Monday, February 20, 2012

The Russians have invaded....

Every year at Christmas we indulge our inner child. We purchase way too many toys for our kids. This past Christmas we tried to be a little more sensible, get things we knew they would really like, actually play with and would last longer than a week. I guess where I am going with all of this, is trying to justify why we allowed two Russians into our home. Small and furry and not at all like you would expect, but Russians none the less.
We bought two miniature Russian Hamsters. My daughter named hers, (what else) Vladamir, and Ben chose Nibbler. The name fits the hamster well, but it is from one of Ben's favorite television shows, so points off for no creativity.  We knew how our daughter the animal lover would feel about sharing her room with a new little life, but we weren't so sure how Ben would take to this responsibility. The cages we purchased, which by the way cost way more than the actual inhabitant, reflected our worry. Daughter got a heavy duty hamster cage for her new little friend and Ben received a light easy to transport cage. This was, just in case he did not want the rodent in his room. Seriously with his horrible allergies we also worried this might not be the best place for said Russian to stay. We designated Sunday for cage cleaning day and I have to say I am pleased with my children and their commitment to their new little friends. I worried that Ben would grow tired of the hamster or even be a little too rough with such a fragile life form....possibly because the last hamster we owned was subjected to a few things that caused a certain daughter to be bit....apparently hamsters do NOT like hair clips....
     The first thing Ben does when he gets home is run to his room to check on Nibbler. I hear him say things like, "It's okay I am home now!" He is kind and compassionate and loving to his new friend. More than I could have hoped for. My daughter seems to be very happy with Vladamir as well. 
Because they were gifts we could not bring them home right away. We bought them on a Tuesday and Christmas wasn't until Sunday  so my dear mother in law offered to keep them with her. She was a perfect grandma and fussed and worried over them for the few days before Christmas. I knew that Vladamir had a more outgoing personality and that Nibbler tended to be a little shy. She and I both worried that maybe Nibbler would be aggressive or just hide all the time.  On Christmas morning when the new little friends were unveiled the kids gathered around the cages and watched both of them commenting on their activities. Ben asked why his hamster was hiding while his sister's seemed to be very active. I said to him that he was just a little shy, and once he got to know us he would come out more. Ben slapped his forehead and said, "OH great! My hamster is autistic!"
Turns out he is not. He is just a social now as his counterpart Vladamir. Thank goodness.   Ben is very happy with his new friend. I don't recommend this pet to everyone, and I certainly don't think very small children should be allowed to be alone with hamsters and hair clips....but now, this time it seems to be working out just fine.

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