No, this blog is not dead! Just hibernating.

Posted on by Malu

Yes I know! Its been too long since my last post and I feel really guilty. It’s just that I am so busy!

What could she possibly be doing that takes up that much time?

She’s breeding hamsters. What? Yes, she got a job as a conservation breeder for the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus).

But can’t you buy them in pet shops all over the world? NO! These are an entirely different species that make absolutely terrible pets as they are very aggressive and being bitten by one is a real blood bath. I call them my beautiful mini ninjas.

These hamsters are critically endangered, which is why we need to breed them in captivity and release a bunch of them into the wild every year to support the wild population. Through contracts with local farmers powered by EU subsidies we are also working to make the hamster habitat better for them so that hopefully one day, captive breeding will no longer be necessary.

But right now, I am very busy breeding beautiful little monsters instead of being a good blogger. So for now, I leave you with some pictures of my days at the “office” and a promise of a very informative post about Cricetus cricetus, as soon as breeding season calms down a little.

This is an adult hamster doing some yoga before his date.
My friend #2881. He has since fathered a big litter and is listed to be released into the wild next week.
These two are on their 1st date. Breeding can be stressful when you’re a strictly solitary animal.
This was my first litter of the year. 9 is great!
About 8 days old.
This is the first litter, now age 2,5 weeks. And yes, they choose to stack themselves like that, the box is not too small.
I think they look like tiny bulldogs.

    • 3 thoughts on “No, this blog is not dead! Just hibernating.”

    1. Hi Malou,

      They are very cute! No wonder you don’t have time for blogging.

      I have a question for you. I think you’re vegan? Do you know whether vegan products have to be cruelty free, as in no animal testing? It seems to me logical that they would be – and definitely should be, but I’m not sure. Thank you!

      Reply

      1. Hi!
        Generally the term vegan is a little “elastic”. Some people only apply it to food other also pay attention to their clothing etc and leave out leather. I believe many people are not aware that there is gelatine in cigarette filters and some wine filtering techniques. And then animal testing is of course a very hidden one where a lot of often unnecessary cruelty takes place. In medication and general research this is often not evadible, in body products however, it is. You can check the back of the bottle for little icons, usually involving a rabbit, that stands for cruelty free / no animal testing.
        Otherwise, if you don’t buy animal products, there are no animals involved in production and therefore no cruelty so vegan is in effect also cruelty free.

        Reply

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