From: Maria Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 14:41:52 MDT ... My hamster is fine, he survived the 5 days of my absense without any disaster, although I think he has lost some weight!!! He shoved lots of stinky newspaper bits out of the cage as a welcoming present for me. Me and Anna went out and got him a new, improved, and bigger wheel to run on, due to his larger girth he no longer fits the smaller one. ...
Paws-on hamster dads
act as midwives for mates
New York Times Syndicate
KINGSTON, ONT.
Most mammals are lousy fathers.
Those that don't eat their young do little to help in the birth apart from making encouraging noises. Djungarian hamsters, though, are paws-on dads.
In the first published case of its kind, Canadian scientists have watched Djungarian fathers help pull their babies from the birth canal, lick off the birth membranes, open the baby's airways and share a snack of afterbirth with the mother.
There have been similar behaviour observations in other species, but Katherine Wynne-Edwards and her colleagues at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., are the first to explore why.
"Djungarian fathers have hormonal fluctuations similar to the mother's around the time of birth," she said.
Estrogen and cortisol levels rise before the birth, then fall away afterward as testosterone rises. This doesn't happen in the closely related Siberian hamster.
Although fathers in both species care for their young, Siberian hamsters appear on the scene well after the birth. But Djungarian fathers remain in the burrow at the time of birth, and help keep mother and young warm enough to survive.
"We hypothesized that because of the early hormonal changes, Djungarians would show the full range of paternal behaviour," Wynne-Edwards said.
They did. Not only were they exemplary midwives, she siad, "we saw the mother and father borth holding the afterbirth with four little paws, sharing it 50/50. There are probably lots of species that do this."
But few researchers have tried to find out, as it is difficult to measure hormones without stressing animals.
Excerpted from New Scientist, a weekly science and technology magazine
A scan of the article.
Now, having read the article, you should be able to do this quiz.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my brother brought back some money from Syria, the land of Hammy's ancestors. So if you've ever wondered what hamster money looks like:
![[Obverse]](img/img7/obv.gif)
![[Reverse]](img/img7/rev.gif)
Some funny Japanese sites about hamsters out there. Witness "Room of Hamster". Hilarious!
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2000 23:35:07 MDT From: Maria I brought Hammy to Edmonton!!! I think he has outstayed his welcome in my parent's apartemnet. They were complaining about his stink and [my sister] is starting to get allergies. I bought him this gourmet "honey stick" which is made out of seeds stuck together with honey-flavouring. My dad stuck the whole thing in his cage, he has eaten almost all of it and has neglected all his normal food!! I am worried that hammy is going to die soon. He is over a year old now, which makes him a senior citizen in hamster years.
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 00:24:11 MDT From: Maria I will give Hammy a squeeze for you. (I was a good parent and bought him expensive goodies yesterday. He thanked me by crapping in the hamster ball).
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 22:41:56 MST From: Maria I am driving down to Calgary next weekend to drop off the hamster again. He is fat and satisfied, as he does not have any huge life issues to worry about (like liscencing exams). Just eating and sleeping!!
Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 00:34:10 MST From: Maria Hammy says hi, he is looking forward to his journey south to visit my parents, when I am off in Westlock.
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2000 19:53:04 MST From: Maria I also dropped the hamster off, ha ha- I am rid of cage-cleaning for the next two months!!! My dad was happy because he thought Hammy recognized him.
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