Ricci's story and why we started this rescue.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been in love with animals. As I got older, I began to keep more and more different kinds as pets. I eventually decided that I really liked rodents. They were fun, adorable, entertaining, and easy to care for. I used to keep a small menagerie when I was a teenager, and I was hamster-less for two years after my last one died.

Then I met Ricci. I was working at PetSmart at the time as a pet care specialist, and I noticed one of our "honey bear" hamsters had a funny face. Intrigued and wanting a hamster of my own again, I took him home and named him Ricardo. Within 24 hours of having him, I noticed that he wasn't eating his Kaytee Exact. He would pick up the food, nibble on it a little, then drop it, looking up at me helplessly. This prompted me to check his teeth. What I saw was a bit unexpected, and something I hadn't seen before. He had a malocclusion.

A malocclusion is a misalignment of the teeth, and rodents with this problem periodically need their teeth trimmed, and in some cases, removed. Ricardo's particular problem involved his tiny, brittle teeth breaking, falling out, and eventually never growing back. He lost three of his teeth, and was left with one lone bottom incisor, which I clipped once or twice a month.

As a result of this, I had to soak his Kaytee Exact (kibbled hamster diet) in water so he could eat it. I also added various kinds of baby food to his diet. He was finally a happy hamster. I noticed, though, that he never seemed to grow, and he never seemed to mature. His smooshy face with his tongue sticking out all the time, his very small size, and his virtual lack of testicles made him look very much like a youngster, though he was definitely an adult hamster.

After falling completely in love with my little "hamtard," I began to realize that there may be other "special needs" rodents out there, and I decided I wanted to rescue them. (It also dawned on me that Ricci probably would have starved to death had he been ignored and left at PetSmart, or had his problem been ignored by another owner.) At first, that's all I did. I rescued...and rescued..and rescued. My girlfriend and I finally got to the point where we just couldn't keep rescuing all of these animals, and made the decision to start Ricci's Rainbow. We want all of the animals to have a loving home, so we've decided to begin adopting them out to the right homes to make room for more "furkids" in need.

Sadly, Ricardo is no longer with us and has crossed over Rainbow Bridge. He was put to sleep after rushing him to an emergency clinic when he (rectally) prolapsed in my lap one night. It was a very heartbreaking and traumatic experience, and it further fuels my desire to help unwanted, needy animals. We now have three other Syrian hamsters just like Ricci, all with the same defect, but with varying degrees of severity.