Introducing Sir Phinneus Fluffytocks

Hubby and I talked about getting another hamster.  I think they are adorable and cute and initially we thought when we found the right one we would bring it home.  But then I stumbled upon this adorable little guinea pig.  Hubby and I had a talk about the pros and cons of getting a guinea pig instead.  It ended up the pros were a lot more than the cons.  Of course a guinea pig needs more attention and more space but when it came down to it I liked the idea of having an animal that wasn't nocturnal (there were many nights I wouldn't see one of our hamsters at all because they wouldn't be up before we went to bed), one that had a longer lifespan (as I felt I would just be getting to know my hammy and they were taken away from us) and also an animal I had researched, watched countless adorable videos on but had never owned myself.

A few days later I brought home Mr. Fluffytocks.  He was this giant ball of adorable floofiness that I couldn't ignore!  At first he was very squeamish which immediately had me thinking 'Oh no I'm going to have to go through socializing and taming all over again' but within minutes he had stopped frantically squealing and was sitting in my lap while I rubbed his back making soft wheeking noises.  My husband laughed and made a comment about me really having a difficult time with this one.  I'm known as Dr. Dolittle or the Animal Lady around here.  Animals seem to gravitate to me wherever I go and know I'm not a threat.

Now it's been a week and what a turn in this little cutie!  He still gets nervous around me, but he happily lets me cuddle him (once I've caught him that is!).  I haven't gotten him to eat out of my hands but he gets pretty excited about the fresh greens I've been giving him.

The most exciting was when I set up a pen for him to play in, in the rabbit room.  He likes the rabbits, especially Ollie, who stares at him through his cage bars.  Phinni frequently calls to him which brings Ollie running.  Although Phinni is a lone guinea pig he has the bunnies to keep him company, although I don't want to put them in the same pen.

Anyways at first Phinni was a little nervous and hid behind his litterbox (which he is very good at using) until he saw the basket of hay I had put out for him.  Before I knew it he was wheeking and burrowing his way through the hay basket, munching and squeaking all at once in excitement.  About a half hour later he started exploring and then suddenly, a popcorn!  His first after being brought home!  I guess he realized how much space he had because then he was popcorning and bouncing around like a crazypants, chattering away.  And then he had made himself a little piggy run and began running laps!  So as you can see we are quite smitten with the little cutie!

Here is a video of him being silly in his pen!  Make sure you listen to it with the sound up, it's hilarious!

Farewell Lucy

It is with a heavy heart that I write this and say goodbye to our Syrian Hamster Lucy.  Lucy joined the Zoo in January of 2010 when I stumbled upon her while shopping and instantly fell in love with her cute mannerisms and look.  She was extremely skittish at first but quickly warmed up to me and my husband.  She was always a late sleeper and many nights we wouldn't see her at all.  Occasionally I would wake up in the middle of the night and hear her running miles on her wheel.  She never got used to her hamster ball - whenever we put her in it, she preferred to take a nap or groom herself instead of exploring.  Lucy was a little pokey, never trying to escape the homemade cage we built her and never curious to check out the surroundings beyond her home.  She contentedly cuddled in the crook of our arms, our lap or just in the palm of our hand while we pet and kissed her.  She was also an amazing model for many of my animal photography feats as I would put her where I wanted and she would wait patiently for me to take the shot.  In the last few months we knew her life was coming to an end - she was sleeping more - sometimes to the point where I was waking her up to make sure she was still with us.  She rarely went on her wheel and was eating less and less.  Finally at just over 2 years of age, the time came when Lucy was ready to peacefully go to the Rainbow Bridge.  She is joining our first hammy Calvin.  We will miss her dearly but are very grateful that she passed on so calmly.  We gave her the best hammy life we could on this Earth and now wish her nothing but everlasting peace and happiness wherever her soul has taken her. <3