Justin Timberhamster

I have sad news that Justin Timberhamster passed away yesterday. His foster Mom let me know that she found him passed when she got home from work. Before she left for work he was walking around and drinking water from his bottle. He didn't show any signs of being ill or in distress. He will be sorely missed.
Justin arrived in a pink colored crittertrail one cage. I wanted to give him more room to explore and play, so I decided to place him in the bin cage Ray and I had built just for hamsters. We had zip tied screening to the top of the bin. I figured it was secure and Justin couldn't even reach or climb to that portion of the bin. I was very wrong! He had escaped! I was searching frantically for him. Then I saw the cats staring at something , and it was Justin. After I caught him, I was shocked to find his front leg all swollen and he wasn't using it. I thought one of our cats had hurt him! I took him to see the vet and found out that he had broken his leg. If our cat had him in their mouth or chewed on him, scratched him, or bit him, he would have a wound and a serious infection. He didn't have any of it. He more then likely broke his leg while he was climbing out of the cage, or when he got out. He was restricted to limited movement.. yeah, try telling Justin that! He wouldn't stop, he anted to escape again. His leg did heal, but it had a permanent crookedness to it. He was also placed in a much more secure cage. Then along came Adrianne, Justin's foster Mom. She brought him home to love him while he waited to be adopted.She loved giving him special treats. She said he enjoyed eating gnocchi, raisins, banana chips, and pumpkin seeds! That is Justin's grand story, for a grand hamster.