Even though her paws are roughly the size of a strain gage, don’t expect her to perform any residual stress measurements! Our next pet spotlight is all about Hill Engineering’s smallest fuzzy friend, Potato the Syrian dwarf hamster!
Potato came to us from a mysterious land known as the pet store. At roughly two-and-a-half inches long, she’s about as large as she’s ever going to get; which is typical for a dwarf hamster. But don’t let her size fool you into thinking she’s weak! Potato does not like to be touched by strangers, and her bite is ferocious.
As nocturnal animals, hamsters usually sleep during the day. But this doesn’t stop Potato from emerging from her burrow to check on her owners every morning. Mostly this is for food, but we like to think it’s also because she loves us. Then it’s back into the tunnels for some well-deserved rest. Hamsters can run up to five miles in one night, which for a creature that small is quite impressive.
Like most pets, food seems to be Potato’s favorite thing in life, but she also enjoys activities like flinging herself off the second floor of her habitat (into soft, paper substrate, don’t worry) and climbing things (be it her hamster ladder or the walls of her enclosure). One thing is for sure, she never sits still for long.
Thanks for taking the time to get to know Potato! We’ll shine the spotlight on more of Hill Engineering’s furry friends soon.