Species: Winter White x Campbell hybrid

Gender: Female

Age/DOB: 1.5 months (as of mid-July)

Likes: Squeezing herself in tight corners, digging & burrowing, deep bedding, people watching, mealworms, flax sprays

Dislikes: Other hamsters, big “floating” objects aka UFOs, being dug up (will scream at you if you do), having anything applied to her face, being force-fed, Whimzees

Fosterer’s Instagram: @peppersfosterhome

Baby Saffron was only 3 weeks old (estimated age) when she was rescued with more than a dozen other hamsters from a park under the pouring rain. Despite being soaked to the bone with a swollen eyelid she received from being bullied by the other hamsters, she still remains a trusting and sweet little girl who will allow just about anyone to pick her up.

Her true personality started to show about a week into living at her fosterer’s home. Finally safe and living alone, Saffron is now free to unveil her kaypoh boomer auntie self. She rushes to the front of her cage to find out what’s going on around the neighbourhood whenever her fosterer is nearby. Very much like the gossipy aunties that every neighbourhood has who always want to know who recently got married and how many points the teenage downstairs got for their ‘O’ Levels.

With time, Saffron also started to display some Karen-like traits. Occasionally complaining (read: screaming) about her hideouts being moved without her consent and about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs aka her fosterer’s bag of mealworms) making too much noise. If you were to try to give Saffron something while she’s screaming at you, she may end up punching your gift away like an MMA fighter.

If you catch her in a good mood, which is most of the time, she will let you pick her up, get a feel of her fluffy and dense fur, harass her with kisses, and annoy her with soft head pets. In exchange, you will have to bestow her with mealworms and calendula flowers which she loves — not a bad deal, I’d say.

Requirements

Cage: 90x50cm or bigger

Wheel: 21cm or larger (ideally a lightweight one)

Bedding: As per HSS requirements

Food: Preferably Fatpouches seed mix; doesn’t like Rodipet. Or as per HSS requirements

Enrichment: As per HSS requirements (pro tip: she likes dark, cramped places and deep bedding)