Worried Mama, Fish n’ Kids & Scabby Hamster Tips

I am a little distracted.  I wrote a post which I realized too late that it cannot be posted until Thursday because the other post it references doesn’t come out until Wednesday.  Now I need something new but I am tired and my mind is elsewhere.  I was going to try and find a cute video or something.  OOOH!  In fact I will. “Charlie Bit My Finger.” It will cheer me up to watch it again.  But I also decided just to share Mama’s worries today.

My Fam is still at my Parent’s cabin up north.  They left Thursday night.  I have completed some good projects around the house and gotten some writing done so the time has been productive.  They were supposed to come home tonight but they decided to do some fishing expedition in the morning.  I am really excited for my Son to have this cool experience with Dad and Grandpa.  And did I mention they’re not coming home tonight?  Woohoo Yippeeeee! 

Listen, I work from home.  Hubby is off work.  Kids are off school.  We are all home all day every day in this little house that I think shrunk since June.  So don’t judge me until you’re squeezed in a cracker box with three other people while walking in my shoes.
Here’s why I’m worried.  There is something wrong with Cheese, my hamster!  I am extra protective of him because when I went away last November, I found his twin brother Ham floating in the sump pump crock upon my return.  Go ahead and say it, “it’s just a hamster” but he trusted me and suffering is suffering.  SO anyway, I guess I overcompensate with Cheese.  Or Ham, whoever is left.  Did I mention they were twins?

I guess I didn’t set him up properly before we went to to Orlando. 

• I ran out of the fluffy bedding so just before I left I used cedar chips to line his cage.  We had them on hand which saved me a trip to the pet shop and I thought that since we were going to be away and unable to clean out his messes, the cedar would provide a more pleasant aroma til we got back. 
• We turned off the central air.  And by “we” I do not mean “I”.  “I” was unaware.  That’s all I’m saying.
• I left the hammies home alone.  (we have a russian dwarf hamster named Mac, as well.  He is just a baby and they live separately)  Cheese is squirrely and get’s very nervous around people so I figured it would be less stressful on him if he could stay at his own house.  Plus, honestly, after the Ham tragedy, I didn’t trust anyone to lock the gate securely.  My Dad checked on them one day to make sure food and water were fresh and abundant.

A few days ago I noticed Cheese had some sores on his belly.  The next day I realized his belly was bare of fur.  I also figured out that he wasn’t super skinny because he’d lost weight, he had actually lost a lot of fur so he wasn’t puffy and fluffy!

I have some hamster antiseptic on hand from when Ham and Cheese used to fight and tear each other up.  But it’s not getting better.  I fact, there is one scab so big, soft, and thick looking that it looks like it is just going to pop off his tummy like a small child’s puzzle piece. 

TMI?

He keeps licking his wounds is part of the problem so it never dries up.  He has also developed 2 black knobs on his back.  Although, they could have been there all along but hidden by the fur. 

Guess what I found out.

• Hamsters cannot tolerate sudden changes in temperature.  (he was hot and laying in his ceramic  dish to cool off when we got home.)
• When hammies are hot they lose their fur.
• Cedar chips have been known to kill small animals. 

Apparently the sharp cedar chips irritated his skin at a magnified degree due to the fact that his fur was thinning and he was hot.  He developed a rash and just itched his whole belly raw. I put some neosporin on today.  I want him to get better for sure but I do not want to be around when that scab falls off. 

If anybody reading has a hamster, learn from my mistake… no wood chips and leave the air conditioning on!

 With that, I leave you Charlie!

Scratch that.  Charlie’s video can’t be embedded so I’ll give you Kassie the monster fighter instead!  Enjoy!