A Tribute To Scarlet

This is a video I created to remember our beautiful hamster Scarlet.

Sweet Dreams Sweet Scarlet

Unfortunately on the morning of Sunday, February 1st, 2015 I found Scarlet in an eternal sleep. She was safe and warm, curled up in her hidey house when I discovered her, with no signs of trauma or illness. Still, as she was barely 1 1/2 years old and seemed in perfect health the night before, her sudden passing came as quite a shock to us.

We brought Scarlet home in November of 2013. She helped my heart to heal after the passing of our hamster Chandler. Scarlet quickly won us over with her antics - she loved to run and climb and would eagerly greet me at the open cage door for a snuggle and cookie! She rarely sat still and loved to explore! She would run up and down my arms and scurry around excitedly during floor time! It was because of this that we had recently upgraded her 588 square inch home to 784 sq. inches! 

Scarlet had the most beautiful markings! She had a light cream colour around her eyes and a russet coloured behind while the rest of her was a beautiful brown. Her fur was soft and silky and I loved snuggling her. She also had a tiny white patch on her chest that I had only recently noticed!

Photographing Scarlet was always a challenge as she was always on the move! The only thing she loved more than running was food and pouching morsels of her dinner often stopped her just long enough for me to get that perfect shot! 

I miss this sweet ham so much. I feel blessed that I was the one who got to share my life with such a sweet little lady and that she passed peacefully, even if her time with us was too short.

Sweet dreams Scarlet, we love and miss you.

Scarlet's New Home!

Hubby (or Mr. Bb as he is more commonly referred to in the BudgetBunny household) had some time off during the holidays and needed a project to keep him busy! Since Scarlet was the only member of our furry family who still had not gotten her cage upgrade I immediately suggested we give her a new home for Christmas!

There was nothing wrong with Scarlet's current home. It offered 588 square inches of floor space (the minimum in North America for a hamster is 360), was secure, safe and had happily been the home of two Syrian hamsters before her, but our little Scarlet is one busy ham and I found it to be too small for her. I also wanted something that was a little more eye pleasing.

So three days before Christmas while others were out frantically finishing their Christmas shopping and wrapping their presents, Mr. Bb and I were at Home Depot picking up the supplies for Scarlet's new home!

Inspired by Hopping Hammy, we built the main structure of the cage out of melamine and used a leftover piece of plexiglass for the front. Mr. Bb also added some shelving at the bottom of the cage so I would have a storage area. 

We used a white wooden edging to hold all of the pieces in place and create a trimmed border around the cage. This helped to hide any rough or unfinished edges. Mr. Bb also added a small second level so that Scarlet could access anything we hung from the roof of the cage and to give her a little more floor space. Once everything was in place, I used aquarium sealant to add a waterproof barrier to all of the edges. 

Next Mr. Bb added legs to the bottom of the cage to get it up off of the ground. Then he set to building the lid. To make it easier to open, Mr. Bb made two lids, each on their own hinges. On one of the lids he used a rotary drill bit to put several holes in it for ventilation.

We covered these with sturdy hardware mesh. It would be next to impossible for Scarlet to reach this high up in the cage but as hamsters are little escape artists we didn't want to risk it! Plus we didn't want our three cats attempting anything either by sticking their paws in to the cage! Mr. Bb attached a handle to each lid to make it easy to open!

And finally on Christmas Eve our little Scarlet moved in to her new palace! Her new cage measures 16"x49" and offers 784 square inches of floor space to our little princess. I love how fresh and clean her new home looks! It is so easy to view Scarlet, is safe and secure and gives her almost 200 square inches more of floor space to explore!

Scarlet & The Yogurt Drop

Our adorable Syrian hamster Scarlet can't resist a tasty treat!

Don't forget you can follow Scarlet here:

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Instagram: @BudgetBunny

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Farewell Lucy

It is with a heavy heart that I write this and say goodbye to our Syrian Hamster Lucy.  Lucy joined the Zoo in January of 2010 when I stumbled upon her while shopping and instantly fell in love with her cute mannerisms and look.  She was extremely skittish at first but quickly warmed up to me and my husband.  She was always a late sleeper and many nights we wouldn't see her at all.  Occasionally I would wake up in the middle of the night and hear her running miles on her wheel.  She never got used to her hamster ball - whenever we put her in it, she preferred to take a nap or groom herself instead of exploring.  Lucy was a little pokey, never trying to escape the homemade cage we built her and never curious to check out the surroundings beyond her home.  She contentedly cuddled in the crook of our arms, our lap or just in the palm of our hand while we pet and kissed her.  She was also an amazing model for many of my animal photography feats as I would put her where I wanted and she would wait patiently for me to take the shot.  In the last few months we knew her life was coming to an end - she was sleeping more - sometimes to the point where I was waking her up to make sure she was still with us.  She rarely went on her wheel and was eating less and less.  Finally at just over 2 years of age, the time came when Lucy was ready to peacefully go to the Rainbow Bridge.  She is joining our first hammy Calvin.  We will miss her dearly but are very grateful that she passed on so calmly.  We gave her the best hammy life we could on this Earth and now wish her nothing but everlasting peace and happiness wherever her soul has taken her. <3