Grant’s gifts, animals in general

Cori and Nate spent the day out yesterday. They went to the Galleria in Dallas and ice skated, shopped a bit and had a late lunch. On the way home they stopped at a pet store and bought a Teddy Bear Hamster as a birthday present for Grant. His birthday is today. He is now 9 years old. He is going to have an outstanding birthday if the presents set on my bed last night are any indication of the purchases made to make this day special. The hamster will top off the stack as a gift that keeps on giving – hopefully. Cori got a pretty good bite from the hamster when she was showing it to Mama and Mocha (Norman’s Yorkshire Terrier) scared it. It started to jump out of Cori’s hands and she squeezed it a little too tightly. After all, running to hide and biting are its only defense mechanisms.

I raised Teddy Bear Hamsters when I was younger. I had several other types of rodents in breeding habitats to either feed the babies to my youngest snakes or trade to the pet store for feed and other supplies for the variety of critters I was raising; gerbils, hamsters, mice and rats. I started raising rabbits for the larger snakes but quickly gave that up and gave away the largest snakes to pet stores and to the Houston Zoo. When my Reticulated Python ate the neighbor’s cat I knew it was time to downsize – literally. When I went to Texas A&M for my first year of college, I had to sell off all the critters, all the cages and all the aquariums. It paid for my first year of college in full. It also opened a very large space in the garage for my dad to make better use of. As far as the hamster in the camper Nate, Cori and the kids are living it, it ought to provide some very interesting times for all of them; especially the first time it gets loose and finds a good hiding place. I my garage menagerie, if a rat or mouse got loose, I let a snake loose to find it. It is generally easier to find a snake than a rodent – especially after it has eaten the escapee. I doubt Cori and Nate will choose that option, but it is quite effective.

I was okay with the purchase of the hamster because Cori has a friend in Florida who loaned them the habitat for the hamster and will take the animal and the loaned materials back when they get ready to leave for Honduras. The bottom line is that Mama and I will not end up with the hamster. It does look like we will end up keeping Bella since it is so very expensive to take her to Honduras with them. Mama really enjoys Bella. Her breed is a more “stay with you when you are out” than the wandering breeds Victoria has raised. When they are let out – or get out – it may be several hours before they come home. Bella, in contrast, does not seem to want to wander too far afield when she is with us. Part of that is the training Nate has invested in her, but part of that is the nature of the breed. I would be okay with not keeping Bella, but Mama has decided she should stay with us when Cori and Nate and the kids leave the country.

Speaking of animals getting loose, I turned the rabbits loose Wednesday night. Mama was not enjoying having them and they were in need of treatment for ear mites, which we did not ever seem to have time to take care of. Mama and Victoria do not enjoy eating rabbit, so there is no sense in raising them. We gave it a good try, but we are not rabbit people. I do not think the three of them will last long in the wild, but it was better for me not to have to kill them and put their carcasses in the usual spot. I will be surprised to see them again, but it could happen.

We will start the New Year with less of an animal variety but overall with a large population of animals than last year.