A hamster resides in my kingdom

MARLEY

In the past, I've only had one rodent that was a welcome addition to the family living in my house. My son wanted a small pet when he was about 12 years old. Because we lived in an apartment complex, small would fit in just fine. I think the little hamster lasted six or eight months before we found Rufus a new home.

This past Christmas, I weakened again. This time my grandsons had wanted a small pet in their room. When Marley, the hamster appeared in the Valley Post Pet of the Week section, I gave the idea a more serious thought. I vowed that if Marley wasn't adopted that week, I would give him a home with the grandkids and me.

The week after Marley's debut in the news, I adopted the critter and went searching for just the right habitat with all the amenities a hamster could dream.

Getting him smuggled into the house was the next trick, so he had to stay at work with me for a couple of weeks. Then, on Christmas Eve, I wrangled up a plan and took Marley home in the back of the SUV, his habitat disguised beneath a blanket. While the kids were not in the house, I carefully carried the bundle into the house and my bedroom where he would stay until later that night.

We spent the evening with family, exchanging gifts and eating our way through the early part of Christmas Eve, before heading home for the finale.

I had carefully placed Marley in his habitat next to the tree on a wooden TV tray so the kids wouldn't miss him. It went off as planned, they were totally surprised to see this elaborate habitat and Marley inside running in a wheel that was attached on top of his home connected by a network of tunnels that gave the hamster access to a space pod and the wheel.

What we learned is that hamsters have specific needs in the food circle. They love carrots which are good for them. They eat a diet of grains and seeds similar to what birds eat. They are bedded down with wood shavings, but pine isn't the best. We discovered that Aspen tree shavings are the best choice for hamsters.

Marley, like the dog Marley in the Hollywood movie Marley and Me, was named after the late musician Bob Marley only because the hamster's hair is as unruly as the musician's was - totally unkempt - wild and wooly.

But Marley is a friendly guy. He likes to stick his head out of the space pod for a pet on the head and a look at the world around him.

After a month with us, Marley has a car, powered by the little guy spinning in a wheel set in the middle of the car. He also has a ball to roll around the house in while his home is cleaned. He now has the cat and dog intimidated as he crashes about the house. They keep a safe distance, seemingly puzzled at his antics.

There is one thing, however, that many people like me didn't know about hamsters. They are nocturnal. It wasn't a problem at first as Marley had his days and nights mixed up. He loved to get in the wheel and spin it furiously while it was still daylight. I thought this was a great thing. He will be just fine and will acclimate to our schedule. Not!

The first time I got up in the middle of the night hearing a strange-to-me noise coming from the other end of the house (I have a small house) the thought never occurred to me what I would discover.

The sound was coming from the boy's room. I walked softly to the doorway, the door cracked ajar, as usual. In the dim light the wheel was whirring with a motor that wasn't about to run out of gas.

"Marley," I whispered. "Stop it Marley, go back to bed."

No way was the hamster about to stop. He was on an exercise roll. Well, the boys were asleep, so he wasn't affecting them, but what was causing the noise? I went back to my bedroom, closed the door and went back to sleep.

The next morning I told the boys about the noise Marley was making.

"Oh yeah, Grandma," said my oldest grandson. "Marley leaves fecal droppings in the wheel. He's not very discreet, you know."

The mystery is solved, but the solution still remains a dilemma. It's on to the drawing board to figure a way that Marley can get his exercise and not disturb the rest of us. Empty his exercise wheel all you want, he fills it up again. So, the wheel will become a fixed tunnel that doesn't move and Marley will have a wire mesh wheel in his habitat that allows the droppings to exit the device.

All will be well under one roof again.