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A pic of my hamster Rnard, made for a contest. The wings were attached with a mild adhesive tape that I edited out. He didn’t really like the experience but he’s not traumatized.

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[catching up]

When my boyfriend asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I asked for a russian domestic fox. I’ve read somewhere that they could be walked on a leash like a dog but also could use a litter box like cats. How awesome is that !

Turns out my boyfriend wasn’t really sure how to get me one, so he got me this little rascal instead. We called it Rnard, which is almost “fox” in French. He’s a glutton this one. He will show no interest in any vegetable whatsoever but can eat an unlimited amount of squash seeds that I save for him when I make soup. I’ve never seen a hamster so big. And his fur is incredibly soft and thick. And smelly too :) 

Wow, I’m really touched… I can totally recognize his back line. He was a little hunchbacked, wasn’t he ? Thank you !

ahamsteraday:

This is post 100! for A Hamster A Day. As a special post I would like to present this drawing of a hamster that was a friend to someone on tumblr. This is Pataplouf the grumpy. Pataplouf recently passed away and this post is dedicated to their memory.

A eulogy

On Friday Jan 20th, we found Pataplouf, our hamster, dead. If you have pets and love them, you’ll understand how I feel. However small, short lived and wild, this little fellow has lived with us for 2 years and a half. Such a small creature, with probably a brain as big as a peanut, had such a strong personality. I’ve had many hamsters in my life and I’ve always noticed how different they acted and reacted, even for siblings.

Pataplouf could have been named Grumpy. He was the grumpiest hamster ever. He didn’t hesitate to bite hard (and hamsters teeth are sharp like needles) if he was in a bad mood. When our friends visited, they liked to poke at the hamster for fun, but never did it for long. He could really draw blood if you were careless enough. When he didn’t want to be disturbed, he had his way of showing, burying himself in his litter with angry moves. 

When running in his hamster ball, he was fearless. He was always near our feet and was kicked accidentally more than once. When I was standing in the kitchen cooking for hours, he loved to munch at my ankles, putting his teeth through the small holes of his balls. I would take his ball and put it at the other side of the apartment. But he knew the way so he always came back straight to annoy me.

Without the ball to protect him, he was really lost. I had hamsters who would dash for the nearest exit as soon as they felt free. Not Pataplouf. One day we didn’t close his ball correctly and it opened while we where watching a movie. We heard a unusual click but didn’t really worry. A few minutes later, we saw him without the ball, walking to us hesitantly, as if saying “Hey something’s wrong with my ride, fix it please !”.

He was really messy with his cage. He would throw his food everywhere. He was also a bit lazy. He didn’t like to move things around like hamsters usually do. He loved broccoli and cucumber and we often ate vegetables because I thought of him when shopping for groceries. He was easily bored, never eating much of the same thing twice.

He had this way of asking for his ball, climbing to the opening of his cage and gnawing angrily at the bars with an hilarious expression. Like this :

He was the smallest creature but still my apartment feels lonely. It’s the first time I’m really alone here. I miss him but I know he had a good life, travelling a lot between Paris and Geneva, running wildly in his ball, in our big apartment, eating whatever he liked. He was maybe my 7th or 8th hamster so I’m getting better at raising them. He never seemed to suffer or be ill much. He was very strong willed, almost stubborn so even to the end, when it was obvious that he was weaker, thinner and balder, he was always his usual self. The day before he died, he was as usual running in his wheel and rummaging into his seeds noisily. Then he fell asleep and died peacefully.

Goodbye Pataplouf. However small, short lived and wild you were, we loved you very much. You were just a hamster, with a brain the size of a peanut, and you didn’t interact much with us. But you brought joy in our lives in your way and I am grateful I could know you.

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My hamster, sleeping on his back in his transparent plastic labyrinth.

May 2010 was very hot in Paris.