Since I’m stingy & I don’t want these foods to run out too fast, these foods will only be treats & not part of the animals’ daily diet.

I like Marukan

He should be featured on MTV’s Crib :p

Last week, I bought one of those run-about balls for the hamsters from Drs. Foster & Smith. That way, I could let them out, without being worried that they would squeeze into every nook and cranny in the apartment.

A few days ago, the shipment came & it took awhile for Daddy Hamster & Baby Hamster to learn how to use it. I only bought 1, so they had to take turns. I bought the 7″ in clear, so that they can still see while in the ball. I think it’s a good size for Syrian hamsters in general. Finally, they got the hang of it, except that they kept running into things .. the walls, the desk. Maybe because it’s clear, they don’t see the ball as a barrier. But I think they like it, except with the ball, they can’t climb to certain places (which is exactly what I don’t want them to do).

The packaging of the Run-Around Ball says “a hamster runs up to 5 miles each night.” I don’t think I can even run 5 miles a day. The instruction also says to let a hamster run in the ball for 15-30 minutes each time. I think 30 minutes is pushing it .. especially now that it’s summer, the hamster can overheat in that enclosed ball. So, I only let them run around for 15 minutes max in the ball.

I also tried the ball with the robo girlies. At first, I put one of them in the ball. Didn’t work. I think the ball was too heavy for one of them (I have carpet flooring, which makes it even harder for the ball to roll on the floor). Then, I put all of the 3 girlies in the ball. I couldn’t stopped cracking up because now that they had enough power to roll the ball, they were all running in 3 different directions!

That didn’t work. So, yesterday I went to buy the 5″ Run-Around Ball in clear, just for the girlies. I put one of the girlies in the ball & she instantly knew how to use it! She had so much fun with it, running around the living room! They had to take turns, because there’s no way I’d put more than 1 Robo’s in the ball .. they wouldn’t get anywhere because they’d try to run in different directions. These girlies have never been outside of their cage, except when I clean their cage, because they’re so tiny & fast!

Note: I noticed that there are some people who use the 13″ ball for their chins. NO! NO! NO! Chins tend to overheat & placing them in these balls is just a hazard. Besides, these balls are plastic & chins will chew & swallow plastic, which can block their digestive systems causing fatal injuries. Please please please don’t place your chins in these plastic balls!