Andy

Gwen, We Hardly Knew Ye

At approximately 9:15 tonight, Gwen Chiappa was buried outside next to the tree at the pond. Apparently her stay here was something of a final fling before being overcome by hamsterish illness and old age. You could say that I served as Hamster Hospice for those three weeks. Gwen's passing will be marked by the first annual Gwen Chiappa Hamster Invitational Power Croquet Tournament, also known as the GCHIPCT, which will take place in the spring.

We will never forget you Gwen, most hamsterish hamster of them all.

Gwenwatch, Final Installment

At the time of this writing Gwen has officially moved out. Joe's arrival prompted much friskiness and even some wall climbing. I feel that we said our goodbyes in an appropriate manner, with me forking over hamster treats and Gwen happily gobbling them up while using my fingers as a makeshift ladder.

Ah, the memories...

Gwen on Break

Activity over the past couple of days has been sparse. Perhaps Gwen has finally completed her massive earth-moving project, or perhaps she has uncovered something best left undisturbed... I may string up some garlic just in case.

I have now archived all of my Gwenwatch 2005 posts into one category, aptly named "Gwenwatch." Now you can ignore my frivolity all in one place!

Gwen, Now in Technicolor

After failed attempts at hiring an around the clock film crew, I have settled on showing you a couple quick snapshots of Gwen in her umm... natural habitat. These photos were taken with an Olympus C-740 digital camera from within my hamster-blind. As usual you may click on these images to view larger versions.

Gwenwatch Update

Man, when Gwen comes out to drink, she really does it right. She just spent several minutes just chugging away at her little tube bottle, and would brook no interruption. I tried to tempt her with tasty hamster snacks to no avail.

Section 8 Hamster-Housing

Gwen's burrowing instincts have backfired fully now. Her hamster house is leaning on the wooden ramp next to it, and Gwen now has to get out from the opposite side. Is this hamsterish sabotage or cutting edge art?

You decide.

The Zen of Gwen

As we near the 3 week mark of Gwennish care, I cannot help but look back with pride at the new skills I have developed. I am now a fully licensed Hamsterologist and Hamstlosopher, and am well on my way to mastering the ancient art of Hamstrology as well. What is the difference between Hamsterology and Hamstrology, you ask? Well, Hamsterology pertains to the general knowledge and care of hamsters in a general sense, while Hamstrology involves the fortelling of hamsterish futures by looking at the stars.

Duh.

Gwen Exultant!

I am here to report some serious hamstering having taken place around 4:30 this afternoon. We had full drinking activity at first, followed by treat snatching and general friskiness. I was careful not to introduce lone fingers into the mix this time given Gwen's history of violence, and all went well as a result.

Poor Gwen

After relocating her hamster house last night, Gwen now has some difficulty getting in and out. I hesitate to move it back to its original position because I feel confident she would just move it again. Perhaps Gwen's poor eyesight is to blame for this engineering disaster, or perhaps she just likes a cozy basement abode.

Gwen Alert

I just looked back after hearing even more scratching and found that Gwen uprooted her hamster house! It's now leaning precariously forward and is tipping as she continues digging. This may be an indication of full-scale revolt.

The Gwen Report

Feverish scratching is taking place at 10:12pm. The whole hamster house is now shaking around, which could mean that Gwen has been reanimated as a Frankenhamster. I don't see any lightning bolts though...

Gwenwatch, the Revenge!

Gwen bit me! I just caught her outside her basement lair for a lengthy drink, gave her a hamster treat, tapped at her cage a little bit in front of her and she bit me! I must have been asking for it - the hamster treat smell was probably on my finger and all. Fortunately for me, Gwen is an old weakling so no damage was caused, other than the bruising of my self esteem of course.

Gwenwatch, the Night Rolls On

Around 5pm tonight I realized that I had been forgetting to give Gwen hamster treats! Yes, there are hamster treats, and yes, they were left for me along with the food. This could change everything. Well actually it couldn't, but it sounds ever so much more engaging to say that it could.

Gwenwatch Day 10

I made a startling and kind of sad realization last night about our hamstery friend Gwen. As you may have been reading (yeah right, like anyone is reading this thread) she has been digging a basement level below her hamster house. Well, after some observation last night I feel confident that this is in fact her food storage depot! It appears feeble little Gwen is cutting down on her trips up and down the ladder to her food dish by taking more than she needs with each (infrequent) trip. I wish I could move the dish to the bottom level, but I would essentially have to dismantle the cage to do it. I did dump a small amount of food to the bottom last night, which could extend her life expectancy by a few hours with any luck.

Gwenwatch, Tuesday Edition

Unfortunately my cable connection has been out for the most part over the past few days. I apologize for the startling lack of Gwen updates. Over this time I have realized that Gwen becomes far more active with some encouragement, and has no problem with careful petting and cage tapping. I moved her food down one level in her cage, as she has quite a bit of difficulty handling the ladders at her extreme age. The poor thing is all hair and bones.

Gwenwatch Pasadena

We're now entering day 7 of my reports on Gwen the hamster. Day 6 was met with resistance in the form of an internet outage, but you really didn't miss much. Today, however, is a different story. Furious drinking has just taken place within the last 3 minutes, followed by scratching (at the lid of her hamster-house basement grave perhaps?), and now silence. I have heard that hamsters only turn silent when they are about to attack. Believe me, I am on my guard!

Gwenwatch Night 5

Gwen is digging and scratching feverishly under her hamster house. Either she is looking to complete a finished basement or she is digging her own grave. We'll find out soon I imagine.

Gwenwatch Day 5

We have movement outside the house and drinking from the water bottle today at 4:18pm. It also appears food has been eaten, perhaps sometime after 1am last night.

Gwenwatch, 4th Installment

And... yes! We have water drinking, followed by judicious wood scratching at 11:41. Hopefully "scratching" doesn't constitute "death throes."

Gwenwatch Part 3

10:30 - Considerable scuffling heard. Gwen sighted outside the house for at least one (1) minutes. The concern has been raised that perhaps Gwen is on a hunger strike in protest against her new environs. Perhaps I should set a mousetrap so I can pick her up and feed her more easily.

Gwenwatch Continues!

This just in. At 3:52pm Eastern time scuffling was heard in the vicinity of the hamster house. No visual contact has been made at this time.

edit: Additional scuffling is underway at 4:41pm. Camera teams standing by.

Gwenwatch 2005!

On monday my friend Joe dropped off his and his new wife's hamster here just before embarking on his honeymoon. I have watched Gwen the hamster in the past (maybe 2 years ago), but this time I have decided to up the ante and provide you with a thrill-packed play by play as the days roll on...

Day 1
On Monday evening Gwen arrived, seemingly unphased by her journey from Columbia to here. Over the 3 to 4 hours we were both awake, I believe Gwen had a drink of water, otherwise hiding out in her little hamster house.

Day 2
I believe I heard a little scratching from within the hamster house. Gwen journeyed forth for a short drink of water around 9pm, then returned to the confines of her red-roofed abode.

Day 3
I assume Gwen made the daily water ritual, but I can't say for sure. To my knowledge there has yet to be a run on her food dish.

Day 4
That brings us to today. At 2:41, I can report no activity. Further bulletins as events warrant.