Four Hamsters

R.I.P Frog/Toad

Sadly the toad/frog died this evening. A has buried him under a rose bush. We now think he was a frog because he was huge before he died, but oddly he shrunk massively in death and looked like a frog. After research we think he might have had a disease and been bloated, possibly due to a water imbalance :-(

Wind in the willows

While cleaning the pond (the royal 'we') in our garden because the fish had no room to swim as the water lilies had taken over the whole pond, we found a toad. The toad watched A cleaning the pond, as did I, without moving. It sat at the edge of the pond watching until A decided to check it was ok by giving it a gentle prod. Toad didn't move and it wasn't until a lily was removed right next to him that he swam off into the depths of the murky pond. Later that evening toad was back, this time sitting on a stone and he stayed there all evening! That was yesterday, but today, toad is still sitting motionless. You might assume he was dead if wasn't for the fact that A keeps picking him up to make sure he's feeling ok.The toad sits quietly in A's hand (see picture) and he can even be rolled onto his back...to check for a cut or damage. Toad seems to be ok but it is odd how he is out in the open, cold air and doesn't move a muscle. We have now read up on toads and found out that toads can sit for hours without moving. I hope that this is normal behaviour because he's quite cute. Today he is leaning over a stone looking into the pond, but his eyes never blink and he has a white/blue bubble coming out of his mouth. I hope that's normal too, A thinks he is probably just dribbling because he has been leaning forward for so long!

The other picture you will notice is not a toad, but Aslan the hamster :-) I found him sleeping like this the other day and couldn't stop laughing especially because he was dreaming of running as all his little paws and mouth were moving. Incidentally, all four pet hamsters now have names. Aslan and Mr Tumnus in one home and Totoro and Muta in the other.