Fluffy Fairy

Meet the newest addition to the family! Fairy is a dwarf hamster and is only around 6 months old now. What is the difference between a regular hamster and a dwarf hamster you ask? Well, around RM8... (hehehe... obviously smaller as well lah...)

We got Fairy a while back, cause the kids had been pestering me for a hamster ever since cousin Amanda got one. (Amanda's is called Angel!)

So anyway, I used this 'hamster reward' as bribery/ blackmail material for quite a while. Like: "you better don't cry otherwise I won't buy the hamster..." or "I'll see if everyone can keep quiet until we reach home, then I will buy a hamster...." e.t.c... It' always good to have something you can bribe them with. So here's some parenting advice, when they ask for something, don't get it straight away, make the most of it first!! :)

So after a while, the bribery was getting stale, and I figured I had better keep my end of the promise and get them the little critter. We went to the pet store and I let them choose one. The dwarf variety are smaller and cuter. I made Annie promise that she would maintain the pet and cage, i.e. keep it clean and fed at all times.

We got a nice three level cage, complete with bathtub (yes, we fill it with scented salt and she'll roll about inside!), a small detachable house, two running wheels (which the lazy thing only uses to sleep in!), a water bottle and food bowl. Then we had to get her food, bedding (wood shavings), bath salts and also a ball in which she could roll about freely around the house! Hubby is very amused when she's rolling about in the ball! :) Think "Bolt" the animated movie.

The kids were super excited to have a hamster at home and paid it lots of attention. Well, that only lasted about a month and then poor little Fairy was relegated to a corner. Only Solomon seemed to be the most attached to her. Once, Kakak caught him feeding her his milk! She was licking it straight out of his bottle! Then I also caught him trying to put Fairy into the ball all by himself. (He's usually up to all this mischief at night, when the others have gone to sleep!)

So anyway, I thought up a 'shared custody program'. Since cousin Allyson and gang were also pestering their mummy for a hamster, I thought it would be good that we shared Fairy. That way, the kids would have a chance to miss her when she was gone and appreciate her more when she was home. Also they could share the responsibility of feeding her and keeping the cage clean. 

So now, Fairy is at cousin Allyson's and we'll have her back next month. Annie was the first to approve of the shared custody program, since she was the one picking up all the hamster poop!! :)

Yes, a pet is indeed a good way to learn responsibility...