4. Hamster websites

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ...@gmail.com>
Date: Nov 18, 2008 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: Babu my beloved hamster
To: David Sing <99pups gmail.com="">

Hello Dr. Sing,
Sorry that it took me a while to reply. I was busy confirming and arranging my flight for Australia next Feb (yes, i'm finally going) with all the accomodations, health check ups and other jests. I still read your website for interesting case studies. Sometimes I will google the clinical terms to find out more about the condition. Yes I'm such a geek! But i always found your case studies interesting, especially the dog that swallowed the chicken drumstick. I feel that you should spay it considering the owner already knew how you successfully managed to remove the drumstick without any casualities, so there's already a good impression. I'm sure she would understand if anything goes wrong due to the ongoing poor health of her dog. I really think it deserves a chance to experience it's last few years!

I don't think any pet shops host any websites on their own. But i found a directory that lists some of the pet shops in SIngapore. http://www.singaporebusinessguide.com/category/Pet_Shops.htm

I usually go to Serangoon North to get my pet supplies and sometimes hamsters as they have a great variety of accessories and different hamster breeds which are more affordable than Pet Lovers Centre, which operates at shopping malls and notoble landmarks. The shop that has great knowledge of rearing hamsters and has a wide variety of different breeds is The Little Pet Shop. Depending on the season, you can often find breds of Winter Whites, Syrians, Roborovskis and even Campbells which are rarely on sale these days due to their slightly aggressive behaviour and difficulty in handling and taming. However, the Little Pet Shop offers interesting colours like the Black Bear, Mottled, Opal, Beige, Sable. I found a good website that has an informative listing of the different type of colours and bandings. http://www.geocities.com/aaahamsters/
The shop claims to import their hamsters overseas from specialised breeders and therefore are able to offer a wide variety and colours to hamster enthusiasts.

There is another shop called the House of Chinchillas which sells a very extensive collection of syrians, both long haired and short haired. But the cost is expensive. Around $40. Unlike most pet shops that do not offer Syrians, I think this pet shop offers the best selection and colour types.


For a normal winter white breed, the costs varies from $5-$10. The pearl winter white would cost around $15-$20. For rarer dwarf campbell breeeds such as the Black Bear, I saw it being sold at $50 at Pet Lovers Centre but the Little Pet Shop at Serangoon only sells it for $30. The rarer Syrian breeds are generally more expensive, at least 40 bucks onwards but you could get the normal coloured ones for as less as $10-$15.
I bought a rare chocolate coloured dwarf from the Little Pet Shop about a year ago. His colour recessive was more much rare so it was a little pricier. Around $30. But I have never seen another hamster which has the same colour coat as the one i bought so it was a good investment. He is very aggressive despite months of taming until I deemed him untamable. but he is characterically interesting although he is such a devil! I could only hold him with gloves. He is in very good health though, very fat and cute! I have attached his picture to this email so you could see how he looks.

I found a forum that local pet owners communicate at http://www.petschannel.com/forum/ and the singapore hamster club forum http://www.sghamsters.com/ipb/

phew, think that was a mouthful! hope these could help you out.


On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 5:44 PM, David Sing <99pups gmail.com=""> wrote:

Thank you for detailed email reply. Babu might have middle ear infection for some time.

You are a good writer and will be a good producer of movie. You can also produce a good hamster book for children on how to take care of the hamsters. Why will anybody buy a Singapore hamster book unless it is well written and the book layout designed (by you for example).

Lots of hamster-care stories teaching the reader what happened to other hamsters that need care. That is my concept for this book for children 8 - 12 years old (primary school). Most of the problems are due to uneducated management, disease, feeding and others.

Can you search the internet to locate Singapore hamster forum and give me their URLs? Where are hamsters sold? Where they come from? How much to buy one? Any more Syrian hamsters and other breeds? We can research to know what are the other owners experiencing. If you have time, let me know.




On 11/5/08, ...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Dr. Sing, I just managed to view your email reply and shall post the answers to your following questions.

1. Babu's head was still not upright after surgery. From the phone conversation I had with you, we speculated that he probably had an inner tumour inside his head coupled with his constant scratching that might have inflicted his wound or tumour to be much worse. He also had eczema on his joints when i consulted you earlier a few months back.
2. Just about 8 hours before his death. I saw him lying down breathing heavily.
3. Yes, he was active and busy running his wheel and climbing on bars. He even had an voracious appetite.
4. I got him last November when he was slighly bigger than the average babies seen in Pet Shop. He was around one yr old when he passed away.
7. How detailed would you like the story to be? I generally feed him with these brands of food - Marukan Japanese Food Mix, Vitakraft & Harry Hamster. And of course his beloved dried mealworms! I use recycled paper bedding that is meant for small animals and change his bedding once every one and a half or two weeks. I switched to paper towels and tissue paper as bedding promptly after his sugery though, and change his bedding every night for hygiene.



As for the videos, I could only procide you with those that I have captured with my previous phone once I get its virus ridden memory card working as my apple computer is not compatible with its functions.. Ill let you know as soon as I could retirve my videos! and pls tell me more about your hamster book!

Take care Uncle!!



On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 3:16 PM, David Sing <99pups gmail.com=""> wrote:

Hello

I am sorry to hear the sad news. It is difficult to speculate on what's happened.

1. Is his head upright after the surgery? If not, there is more tumour inside the ear canal.
That may have caused him considerable ear ache.

2. How long since the surgery that you discover Babu dying?
3. Is he eating and active for past few days?
4. How old is he now?
5. Babu is a beautiful creature and has given lots of laughter to you and your lady friend.
6. Your pic of Babu were excellent.
7. E-mail to me a short story of when you purchased him, what he is fed, his routine, his bath time etc. Compile a video of what you have on You Tube (if you have the time). If and when I write a story book on Singapore hamsters, I will include Babu in one of the stories.

Thank you for providing me the feedback.

On 10/31/08, ....@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Dr. Sing,
I'm deeply saddened as I type this informal email to you. Babu, the white dwarf hamster with the lop-sided ear that you gave stitches to is down to its last breath right in his home. I don't know what happened but there are patches of blood stains scattered in his tissue paper bedding and the area where the stitches were seems to be the primary cause of its injury. My presumption tells me that he ripped his scab off the stitches and has caused a traumatic incision on his would that has left him gasping for life. He appeared to be normally active right after the surgery but perhaps I was too busy with work to actually properly follow up with his condition. Still, I change his bedding everyday and give him fresh new food and water with medicine. I do not know how long he has been lying as I was out before I saw his state but in this wee hours of the morning and his limp body lying listlessly, I guess that sadly, Babu has no chances of survival as we speak. Still, I would like to thank you enough for your invaluable support and treatment for Babu. Truly dear little Babu, with his mild mannerisms and love for dried mealworms would be greatly missed and loved by his owner. He is my favourite hamster, after all. I just thought that I should inform you as a follow up, despite the tragic news.


You could call me if you need any questions with the programme cd I gave you;or any account and details following up Babu's death. And yes, I'm still helping you out with the bottle label la, no worries.

I'm still so upset that Babu is down and dying :(