Hamsterrific!

Spongebob used to be my favorite hamster.

When we still had Spongebob and Snowball in the same cage, Snowball was the pushy arrogant one and Spongebob was the one I felt sorry for. Snowball won all the arguments and hoarded all the food. He eventually kicked Spongebob out of the penthouse. You’d walk in, look at the cage, and there would be Spongebob up on a shelf surrounded by a little circle of bedding – the pittance that Snowball hadn’t taken up to his fortress of solitude. He’d give you that look as if to say, “Do you have any idea what I have to go through here?”

Monday I went to Pet Smart and got him a new cage – Xtreme tubing and all – and set him up with his own place to live. This cage has a penthouse apartment that he could call his very own, plus a neat wheel contraption at the top that rotates around vertical axis while he runs. His first night in he ran and ran and ran. All was good in the world.

Then I woke up. The next morning I discovered he had taken all the bedding and food he could find and carted it up into the wheel, wherein he made his new nest.

After work Tuesday I stopped by Pet Smart again to pick up a little hamster house. It was a big wooden arch that would provide him with something to hide under and something to chew. I dumped his nest out of the wheel into the main part of the cage, put the arch over it, and reassembled the wheel. He was obviously very curious about the new addition and was all over it. As I was heading off to bed, I glimpsed a nice little serene moment – Spongebob curled up asleep next to his new little home.

Then I woke up. The next morning I discovered he had taken all the bedding and food he could find and carted it up into the wheel, wherein he re-made his new nest.

Between jobs on Wednesday, I ran back to Pet Smart and got a new hamster thing – this time a sky box! I figure it has the height and seclusion he wants (why, I’m not sure – he lives alone!), it’s easier to clean, and it doesn’t leak like the wheel. I dumped the contents of the wheel back into the cage, saw that he was exploring the sky box, and went to work. When I came home he hadn’t moved any bedding, but he was running happily in the wheel. All was good in the world once again.

Then I woke up. This morning I discovered he had taken all the bedding and food he could find and carted it up into the wheel, wherein he re-re-made his new nest.

I dumped the contents of the wheel (hamster excluded) into the sky box and rearranged the layout of the cage a bit. He went in and inspected the sky box again – this time with his familiar things put inside, and seemed to like it. For now. Emily even reported that he was emptying his cheeks up there, not filling them as he would to take everything away.

I have no idea what will be awaiting me when I get home, or when I wake up tomorrow. I just know that Spongebob is not making that ball into a permanent nest. It’s turned into a battle of the witless. Ms N says that I am bound to lose – that Spongebob is more stubborn than I am. I still say I will prevail.

One thing for sure, Pet Smart will come out of this a winner.