R.I.P. Jenny

Threats to Jenny the Hamster's life came in many forms.

Being eaten by the dogs
Escaping the plastic cage and dying somewhere in the house
Respiratory infections from the cheap litter I was buying
Squeezing by excited three year old
Accidental dropping

The possibilities seemed endless. But I never guessed that the real threat to her life would come from one of her own kind.

When Colin asked if we could get a second hamster, I thought, why not? Female dwarf hamsters are social animals (it says so in all the hamster literature from the pet store!). And I had many pairs of happy hamsters when I was a kid that lived together as buddies without any problems at all.

We were so excited to introduce Jenny to her new BFF, who we named Squiggy. (Jenny and Squiggy, get it?)

The next morning we found Jenny's bloody corpse lying in the cage shavings. And a totally non-repentant Squiqqy (now renamed Killer) looking for some attention.

Colin was SO upset. It was all very traumatic.

The face of a killer

One session of body bagging and a day at the office later, I packed up Killer, and me and the kids took her back to the pet store.

"We need to return this hamster," I said. "She is a murderer." The worker drone cringed at my words and eyed the cardboard box shiftily. I wondered just how many homicidal pets they got back each day.

Colin wanted another dwarf hamster and I said no. I explained that as sad as it was that Jenny died, the fact of the matter is that she was a terrible pet. She hated being held, ran from your hands when you tried to pick her up, and bit your fingers if you pet her. I said we were only getting another pet if it was proven to be nice.

And there in the last hamster cage at the store, easily tripling Jenny in size, was our new pet, Mega-Hamster.

This gigantic hamster was calm, sweet, and very docile. She lets you pick her up and sits in your hand letting you pet her. She does not try to run away, and does not bite.

Colin is much happier now that he is experiencing pet ownership with a pet that does not hate him.

And I hope they feed Killer to the snakes.