RIP amber
Dec 14, 2009 @ 12:08 AM
today was the designated day of the week to clean the hamster cage. little did i know that it would also be the last time i'd be cleaning it.
amber was really active in the morning though. running around in the little green hamster ball while i washed all her toys. although over the past month, i did notice a significant decrease in her body size, and loss of hair ): initially i thought she had a cancerous growth on the bottom of her mouth, but then i realized that its actually her skin being exposed due to the loss of hair. she was growing all these lumps on her ears too, but the pet shop people said its common in old hamsters.
then a few days ago, her right eye became weirdly infected and she couldn't really open it fully already. but ever since she loss all the weight, she's become more active and uses the running wheel more often than before.
but you see, that's the thing about death right?
you never expect it to happen.
at about 4pm the afternoon, i spotted her slumped in an awkward position in her sleeping corner. i tried poking her, and usually she responds by jerking awake and running off to look for food. but this time, she didn't even move when i carried her out. her belly was still moving up and down regularly when she breathed, but she's basically motionless with her eyes opened.
so i let her lie on a piece of tissue to watch friends with me. k i know i'm being melodramatic, because hamsters (esp paralysed, dying ones) can't watch friends. but well, i think she'd have liked a happy atmosphere to ease the pain of death.
then half hour later she started jerking violently. gave me a freaking shock la. i thought she was gonna jerk awake and run off the arm rest. but then she remained motionless after that. and basically, the violent spams went on for the next 3 hours at each 1 minute interval.
she looked so much in pain. and i wish i could've helped to end her death quicker. but i don't know how to do that man...
then at around 730 pm, when i checked on her again, i could see that the breathing had stopped. her pupils became cloudy, and the white part gradually expanded over the next half hour that i spent just observing her. my parents came home and then i wrapped her up in tissue, put her in an empty cornflakes box, and went down with my dad to bury her. he dug a hole (i had no idea my house had a spade) and i lay amber in it, then stuck at toothpick to mark the spot.
dear amber, you've been a great pet. one who never fails to amuse me with your silly antics, like how you refuse to drink water so i never bother to change your water bottle during the week, how you love cabbage and broccoli that my mum feeds you daily, how you bite on cage bars to remind me to feed you when i've forgotten, how you attacked scarface when i tried to introduce you a new friend (the little bugger deserved it), how you pee in the strangest places and stink up the whole cage, and how you always eat sunflower seeds off my fingers when i feed them to you.
sucks that i didn't really play with her as much as i should've over the course of the 2 years. though its really strange, because i was gonna leave for KL on tuesday, and we were gonna pass amber to my neighbour to take care of her for the 5 days. but then she chose today, of all days, to pass on. i imagine it would've sucked even more if she died when i was away and couldn't get to see her. so yea, thank you amber i guess, for being so convenient and considerate.
RIP amber! you will be sorely missed...
chij toapayoh