Hello so today I’ve decided to talk about how I ended up adopting a hamster who was already 14 months old and how it is different from getting a newly born hamster.
Okay so as you can see above this is Cocoa! As I am currently writing this, I got her today and as you already know from my previous post Spirituality With Animals I have a great love from hamsters as I have had five already. Now yesterday was the anniversary of the day my last hamster Mara died three months ago. So I was feeling really down and missing her so I decided to go the the pet shop! As I was going there I had this feeling that it was a bad idea but I went anyway and met this lovely female hamster called “woody” now she unfortunately was already 14 months old and had been given up by her previous owners due to circumstances and that she was a ‘biter’.
I was not sure why I had this strong urge to go to the pet shop except for missing Mara but when I heard woody’s story I felt so bad for her and she seemed truly lovely and she needed a home. So although I had vowed to never have another hamster again, there I was wanting to help this little animal out who had just been given back to a pet shop! It was in this that I realised I had forgotten why I love looking after hamsters so much, it’s because your giving them a life of happiness and for me it’s the pride of knowing that I know they won’t be mistreated or having owners just stick them in a cage and only spend time with them to clean to cage out. I’m not saying this is every hamster owner but it sadly is the majority. Before this I had focused so much on the number of hamsters that I have had and getting another felt like forgetting the hamster that I had before but thank to woody she helped me remember that I love protecting these animals and it in no way diminishes the love or memories you have with another animal and I think this applies to all areas of life I suppose, not just pets and animals!
So I went home that night I took some time to realise this and think about if I really wanted another hamster because honestly I was doing fine without the responsibility but woody’s little face kept reappearing in my mind and I decided that I couldn’t let her go home to someone else who may not treat her right especially after being given up once, also since the staff and the pet shop said she was a biter I knew her previous owners hadn’t looked after her properly or tamed her, so I knew I had to try to get her and give her a forever home with actual love and care that she deserves.
So today I went back in the morning and still really unsure money-wise but confident in my reasonings! I spend nearly an hour confused until I decided to get her as my heart just couldn’t leave not knowing what would happen to her.
The man who worked at the shop told me about more about why her previous owners gave her back and that she would bite them a lot, now I’ve dealt with hamsters like this before and none act like that unless out of fear or anger so clearly something must of have been going wrong. Also as this was my first time adopting a hamster I learnt that the money you spend on the hamster goes back into animal adoption agencies which is amazing.
When I brought her home she was was scared and ended up chewing right through her box! I did have a moment where I wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing as I didn’t know If I could tame her after all her madness getting home, l but I remained confident as I’ve never failed…. yet! after I had set her home up which is a big storage box as I strongly disagree with putting any animal in a cage, I put her in her new home and she instantly settled down, became more calm and restored my faith that I could take care of her!
As she is already over 1 years old she is set in her ways and will be more difficult to tame. I don’t have any experience with bringing in an adult hamster so it’s going to definitely be interesting to see the journey I go on trying to get her to feel safe and comfortable.
I have already noticed she seemed comfortable around me and my family as a hamster cleaning themselves around you is a sign of trust and content, also when she got out into her new home she wasn’t hiding or jumpy, she listened and came closer when we were taking to her which is a clear indication of happiness and curiosity. It’s a good clear sign that she is interested in being handled and will be able to be tamed in the future.
We decided to change her name as I just didn’t like the name woody and felt it appropriate as she has a new home, so her new name as I mentioned at the beginning of this blog is now Cocoa!
So that’s all for now and I will continue to keep you updated on how Cocoa is doing, how she adapts and whatever adventures she gets up to in her new home! Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed this story about bringing home Cocoa!
Emily’s Perspective 