Bye Cuddles

We've had a loss here, one that's left us very upset. One of our dwarf hamsters, Cuddles, passed away. We found his body last night.

When we first got the hamsters Stephen took the afternoon off from work. We set up the cage and walked out to pick them up. What to call them was the big question. The names came about when I said 'If it was up to you we'd call them Cuddles and Kisses' and he said 'yes!'

Cuddles early on became the dominant hamster. He was always a lot more relaxed. To start with he was the first to explore, the first to check everything out. Later on he settled down always the second one to check out what food I'd put in. And why not? All he needed to do was stand there for Kisses to back off. He was the boss.

When it came to me Cuddles started off as the brave one. He'd see my hand in the cage and come for a sniff, a nibble perhaps. But never more than that. Although he wasn't scared of me he had no desire to be affectionate. Running, eating, sitting on his log - that was more his thing.

At the end he wound down. We noticed sometimes last week he was being sluggish, not eating as much, not being seen around the cage. Once when I came to check up on him I had to remove all the bedding to find him, sleepy and looking so much smaller, curled up. It was the only time I managed to hold him in my hand and it was precious.

He may have been small but he was very loved, a big part of our lives and we will miss him.

Goodnight Cuddles.