When I was like, six years old I had one of those freak albino hamsters with scurry red eyes.
His name was Carl. Carl was impolite. And always showed his teeth.
He looked like this: (But less cute. More malicious and sadistic-y.)
I Google image'd "albino freak hamster" to find this. Because that's what he was.
Anyways, I could never hold him like the individual in the photo is holding their albino freak hamster.
Carl let no one touch him. I used to think his eyes were red because he ingested my mother and I's blood every time he sank his albino freak teeth into our flesh.
My mother later explained that my theory was incorrect. He was no mutation. Probably just a sociopath.
Carl's ball was the wall of safety between him and I. It was the only way I could show him any affection without endangering my life.
He scurried about my house in his spherical world all the time. I guess you could say he was content with that.
I'm not 100% sure though. Like I said, we didn't talk much.
One fine evening, after a strenuous day at elementary school, my mother and I fell asleep as Carl was parousing our living quarters in his ball.
No one thought about him before sinking into blissful slumber.
When I awoke, I made a devastating discovery...
Carl, slow cooked to death on a heater vent. His ball had been encased on a aluminum death trap enclosed by thick home carpeting.
I ran to his corpse, let out an agonizing wail and waited for my mother to come to my side.
I can remember her reaction perfectly. "Oh! Uhm.. I think he's dead, honey."
With the confirmation of his demise, the wailing only intensified. I wailed for over an hour.
I grieved my loss for about an hour. Then I was over it.
He was impolite, anyways.
Hence, my title. If a friend of yours' cruises your house in a plastic ball, I highly recommend you obstruct all access to heater vents. With a new hammy companion, I take many precautions to maintain his safety.
He's a more polite fellow.
His name is Dr. Lawrence Delight. He looks like this:
He likes to cuddle. And he's fan-say.
He's not an albino freak. And he will NEVER come into contact with a heater vent.
Learn from your mistakes, kids.