A most exciting thing has happened this week!
Daniel and I had been working out our budget for the next little while, and it worked out that we ended up having a little extra cash left over.
"Oh huzzah!" we rejoiced, "What are we going to do with our leftover moolah?" We debated such ideas as going on a cruise or buying new cars, but it turns out it's really tough to find cruises or cars for under $20, so we decided to go with something a little more within our budget.
"Why don't we get Bandy a brother?" Daniel suggested. "You got yourself a deal, mister!" said I, and we were off to expand our family.
We ended up having to check three pet stores before we found a single boy hamster, but the third pet store had just what we were looking for. Phodopus sungorus, also known as Djungarian or Winter White hamsters, are one of three species of dwarf hamsters. The other two species are Phodopus campbelli (Campbell's Dwarf) and Phodopus roborovskii ("Robo" dwarf). Walter is a Robo, and Nigel was a Sunfire hamster, which is a Djungarian-Campbell hybrid.
We went to the pet store originally intending to adopt a regular Djungarian, but as soon as I walked up to the cage and asked about them, the pet store lady said "Those guys are jerks. They bite and they're mean." So, I went with the tried and true classic, the Sunfires.
There were two little guys in there that I saw right away. The first one I saw was really pale and kinda tubby, and he didn't look super great. "He's been having some issues with his eye," said the pet store lady, "We're probably going to have to take him to the vet soon."
The second hamster was like one and a half times the size of the tubby hamster, and way bigger than a less-than-six-months-old Sunfire should be. Plus his coloring resembled more of the Robo's, but without the characteristic white eyebrows. "I don't think that's even a Sunfire..." I pointed out. "Yeah, he's got some issues with fighting, too," she said, "I think he was the one that hurt the other guy's little eye."
Then the bedding behind them rustled, and I realized there was a third hamster in the cage.
He was so little and fluffy and precious and ginger and just so adorable I couldn't resist! The pet store lady woke him up and got him out of the cage for me to hold. There in her hands, the cutest little hamster opened his eyes and looked up at me.
It all seemed very familiar...
He looked at me with his creepy red eyes...
"Do they all have red eyes?" I said.
"Yes," said the pet store lady.
I looked at him some more...
"Do we have a winner?" Daniel said.
"Yeah, OK," I said. So the pet store lady packed him up in his tiny hamster takeout box and we took him home.
We discussed several names for him...
"Bentley?"
"No, he's not a car or that guy from The Bachelorette... how about Archibald?"
"Hmm, not an Archie. How about Bartholomew?"
"Not a Bart either. What about... Sheldon?"
"Could do Sheldon. Or Starbuck!"
"What if we called him Radagast?"
"Radagast! Yes. Perfect."
And thus, Radagast, the tiny, creep-eyed hamster, came to live with our family. He and Walter are still getting to know each other, but in time I'm sure they will be able to coexist peacefully.
Yep, life is good.
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