*

corn cobs.

2007-12-28T06:16:00.000-08:00

Posted by Ah Peng.

Mama gave me a new type of beddings! It's called corn cob and I quite like this new one! Mama said she can finally "wean" me off the cat litter I have been using for the past year as I am fully toilet trained. Besides, corn cob will not cling onto my pretty long fur.

Mama also gave me a spanking brand new red sleeping bowl! However, I do not understand why she filled it up with toilet sand. But anyway I have pushed away all the toilet sand and will be snuggling into this bowl tonight.

Uh oh, Mama don't look really excited that I have pushed the sand out.. time to put on my cute face!

new member.

2007-11-18T01:20:00.000-08:00

Posted by Osher

hi, i am Osher, a yellow boy. I used to live with my brother Lex and Hershey until Lex and I had a small argument and a little fight. Thus my Mama-One (will explain why she is called Mama-One later) separated me from Lex and put me in a separated tank. I had a small cut on my cheek, but luckily Mama-One used this powerful medicine and now the cut is healing very fine.

Yesterday was a wierd day. Suddenly alot of human came to Mama-One house. One funny girl picked me up and played with me. I was abit shy and afraid because I never seen her before! After a few hours the funny girl packed me into this small carrier and said that she is bringing me home to take care of me! A new Mama! I am excited and scared because I would be leaving Mama-One to be with Mama-New!

Mama-New (whom I think I should start addressing as Mama) has already prepared my home for me. She took my old tissue and some of my old corn cob beddings and pour it over my new home. This way, I can still smell and remember the smell of my old home. I missed Mama-One alot, and I kinda regret fighting with Lex. I wonder how Lex and Hershey are. :( and my sisters.

Mama told me that my sisters, brothers and I are named by using one letter each from "HOME ALONE". Hershey, Osher (me!), Mojosan (my same colored brother!), Egor, Algio, Lex, (and sisters) Onion, Noodle, and E-ger! It came as an inspiration because Mama, Mama-One and two other friends were thinking of names for us when we realised that the names we chose formed the word HOME if we take the first letter of each of our names. Then one of them said that the rest of us could be named according to HOME ALONE since syrians are supposed to be housed alone too! Just nice there are 9 of us too, one alphabet each!

Mama just fed me egg yolk. I love it alot. I think I will like it here.

we love lowtous (lotus)

2007-11-11T22:22:00.001-08:00

Posted by Ah Peng

I heard Mama opening my door so I quickly ran to the next closest thing to the door, my wheel, hoping that Mama will bring me out to play. (She has been staying home these few days, said something about x-zams.. mm, all the better for me though!)

After playing awhile she gave me this funny looking food! It has holes in it! I think it is for me to put my paws in to hold onto it properly. It taste juicy, and it is the first time I have tasted something like this! Mama said its called lowtous, and she took it out from her cooked soup. I liked it so much i chomped my way through it and Mama had to give me a 2nd piece because she wants to take some photos of me eating it. (actually I knew that was her plan that is why i quickly ate up the first piece, i am such a clever ham! now i have TWO half slices of lotus!)

From my keen sense of smell, I think the pretty girl who lives below me is also given a slice of lowtous. But I also heard Mama laughing at her because she kept turning around to find her favourite spot to eat, only to realised that she is outside of her home!

She is getting prettier. I hope I look okay to her. Must groom my fur more often now.

I hope Mama cooks that soup again. I will be waiting lowtous!!

playing with tissues.

2007-10-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

Posted by Sonya

It has been raining very often recently in Singapore and Mama was kind enough to include some tissue paper in my tank for me!

However the tissue paper was too big for my little self, and while holding onto the tissue with my mouth, my pinky feet kept stepping onto the tissue and falling over :( In the end Mama shredded the tissue for me! And I am finally able to bring the tissue back to my favourite sleeping corner.

Can you see the tissue behind me? I am looking forward to a warm day (because cute hammies sleep in the day!) of sleep in this cold cold weather.

taugeh and orange bell pepper.

2007-09-21T00:33:00.000-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

I tried orange bell pepper for the first time today. Mama gave me a small slice. Bell pepper has good fats and fibre. And also rich in Vitamin A and C! No wonder it tastes so delicious! All that goodness is in me now.

Today's lunch also included a small portion of taugehs. hee. They are also known mung beans (proudly translated for all you foreign hammies out there! YO!)

Yesterday she brought me out to visit her dear friend Huiling. Finally I got to see the person who bought me my cake for my birthday! She is a nice person who loves coke and ice cream. I stayed in Mama's bag for most of the time, enjoying the air con and sleeping away.

Mama seemed to like snapping photos alot when I eat. But however, she does not look like she has very good skills eh? hahaha. So lousy. ;P

happy birthday to me!

2007-09-11T08:46:00.001-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

Mama did not forget about my birthday after all! See what her friend, Huiling bought for my birthday - a Vitrakraft cake with wholesome seeds in them! Thank you Huiling, even though I have not seen you before, but I heard from Mama that you like me alot. :)

I remembered when I first came to Mama's home, I was brought home in a honey carrier-container. I was THAT small! At first I was very frightened of my new environment and bit Mama and her friends abit. Mama's ten fingers were all biten by me. hehe. Luckily Mama was patient and slowly I grew to trust her. Besides, how can I not love someone who always gives me good food? ;P

Even though my birthday is on 11th Sept, the unfortunate day of "The 911", my birthday wish is for everyone, and every hammie in the world to be happy and smily always! (and for Mama to not catch me whenever I managed to escape!)

Thank you Mama! I love the cake and the extra veggie treats. :)

Mama only gave me half a cake.. I wonder where is the other half..?

on heat. (estrus)

2007-09-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

I managed to catch a photo of Sonya on heat (estrus) this evening. I think it is important for all syrians owners to know how a female syrian looks like when she is on heat. (Note how the body is pressed to floor and her raised tail)

Syrians goes on estrus every 4 days. On this day if she is ready to receive a male, she will stay in this 'freezing' position. (I got the same effect by stroking her back for this photo) The gestation period for syrians is only 16 days, the shortest among all hamsters breeds. Some unethical breeders or owners who do not have enough knowledge do not realise that this means that syrians are able to get pregnant twice a month. This is a very important to take note of. Smaller sized syrians (which sadly, is become more of a common sight) come from continuous and inappropriate breedings.

I do not recommend breeding, but if one really do want to breed their hamsters, please do read up alot before attempting. Seek help from more experienced and beware of those who call themselves "professional breeders". Do not be afraid to ask alot of questions, and make sure you are pepared to take care of an entire litter plus mummy. Hamsters can be sexually active at 4 weeks old, please take precautions to separate the males and females at this point.

Please practise good breeding ethics to ensure that our beloved hamsters remain what they deserved to be - healthy.

living alone.

2007-08-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Posted by Sonya

I am currently living alone. Mama has moved me out from the condo which all my hamster friends and I live together. She said that because me peeing in the gaps has caused a pretty big and smelly problem, so she bought this pretty red 2ft guppy tank (Guppy is a type of fish Human keep I think, I wonder if they are living in the same tank as me because they cannot aim properly when they pee too!) from a fish shop and transferred my warm beddings, the tissue nest which I have made, and my beloved wheel into the new tank!

At first Mama is worried that I will be very stressed over the new environment, but I do find it quite comfortable! I have already shifted my nest into my favourite corner and because Singapore has been raining pretty often lately, the enclosed tank actually keeps me quite warm. I think Mama is much more relieved now that she no longer has to scrub my space every two days like last time! And she is also happy that I am adapting well in this new place.

Now that I am staying on the floor, I can see alot of things around Mama's house! and Human feet look very funny! they also have 5 toes like hamsters but they are not shaped like ours! and they are not pink either!

i have messy hair!

2007-08-11T00:41:00.001-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

I have messy hair, but it does not really matter as long as I get to enjoy the tasty guava Mama just gave me. I am a happy hamster! (or milk tea) See my smile!

My birthday is coming up in another month, I will be a year old! I hope Mama will remember my birthday, and prepare lots of yummy treats for me. I can hardly believe that I have been living with Mama for almost a year now.

I think I shall try to sneak a pen and write "Do Not Forget Ah Peng's Birthday" into Mama's brown organiser, she does depend on it alot. I will have to do it tonight, when Mama is sleeping. Thankfully I am a nocturnal creature! However it will need to take alot of skills to not let Mama catch me, for she has been staying up pretty late these days to study for her Chemistry test..

aunt gerger

2007-08-07T08:59:00.001-07:00

Posted by Sonya

This is GerGer, she is one of my aunt and also Aunt Brandy's sister. Aunt GerGer lives with Mama's good friend, Royston, which she calls Papa. I have seen this Royston before, he likes to flip me over and tickle my tummy alot!

Aunt GerGer told me that her Papa takes very good care of her and feeds her fresh vegetables and fruits daily! Unlike me, Aunt GerGer does not have a water bottle, because all she gets all the water she needs from her daily dose of freshs! Her Papa seemed to love her alot, Aunt GerGer said that he also likes to flip her over and tickle her tummy too! This human is very weird.

Aunt GerGer's favourite past-time is to make comfortable and warm nests out of tissue paper and toilet rolls, her Papa has given her a huge toilet roll (I have one too!) and she seemed to be enjoying herself very much by tearing the roll apart and stashing the strips away in a corner for her to sleep in. I took a peek into her food bowl once, it is filled with sweet smelling fruits and vegetables! Aunt GerGer is very lucky!

I think Aunt GerGer is too happy to be fed so much goodies until she does not realise that she now weighs 165g! that is almost 40g more than me!

i am a naughty (but cute!) girl

2007-07-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

Posted By Sonya

Even though I am toilet-trained, I still cannot aim very well. Mama had to wash my living space twice a week! Yesterday was an extremely hot day, so i drank alot more water, and had to pee alot more. By nightfall Mama could smell my nasty stench I have left behind. Mama seemed a little mad at me, but luckily she is also understanding and thus let me off with a little warning to watch where I pee next time. (I think partly because I gave her a huh-what-did-i-do-now look which melted Mama)

Mama worked very hard last night, washing and scrubbing my tank, and trying very very hard to remove the pee smell which I have left behind. She told me that it is inconsiderate to leave such a bad smell for my other hamster friends and Mama human friends. She tried soaping the whole place (alot of times!) and using tea leaves to reduce the smell. From Mama's look I know it did not work out that well. She said something about getting a lemon today.

I am sorry Mama, I will try my best to aim properly next time. But in the meantime, I shall also work hard on my cute faces so that you will not be so angry at me.

hi, i am sonya

2007-07-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Posted by Sonya

Hello everyone, I am Sonya. Nice to meet you. I am a Silver Grey Umbrous Long Haired Syrian girl. I am born on 19 May 2oo7, which makes me about 7 weeks old today! I am currently staying with this human who told me that she will be my "Mama".

I came to this new home tonight, separated from my own Mother, Buttons, four sisters and two brothers. But I think I will like it here! I have a big space to run about and a huge wheel to play with! (and a red water bottle, my favourite colour!)

Mama said that "Sonya" means Wisdom in Greek. She mentioned that she is currently looking for Wisdom and *pop* here I am! Now Mama do not have to look any further. What is Wisdom anyway? It sounds very important. Maybe I will help Mama find it on myself later. (after I eat)

I am still a little shy, but Mama looks like she will take good care of me. I can smell other hamsters, so I do not think I am alone. I hope Mama will show me my new neighbours soon! It will be fun to have new friends.

very spooky

2007-07-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

This is so weird! When Mama carried me just now, her hands smelt different! They do not smell like how Mama smelt like in the past. In fact she smelt like a hamster! And it is definitely not my smell.. Is Mama slowly turning into a hamster like me too? Do you think she can fit into my tank with me? Then we can play together everyday!

yummy sprouts and my new weight!

2007-06-17T22:17:00.001-07:00

Posted By Ah Peng

This is my breakfast today! The sprouts which I have been talking about in the past few earlier entries. Mama could not get a good photo of it, so she took this pretty one from her Human Hamster Friend, Gabriel. Gabriel is the one who mixed this yummy sprout mix for Mama to feed me with. The mix contained alot of proteins which is very good for me. I want to grow up to be as big as Joseph!

Gabriel's sprout mix contains seeds like Red Clover, Radish, Mustard. There are also green and red beans (I always finish them up first!), green peas, black eyed peas and Garbanzo. Gabriel keeps parrots so this sprout is actually for them, but he is very nice to share and customize this so that cute hamsters like me gets to benefit from eating them! Mama has to soak the seeds overnight, and then later leave them to sprout or swell over the next day. This is when the enzymes in the mix is at its highest level. Then very soon they will end up in my tummy!

Mama told me that she has just sprouted the last serving of the sprouts, but not to worry! She will be ordering from Gabriel soon. I hope Gabriel remembers to put more green, red beans and green peas for me! I do like them alot.

Mama received a digital weighing scale last week and Mama took it out yesterday to weigh me. Before that Mama almost went crazy trying to find the right size of "batteries" for the scale. (I am not too sure what batteries are, but they sound very important! In Hamster World, the important things should be the bigger, the better! Just like vegetables and sprouts servings) In the end I spotted Mama removing the batteries from the TV remote controls. I hope she remembers to put them back afterwards, or else I will not be able to watch the Animal Planet show anymore.

A digital scale gives a more accurate reading, which means Mama do not need to squint at the funny lines like before. Mama happily told me that I now weigh 170g! That is 10grams more than the last time I was weighed. No wonder I have been feeling stronger recently, and able to eat more too. And shift more beddings around and run faster on my wheel.

Mama looks like she is going to continue fattening me up. Not that I mind.. because it always means more yummy food for me! :)

playing before the big meal

2007-05-22T07:35:00.001-07:00

Are these all for me Mama? Thank you I really love fresh vegetables alot! I even spotted some of my super favourite ones!! I shall slowly enjoy them. But before that can I play with you? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can you bring me out now Mama?? I really want to play now! :)

i got weighed!

2007-05-18T09:20:00.001-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

Today I was running on my favourite Wild Wheel as usual when Mama said to me "Hey, lets get you weighed!" I did not understand what does "weighed" meant so I stopped to ask Mama. But I think I must have looked very cute when I stayed on my wheel nicely because Mama shrieked and grabbed her black camera and told me to "Stay right there." Being the good boy that I always have, I listened. (Of course I also managed to spy a tasty corn treat on her computer desk too.. hamsters have very good sense of smell.)

Then Mama carried me into the kitchen and searched for the weighing scale. She took quite long to find it because she never remembers where it was. As she was muttering to herself about needing to get a digital weighing scale for me ASAP (what does ASAP means anyway? Always Smile At People?), I was happily exploring her kitchen table. I was about to sink my teeth into an apple when she picked me up and put me into this white bowl. It looked abit like my food bowl except that my food bowl is yellow and very much smaller.

Mama squinted at the funny lines of the scale and told me that I weigh around 160g! That seemed like alot of grams for me, though I do not understand what grams mean. I tried finding those grams in the white bowl but I could not find any. Mama said I am not underweight but I could definitely do with abit more weight! She told me that she will get a wider variety of vegetables and fruits for me very soon. My ears pricked and I smiled (Mama took alot of shots of my smiles, I think I just ASAP-ed at her) at the thought of more yummy food!

Mama said she hoped to pump me up till around 170+g through the reinforced diet. Maybe I should pretend to weigh lesser so that she will keep giving me more and more vegetables to eat daily..

fish rhymes with favourite dish!

2007-05-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

Mama told me that she will be making fish soup tonight and that she would leave aside some fish to steam for my dinner! I got very excited and watched Mama put some fish meat into the steamer. (I have to watch her because I am afraid she will forget about my fish!)

I think I am a lucky hamster because I get to eat fish every once awhile. Some people think that by giving us meat to eat, we will turn carnivorous, which is not true! All my hamsters cousins and me are omnivorous to begin with, so it is okay to give us meat like raw mutton, beef (not from the market or supermarket, have to be those which are specially packed for raw consumption!) or steamed chicken and fish. Mama says its better to steam than boil because when food is boiled, the nutrients from the food are left in the water. If they are steamed instead, cute hamsters like me will be able to enjoy the good proteins which stay locked in the meat.

I fell asleep while waiting for Mama to steam my fish, luckily I have a keen sense of smell and when the door was opened, I immediately woke up to receive my fish slices! They taste sweet and juicy and I finished them very quickly.

Because I was too excited to eat, I did not groom myself properly when I woke up. I think I saw Mama taking some photos of me. I hope she had deleted them like I have told her too.. it will be horrible if anyone sees them..

mmm.. durians!

2007-05-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

Tonight is my first time trying durian!! Mama came home with this ugly, prickly green monster and when she showed it to me I quickly hid behind my wheel because that monster stinks as well.

Mama said this is a durian and told me that I would be allowed to try a small piece later. I told her that I refuse to eat that monster but she didn't hear (unlike hamsters, I am beginning to think that humans have a very poor sense of hearing!). After awhile Mama opened my door and put her finger in. I smelt something sweet and immediately went to look for her. After sniffing to make sure that Mama did not bring in any of that green monster to scare me again, I nibbled abit of the new treat.

It is creamy and delicious! So I immediately grabbed the whole piece from the finger and ate it up on the spot. Mama said that this is how the inside of the durian looks like. I am very surprised that such an ugly monster could taste so nice inside. I learnt that I should not judge things from the outside anymore.

As I happily eat, Mama told me that durians are good for me because they contain healthy stuffs like Protein, Fats, Calcium, Iron, Minerals and it is also a wonderful source of Vitamin! I know they had to be good for me because I always hear Mama saying that hamsters need to have lots of Viatmin and Protein to grow up strong and healthy! (and of course, cute like me too!)

Don't tell Mama, but I secretly hid some of that durian in my cheekpouch so that I can enjoy them again later.. I think I like durians!

egg yolk day!

2007-05-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

Mama fed us (Me, Tomi and Kopi) soft boiled egg yolk yesterday. I was taking a nap when I smelt something delicious, and when Mama opened the door, I knew I was in for a treat! Mama said egg yolks have to be eaten either raw or soft boiled (separate from egg white in both ways) because if the egg yolk is hard boiled, the fats in the yolk is changed and it is not suitable for cute hamsters like me! However, egg white on the other hand, has to be hard boiled, else it will be very hard for me to digest. It is all very confusing to me but luckily I do not have to remember anything, all have to do is look cute when Mama comes and hopefully when she sees how cute I look, she will give me some extra treats!

As I was licking the yolk off the spoon, Mama turned and went to take the camera. Then when she was looking into the camera instead of at me, I quickly gobbled up the yolk and gave her a huh-what-egg-yolk look. But Mama said enough yolk for me and went to wash up the spoon. How can one have enough egg yolk! I tried to tell Mama that I want more of that yolk but she says I have to wait till next week, so here I am, waiting patiently for next week to come. How long is a week anyway? I hope it is not too long or else I would have forgotten about it when the next Egg Yolk Day comes..

about ah peng

2007-05-06T02:44:00.001-07:00

Posted by Ah Peng

Hello, my name is Teh Peng, but Mama calls me Ah Peng. Teh Peng means "milk tea". I wonder why does she calls me milk tea, I am very sure I am a hamster! Whatever a milk tea is.

As you can see, I am a hamster, a syrian hamster to be exact. Which means I am the biggest among all my other hamsters cousins (the Dwarves, Chinese and Roborovski). I like to live alone, so Mama got me a huge tank for me to stay. I like it very much because Mama put alot of Cat Litter beddings for me so it is warm and cosy when I sleep. Singapore's weather is very warm so sometimes I will kick the beddings away and sleep in the cool floor instead.

I like to eat fresh vegetables and fruits, and Mama sometimes gives me sprouts to eat! I like sprouts because it makes me healthy and I can eat alot more food after consuming sprouts. Mama says it is because of the enzymes in the sprouts which helps me digest my food faster and so I can eat more freshies! I feel sorry for the enzymes because I don't mean to eat them up. I think I will ask them to leave my food bowl the next time Mama feeds me before I eat them up accidently again.

In this space I will be updating my life and what I like to eat and do. But now it is day time and I am feeling sleepy so I think I shall take a nap now, do return here to look at my updates!