Skuzzball: Savage yet tender.

Posted by Ned (Toronto, Canada) on 18 December 2006 in Animal & Insect.

This is Skuzzball hamster. He is being held by me. People who are not so involved in the very competitive world of hamster modeling may not realize how temperamental and demanding a top tier hamster model can be to work with. Skuzzball can be quite the prima donna and occasionally warrants actual restraint in order to get the required shot. As is the case in this photo. Maybe not enough broccoli in his dressing room?

Also Mia dropped some scientists on me today in regards to rodents. I think that many people probably know that rodents need to have rigid things in their living quarters to gnaw on or else their teeth continuously grow throughout their lives (there have probably been many cases of neglectful owners letting their poor little bastard's teeth grow through his or her skull). It turns out that only the front parts of their teeth are any good for anything and the back parts wear down quickly. So consequently rodents get to have very sharp teeth all of their lives. I have read that if a hamster hated you enough (or was feeling sufficiently brave) they could *easily* chomp through the tip of one of your fingers, the bone and all. If Skuzz ever did that I think that by reflex I would probably squash him. If he is my cute hamster model I am his personal assistant.

Currently he appears to be massively offended by the smells of the cleaning products that I have mopped my floor with, but he will have to deal (as there are no harmful fumes, I checked). I like my apartment to smell like an operating room when people are coming to inspect it.

I have fouled up and left socked footprints all over my mopping job and the combination of cleaners that I used is smelling vaguely like fresh puke to me. I like a combination of pine cleaner and bleach. For a bit when I was younger I sort of used to mop for a living (if a certain bit of dialog from the film "Clerks" {clerks part 1, mind you} is ringing any sort of bell in your brain right now you then you you're thinking along the right lines, it was a bizarre job).

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