Skippy the Hamster

A few months ago I paid a visit to my friends Philip and Rina. When I arrived at their house, though, I realized I was not visiting just them. They had a third party living with them - a hamster called Skippy.

Skippy is a Syrian Hamster. Also known as Golden Hamsters, these types of hamsters are small - about six to seven inches long - and furry. They are covered with beautiful golden-brown hair, with a large white "belt" from chest to waist. The first to describe the Syrian Hamster were Patrick and Alexander Russell, two Scottish brothers working as physicians in Aleppo, Syria. Their description appeared in Alexander's The Natural History of Aleppo in 1797.

When Rina and Philip bought Skippy from the pet store, they thought they had gotten a male hamster. But some weeks later, they came home to find Skippy with seven babies in the cage. Skippy, they discovered, was actually a girl. Thank goodness they had not given her a boy's name. She obviously was pregnant at the time of her purchase.

I first got a look at the little ones a week or so after they were born. They were tiny, blind (eyes shut) and hairless. Needless to say, at that time they really didn't do much other than nurse at their mother's breast. Their helplessness surprised me in a way. Although many other species of animals, such as cats and dogs, are helpless at birth, at least puppies and kittens have hair.

Seven babies appear to be quite a lot, especially if you consider they practically never gave Skippy's poor little nipples a moment's rest! As well, female hamsters can become pregnant several times a year, as the babies remain in their mother's womb for only sixteen days.

Though Skippy and her girlfriends seemingly shoulder a heavy burden in producing the next generation, for the hamster as a species bearing a large number of offspring makes sense. For starters, hamsters generally do not live very long. Their average lifespan, even in captivity, is roughly two to two and a half years. Therefore if they did not have a considerable quantity of little ones, hamsters as a group would soon die out. This is true of other small creatures as well, like mice and rabbits. These animals compensate for their lack of longevity by breeding as much as they can (no wonder the rabbit ended up as the symbol of Playboy magazine!).

A week later, however, the little critters were sporting some hair, even though there was still a lot of pink skin to be seen. By the time they were about four weeks old, they were completely covered in fur (other than their nose, tail, and paws) and were nearly as big as their mom. Skippy was then trying to wean her babies from the breast. Rina and Philip gave six of the babies away to friends, but they kept one, a boy named Niko, for themselves. Soon, though, they had to separate Niko from his mother because the two animals were fighting. As well, Niko and Skippy might even have mated together, and Rina and Philip didn't want any incest in their family!

I would have adopted a baby hamster myself, but with four cats in the household, he or she would have had to stay inside a cage all the time, and I feel an animal should enjoy a certain amount of freedom. However, I still love visiting Skippy and Niko, watching them run on their treadmills, stuff food into the pouches of their cheeks, or stand on their hind legs in an attempt to get out of their cages. Studying and/or caring for hamsters can teach us a great deal about biology, responsibility and, of course, cuteness.

Emily, 17, Canada

Meow, Bark, Ring!

(a day as a vet clinic volunteer)

Meow! Bark! Ring! "Someone get the phone!" That's exactly what my first morning at a veterinary clinic sounded like. I've always wondered what it's like being a vet or a vet technician so I volunteered to help at my local vet office. Getting up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday wasn't easy, but the staff had to arrive at 8 a.m. The first order of the day was to take care of the dogs and cats who stayed overnight at the clinic. We had to clean their cages and make sure they had fresh water and food. I opted to clean the cat cages. A cat named Maui occupied the first cage. A cruel owner had shot poor Maui in the head.

A couple of female cats were recuperating from spays the day before and slept quietly in their cages. "Tiger-spayed" read one of the cards attached to a cage. Inside, a multicolored tortoiseshell cat meowed and began purring, like she was begging to be petted. One cage held two fluffy kittens that were caught on a farm and needed shots and check ups. They stared with wide eyes as the staff moved around in the cat room.

Time to work with the dogs. A huge Husky named Keoria had been hit by a car and wore a blue cast on her front leg. She was hooked up to an IV pump that slowly dripped medicine into her veins. Sarah turned off the pump and unhooked her IV. After Sarah tugged gently on Keoria's collar, the dog limped slowly outside to her pen and adjoining dog run. A few cages down from Keoria, was a small Chocolate Lab puppy. She was lying flat on her side with tubes running in and out of the cage. She was thin and her ribs showed through her thin, dull coat. She began vomiting and coughing. "DO NOT HANDLE" was attached to her cage.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked Sarah. "Salmonella food poisoning. Her owner fed her raw eggs and table scraps." Sarah said. She assured me the puppy would recover after a few days of rest and medication. Patients slowly filled the waiting room. A new patient was about to be called back when a woman and her husband burst through the door. "Bad dog fight! Our dog got hurt!" the woman explained breathlessly. Please, God, don't let the dog die, I thought as I struggled not to panic.

Dr. Nanci threw out instructions to ready a room and hurried out to the car. It took all three adults to carry in the dog. She was an older, overweight Beagle named Mindy. Bloody scratches and several tooth marks marred her face. One eye was swollen shut and she was panting heavily. Dr. Nanci immediately started an IV and injected the dog with painkillers. Dr. Nanci asked everyone but her assistant to leave the room while she examined Mindy. The dog's owners waited anxiously in the outer room. After what seemed like hours, Dr. Nanci emerged from the examining room. Mindy's owners appeared to hold their breath as they looked at Dr. Nanci. "She'll be fine, just fine." Dr. Nanci said reassuringly. Mindy's owners sighed, then smiled in relief. This day wasn't over yet!

An older man carrying a pet carrier came into the clinic. He was dressed in worn out blue overalls and a farm hat. He explained that he caught his barn cat, "Bugsy," because she was due for vaccinations.
"If you don't mind, I'll take her back and weigh her," I told him. "Oh, don't do that! She'll scratch you to pieces! Bugsy's a mean one." he told me with a serious look on his face. I took the tan carrier back to the scale and cautiously opened the door. "Hiss! Hiss!" A large orange and white cat hissed a warning. After talking to her for a few seconds, I reached into the carrier and scruffed her behind the neck. She submissively put her tail between her legs and let me weigh her without a hitch. I placed her gently back in the carrier and latched the door. This set off another round of hisses.

Bugsy was the last patient. After a final check on the animals in the back room, the clinic was closed for the day. I had survived my first day volunteering at a vet's office. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. I said a silent prayer thanking God for giving me strength through this trying day.
Veterinarians require eight years of college. Vet technicians don't need as much schooling but aren't authorized to perform as many procedures. Vet technicians can give vaccinations, weigh the animals, assist the vet in surgeries and take x-rays. Only actual vets are licensed to give rabies shots, perform surgeries, and diagnose patients. You just might discover becoming a veterinarian or vet technician is a job you'd love.

Jessica B., 16, Florida