another week or so before weaning, so they're staying at my house until they're ready for adoption. I have had many rodents, but my mother very wisely never gave in to my childhood pleas for babies. And now I get them with no strings attached! Excellent.
It shouldn't be hard to find forever homes for these cuties!


They're so tiny, it blows my mind. And they're dwarf hamsters, so it's not even a miniature version of a hamster. It's a miniature version of a miniature version!

But if you have suddenly been overcome with the need to have a hamster (and are prepared to offer the very best of love and care!), you needn't wait for another week. The older brothers of these guys are already at the shelter and waiting for loving homes!

Those Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

Toronto's been lucky to have a nice, cool, rain-filled summer this year. I know many people disagree with me on that, but I'm a big fan of rain and coolness! I could've done without the tornado, though.
Despite the relatively easy summer, heat-wise, the temperature did manage to get pretty high on some days. And with the weather in Canada, you never know when a summer is going to make Toronto, or Montreal, or whatever, into a desert.
Rabbits are not big fans of heat. Sure, they like to lie in the warm sun, but once it starts getting up there, temperature-wise, they start getting grumpy. Alice tends to flop down wherever she happens to be, and refuse to move except for food. As with all rabbits, she also sheds in the summer, and as you can see in the photo, her piles of fur tend to collect in her favourite spots.
The heat is always uncomfortable for furry animals, but it can also be a serious danger. Bunnies are vulnerable to heat stroke, which can make them seriously ill, and kill them. When the temperature starts climbing, make sure your bunny has a cool place where they can take refuge, and lots and lots of water! If it gets really hot, you can put a cold-water bottle where they can find it, and they can lie against it for some relief.
A good way to gauge a rabbit's temperature is through their ears. Since their ears work as a cooling system, you can feel them to judge if the rabbit's getting too hot. Ears that feel super-hot to the touch usually mean there's a problem, and if the bunny won't move around and looks listless, it's vet-visit-time.
Most of the summer, however, a fresh supply of water keeps bunnies (and people!) happy and healthy, although it won't prevent them from being lazy and lying in the sun all day.