Well it took over a year, but Max finally escaped from his home.  He somehow managed to open the twisting door on one of the ball tubes [probably by standing on it with his massive hamster weight] and the door fell out.  No one is sure if Max fell out with the door, or if he decided to jump for it.

Either way, Paul found Max this morning, scared and hiding in the corner- right next to his house.  There is no evidence that he actually traveled anywhere, or if he relished any of his short founded freedom.  He was glad when Paul woke up K, and she put him back  in his home.  He immediately went to bed.

Out of all my hamsters, Max appears to be the "stupidest" as his number of escape attempts and successes are essentially zero [not counting this morning].

The smartest was definitely dear old Freddie- my first hamster years ago- who managed to escape thousands of times we estimate as not only did she leave her home, but in the morning, she would return to her home and break back in.

Give Max a break, just because he is not trying to escape all the time does not mean he not the sharpest skate on the ice. Maybe he's content with his living conditions. Plus, maybe he realizes he's near the bottom of the food chain, & if he knows that, why would he try to escape? He's got a good life, why fight it?

Max probably thinks he is near the top of the food chain really. He expects to be taken out and be let to run around as he wants every day, without the hamster ball if at all possible, and will throw tantrums if he doesn't get any cookies or raisin bread- he will tip over food dishes after throwing all food out of the cage, throw shavings and squeal.

In a way I guess, he probably is the smartest hamster really- he demands the best service ;)!

Is everything ok out there? Have'nt seen anything new in a while. I hope all is well with you folks in BC, I hope nothing bad has happened.

Everything is normal here- I've got a full time job now teaching so I'm not able to post for D'Artagnan very often- hopefully once I have everything set and going [I'm the ESL teacher] then I'll have time for "other than school things" and sleep =).

D'Artagnan is still walking into things [nothings changed since his was a puppy really] and Westley's still nutty. Max the hamster is now fat and lazy, and also crazy. I think it's a theme for this family =)

Hope all's well in Minnesota!

K