Monday, November 23, 2009

Wild Hamster Takes To The Floor

Does anyone know if hamsters and mice cross breed?

I bought the whole thing for Dan's kids. The cage, the saw dust, the food, the rolling ball, and the $16 Chinese miniature hamster (1 male) from Petco.

I was told it was really young so I thought I would buy one early and keep it until Christmas. Now I have a reason to count the days!

David's kids were here yesterday and hoping to help them over a fear of animals...I took the hamster out of the cage for them to hold. It quickly got away from me...so, fast I could hardly believe it.

This thing was like a mouse! It looked like a mouse...ran like a mouse...color of a mouse...and there was a certain desire to hit it with a broom like you would want to do with a mouse.

It ran behind a big box. Sammie (4)and Davis (2) held the flash lights while Jim and I tried to corner it and catch it without hurting it. Lindsay (5) helped us keep an eye on it. We were successful but the kids never did hold the thing.

It is in its cage running on the wheel right now. I can't believe we let it practice!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My children had hamsters growing up but they were always teddy bear hamsters. I can tell you that many times they would have their hamster jump from their hands. I`ve never heard of the type of hamster you have. It doesn`t have a tail, does it? I`ve never seen one with a tail and if it has on it could be mixed with a mouse.

Rinkevichjm said...

Either track it with a Carniverous Automated Tracker (i.e. a cat) or trap it by laying out a trail tube with a treat at the top exiting into a box.
Our cat has no trouble locating the hamster if it escapes and it is active. Just make certain your cat has been fed recently, so it doesn't eat it.

strawberryblonde said...

What would you call them? Mousters? Hamice?

Different genus. They say, Cross-breeding hamsters and mice is absolutely not biologically possible. One should never, ever let mice in close contact with other species.

But I say, where there's a will there's a way however, one of them might not live long in close quarters.

Anonymous said...

Who even knows if they are pure bred or mousters to begin with. Cute little things though! Had plenty over the years. Kind of like cats some have tails and some don't.
When my childhood hamster disappeared, my parents tried replacing her before I got home from school. Did not work for a second. She looked sort of the same but, she was not my friend and I knew it at six years old.
Do not ever hit a hamster or mouse with a broom. I actually had a CPS report made because I swept a mouse out the door at 4AM once. It came across as mutilating animals. No Joke! Mandated Reporter, at the school when my child told his teacher that his mom hit it with a broom. Guess she never lived on a farm! Or had a cat either!

They make great pets!