Omlet in the wild with Charlotte, Kitty & Isobel

Ahead of the launch of our new Hamster Habitat, we recruited a few willing participants to try it out at home. Now, after a few months of happy hamster keeping, our reviewers are ready to spill the bedding…

Thanks for talking to me today guys. Could you start by telling me your names, and how old you are? 

Isobel: I’m Isobel. I’m six.

Charlotte: I’m Charlotte, I’m eight.

Kitty: I’m Kitty. 

And how old are you, Kitty?

Kitty: Six. 

From left to right: Isobel, Charlotte & Kitty – holding Rascal, their pet hamster.

Lovely. OK, so today we’re going to talk about… gerbils?

[In unison]: No!

Mice?

Isobel: No, hamsters!

Oh yes, silly me, hamsters. But why are we talking about hamsters?

Isobel: Well, because we have one.

Charlotte: We were chosen to do a review for Omlet. 

Ohh, were you? So, wait, let’s start at the beginning. How long have you had your hamster? 

Charlotte: Hmm, 5 months I think.

Mum: Was it April?

Charlotte: March.

Isobel: No, May!

Mum: I think Charlotte’s probably right.

Right so that’s 5 months. And what happened when you got your hamster?

Charlotte: Well, mummy and daddy gave it to us as a surprise, one day after school.

Isobel: Yes, it was one day after school. 

And what were you reviewing?

Charlotte: We were reviewing the new Omlet cage.

Isobel: To see if it’s good or bad. 

Good or bad? Interesting. But to review the cage, of course you needed the hamster… 

Charlotte: Yep!

So, what’s your hamster called? 

Isobel: Rascal!

Is Rascal a he or a she?

Isobel: A he.

Did you know that straightaway?

Charlotte: Well, mum told us. But we knew anyway because we thought he looked like a boy. 

Isobel: I think he looks like a girl.

Kitty: Me too.

Isobel: It’s quite difficult to tell. 

Yeah, I think you’re right there. Who chose the name?

Charlotte: Me! Because he’s always trying to escape! He shoots up the sofa and tries to go down the cracks. We call it his escape route. 

Oh, he does sound like a bit of a rascal!

Charlotte: It’s fine, because daddy gets him straightaway.

Isobel: But Charlotte is the expert of holding him. 

Right: Charlotte holding Rascal. Left: Isobel holding him.

How do you hold him?

Charlotte: You scoop him up.

You scoop him up? Like a dog poo?

Charlotte: No!

Isobel: Ewwww!

Kitty: No!

Sorry, just teasing. 

Charlotte: You have to be definite about it.

Why’s that?

Charlotte: Because you have to be confident. So he feels safe and doesn’t run away.

Well, that makes sense. It sounds like you get him out of his cage and into his Playpen quite a bit? Why’s that?

Charlotte: So he doesn’t go untamed. If that’s the word. 

That is the word! So you get him out and play with him so that he knows you?

Charlotte: Yes, so he knows us, and so he doesn’t go feral – is it feral?

Yes! Another good word!

Charlotte: Yeah, he’s not bitey and we don’t want him to start being bitey. But it’s probably nice for him to get out. So he doesn’t get bored. 

Absolutely. So, what do you like best about having a hamster?

Charlotte: Getting to play with him!

Isobel: Yes, playing with him.

What games do you play?

Charlotte: We watch him running around in the Playpen and make up ways for him to go, and we start laughing. But not too loud. Because he has sensitive ears. 

Ahh, so do you try to be gentle around him?

Charlotte: Yes, he’s only small.

Isobel: Like granny’s puppy.

Charlotte: Isobel, this is about hamsters. Not puppies!

Ha! It’s nice though that granny has a puppy. Do you think the puppy and the hamster would get on?

Charlotte: NO!!! 

Isobel: No no no!

Kitty: No!

Sorry, I’m being silly. 

[Sceptical looks]

Really, I apologise.

Charlotte: OK. 

Where does Rascal live in the house?

Charlotte: We keep him in the living room.

Oh, OK, and does everyone go in the living room? 

Isobel: Yes. Everybody. It’s a family room.

And mummy and daddy didn’t mind having the hamster home there?

Charlotte: That was their decision! I wanted him in my bedroom. 

Isobel: I wanted a guinea pig or a rabbit. But we got a hamster.

Mum: Haha, you can leave that out!

No, we want the truth! But, now you have Rascal, would you swap him for a guinea pig or a rabbit?

Isobel: NO! 

Charlotte: No, no no. Definitely not.

Kitty: No.

Charlotte: He’s so soft and tame.

So when you pick him up, what is it like?

Charlotte: He’s very soft. I make a bridge with my hands and he runs across them. But sometimes he’s too fast! But he’s so soft and so sweet.

What colour is he?

Charlotte: Goldy, blondish. With some white. 

Rascal in his Omlet Hamster Habitat.

A bit like your sisters’ hair then?  

Charlotte: Yes! A bit like that.

He sounds lovely. 

Isobel: Yes, my hair is blonde and also long.

You’ve got lovely hair, all three of you.

Charlotte: Thank you. 

Isobel: The thing with my hair is –

Charlotte: Isobel, stop going off topic!

Does Isobel often go off topic?

Charlotte: Yes. All the time. 

Oh, me too, all the time, don’t worry about it.

Mum: Girls, please could you stop spinning on the chairs. It’s making me feel sick.

Charlotte: Now mummy’s gone off topic.

Haha. Ok. Why do you think hamsters make good pets?

Charlotte: Well, because we can have him after dinner.

What, like pudding? For dessert?

[Charlotte & Isobel in unison]: NO! 

Kitty: Hahahaha

Charlotte: Nooo! As in we can play with him after dinner and he won’t be asleep!

Isobel: Yeah. Because we can play with him. 

Ohhh, I see. So when do hamsters sleep? And when do they wake up?

Isobel: They wake up at night. 

So the evening is like his morning? 

Isobel: No, he’s normally still asleep. But we wake him up really carefully. 

How do you do that?

Charlotte: Well, we lift off the top of his house, then we gently lift up the cardboard hides and some of his bedding. But dad has to help, to make sure we don’t scare him and that he’s happy. 

How do you know he’s happy?

Charlotte: Well, he’s always in a good mood. Because he gets a lot of sleep. 

Oh I fully get that. 

Charlotte: Mummy. Stop eating the sweets. They’re supposed to be for us. 

Mum: Sorry. 

And what else does he do? Does he do lots of poops? 

Charlotte: Yes, mainly in one or two places in his house. But not when we get him out. 

Isobel: When we first got him, he did bite us once. But he doesn’t now. He never does. 

It sounds like that’s because you’ve been really gentle, and given him lots of love and care, and learnt how to look after him properly. 

Charlotte: Yes we are very careful with him.

Isobel: But I can’t hold him!

Is that because you’re a bit small and fidgety by any chance?

Isobel: Yes. 

Charlotte: I’m the fidgety one! 

Oh I’m fidgety too.

Mum: Girls, please sit still. 

Sorry, I’m not helping. Oh I know something I wanted to ask: who cleans out his cage?

Charlotte: We help dad do it. Often we play with him while daddy gets the dirty bits out. 

Oh, that’s a good arrangement. 

Isobel: I help. And Kitty helps too. 

Isobel, do you do double talking?

Isobel: I don’t even know what that is! What is double talking? 

Charlotte: You talk for both of you. 

Isobel: Oh yes. 

Mum: Kitty, what do you want to say about Rascal?

Isobel: He sleeps all day. And we can’t see him at night. Because we’re in bed. 

Mum: I said Kitty!

Kitty: Yep. 

Charlotte: I’ve told you this Isobel, he’s nocturnal.

So, what do you think of the new cage, do you like it?

Charlotte: Yep I like it. It’s good. 

Isobel: I like it too. It’s blue and orange. It looks nice.

Kitty: It’s called Omlet.

Ha! 

Charlotte: Sometimes when we get him out he sneezes. And does little cleans of his face.

Oh, that is so sweet. 

Charlotte: Mummy likes taking pictures and she says ‘Ahhhh he’s adorable!’ He gets up onto his hind legs and does this. With his front legs. [Does a very cute impression of a hamster washing its face with its paws.]

Oh, I love that! Great impersonation. So, would you say to other children that a hamster is a good pet?

Charlotte: Yes. Because they’re fun. They’re sweet. They’re soft. They’re everything. Well, except for the nocturnalism. 

Yeah, except for the nocturnalism.

Mum: Why do you like him, Kitty?

Isobel: I love him!

Mum: You’re not Kitty.

Isobel: Hahaha.

Kitty: I like him because he’s so friendly.

Charlotte: He makes us laugh.

Kitty: Sometimes, when we get him out, he runs around and has fun and we have fun – 

Charlotte: Yeah, we have fun with him. 

Isobel: Charlotte! Kitty hasn’t finished!

Kitty: I have. 

And do any of you ever talk to Rascal?

Charlotte: Daddy does. All the time. 

Nice! And what does he eat? Rascal that is. Not Daddy.

Charlotte: Hamster food. But sometimes treats. Like apple. Or carrots. Or lettuce.

Have you ever seen his cheeks get all big?

Kitty: Well –

Charlotte: When – 

Mum: Let Kitty speak!

Kitty: When he eats he gets lots and hides it in his cheeks. 

Charlotte: I think they do it to save up food. But I don’t know how they do it!

He’s got stretchy pouches! Would you like to have stretchy pouches? 

Charlotte: NO!

Isobel: Never ever ever ever ever ever. 

Kitty: No no no. 

Don’t worry. It won’t happen. And does he use his wheel?

Isobel: Yeah but it’s really, really quiet.

Kitty: It doesn’t squeak.

Charlotte: No, it doesn’t. It’s silent. All you hear is his little paws.

Brilliant. Did you tell them to say that?

Mum: No! 

Charlotte: Oh, and he likes his sand bath.

Isobel: Yes, he likes going in there.

Why does he do that?

Charlotte: To keep clean. 

Isobel: It’s important to keep him clean. 

Charlotte: It polishes him. So he’s all shiny. 

Kitty: Can we have the sweets now? 

Absolutely. Girls, thank you so much. You’ve been so helpful. Time to get paid. You’ve earned it.

This entry was posted in Hamsters