you know what? hamsters (hampsters?) are really very amusing furry little creatures, especially when they're not your responsibility... my sister got one for christmas, a white and brown and black one, actually quite cute. but anyway, they're just fun to watch and laugh at. i mean, who stuffs their cheeks like that? its like it thinks that korea is gonna nuke us and all the food will be gone cept for the 14 seeds it has squarely planted in its bulbous jaws. even then, it goes and deposits them in a special secret corner that only it knows about... paranoid rat... all it does is sleep all day. but at night, yeah, thats when the party starts. that hamster will run in that damn wheel all night. its amazing, their stamina. the bad part is when that wheel starts squeaking. after a while i am forced to take the wheel out of the cage, usually having to dump the furiously running rat out in the process. its like they think they will escape or something. i mean, they cant be enjoying it. the things eats without abandon, it cant be for excercise (even though we all put on a few pounds this time of year). it just gets in and runs runs runs runs runs. its amazing really. also amusing is when it trys to run along the outside of the wheel. this would be the only way to climb out of course but still, after 10 go rounds of bracing it against the food bin, climbing halfway up and then being flung on its back as the entire wheel slowly rolls on top of it... you'd think it would get old. but alas, it keeps on truckin... (our first hamster actually escaped from the cage once, we are still at a loss to explain it...) even funnier is the way they run in that little plastic ball. this certain hamster, fresh from the dogpiles at the pet store im sure had never seen one of these contraptions before. bright yellow and transparent, this may be a little scary on first sight. well, this hamster certainly is an excitable one... after falling down the stairs in a box it wasnt really calm yet. so when my sister tried to lower it into that wheel it got a little bit freaked out. as soon as the wheel hit the floor and rolled a few inches, my sister exclaimed "o wow, look at that!" know whats also bright yellow and transparent? the pool of piss that hamster left for my sister to clean up. the damn thing got so excited it wet itself... i couldnt help but laugh...