Hamster Dreams

This winter has been rough on Hammy. She's done a lot of sleeping and a couple times I've thought she might have died. If I clean her cage she is as grumpy as Mr. Beachy is on days his arthritis kicks in. A clean cage means she has to scrounge around for material and remake her bed. She also keeps a stash of nuts and seeds in one corner hidden under wood shavings. I can see it would be upsetting to dig all over looking for her stash and then find out I've dumped it. On those days I give her an apple slice and it makes up for her inconvenience.

Have you ever seen a dog sleeping and then start kicking or growling in his sleep? Hamsters do that too. I wonder what she dreams about. Her "growls" are just little chirps. Pretty cute.

This week I was sitting near her cage when all of a sudden there was a thump as she fell out of her nest and crashed on the cage floor. I got up to check and she was on her back with every limb flailing about. I thought she was having a seizure and surely it was the end of poor Hammy. I reached into the cage and grabbed her up and held her close. She was chirping, then gradually calmed down and opened her eyes really wide. We cuddled a while and she loved being held close and caressed. Last night she ran on her wheel for hours. Back to her old self after weeks of semi-hibernation.