Percy's page is part of Glenn's Hamster Page by Glenn G. Chappell.
Percy

Percy

Percy

Full name: Persistence.
Species: Syrian hamster.
Sex: male.
Appearance: short-haired, gray with a white band. The gray changed to various shades of brown after his first year.
Adult weight: 160-170g (6 ounces or a little less).
Born: around April 14, 1995.
Came to live with us: May 26, 1995.
Died: May 28, 1997.

Click on any picture to see a larger version (most are 20-40K).

Percy was our second hamster, bought at a pet store in the Kansas City area during a visit to my parents. For some time we had been looking for a gray-and-white banded, short-haired male. We found one on May 26, 1995, and bought him right away, even though we already had another hamster (Paul). Our vet had just told us that Paul did not have long to live; still we were just a little surprised when Paul died only six days later, on June 1. So, Percy has essentially always been an "only hamster".

From the very start, Percy was a "wild man". It took the woman at the pet store a couple of minutes to get Percy out of his cage and into a box for us to take home. When Percy didn't feel like cooperating, he didn't, and my relationship with Percy was at least somewhat adversarial for the two years to come.

You can read more about Percy and our other hamsters in The Hamster Chronicles. The section on Percy starts with Part 7.

Percy digging We took this picture just after we bought Percy an aquarium and before it was connected with the main cage via the large garden-fencing box we call "Percy's Palace".

When we filled the aquarium with sand and put Percy in, he immediately showed that he was very good at digging. This was somewhat of a relief for us, since, before this, we didn't know anything that hamsters were good at (aside from being cute and annoying). Percy almost always dug in the corners, as he is in the picture; sunflower seeds buried in the center would go untouched until they sprouted; then Percy would eat the sprouts.

Percy on the bed Here is Percy sitting on our bed, munching sunflower seeds, leaving a mess for us to clean up.

Percy climbing This picture was taken shortly after I built Percy's Palace. I made a box of garden fencing and placed it over Percy's cage and the aquarium, thus forming a much larger cage. Eventually, we filled it with ledges and cardboard boxes; here it is in its pristine state. At the bottom of the picture, you can see the top of the old cage, which became part of Percy's Palace. The top of the aquarium is too low to be seen.

Percy climbing Percy seems to be looking into a possible answer to the fourth Great Hamster Question ("How can I go somewhere else?" -- see The Hamster Chronicles, Part 5).

Percy on the bed Here is Percy on the bed -- again -- taking a break from his Herculean task of ridding the world of uneaten sunflower seeds.

Percy on the table Here Percy is sitting on the table and studiously ignoring a piece of carrot we gave him. It looks like he might be eating something else -- perhaps a nut.

Percy on the bed Wow, another picture of Percy on the bed! He appears to be eating again.

Percy under a blanket This is Percy sitting in his "hamster cave". Sometimes when I got him out for the evening, I would make a little arch (the cave) out of a blanket. He liked to crawl in and stare suspiciously out at the world.

Notice that Percy is clearly brown in this picture, while in the earlier pictures above, he is gray. He changed color sometime around or after his first birthday.

Percy's weight chart When he was young I weighed Percy once or twice a week. Here are the results of Percy's weighings. (It looks like I quit the regular weighings too soon.)

Click on the chart to see a larger graph. Vertical lines are at two-week intervals. You can also get Percy's chart in more reasonable units.


Next, take a look at Buttermilk's page. Or go back to Glenn's Hamster Page.


Percy / Last update: 25 Jan 2001 / Glenn G. Chappell / chappellg@member.ams.org