Squirtel

Hi! My name is Squirtle.

I’m the resident hamster at Delta Family Counseling.

I’m very proud to be a therapy hamster and take my job of interacting with children seriously! (Well, sort of…)

I was given to the counselors at Delta Family Counseling, because I was being bullied by the other hamsters at the pet store where I was living while waiting for a forever home.

Boy, was I happy to get away from there and move into my own cage! It’s a super cool cage, too – two stories high with a little house for me to sleep in, a wheel, and a ramp I can run up and down.

Most of all, it has a constant supply of food and water. Did you know hamsters eat almost all the time? Not always because we’re hungry, but because we have to chew constantly to wear our teeth down so they don’t get too sharp.

Anyway, I’m named after a famous Pokémon… Squirtle, the light blue turtle! I’m not really sure why, because Squirtle the Pokémon is light blue and has a long curly tail, and I’m white and don’t have a tail at all – but we’re both pretty cute. I’m a Teddy Bear Hamster.

Fun fact: We hamsters can learn our names if you talk to us regularly and say our names a lot.

Although we usually like to live alone in our cages, hamsters enjoy companionship. I have a lot of fun when one of the counselors takes me into a session. I love to explore the dollhouse or ride on a toy jeep or firetruck.

Sometimes the kids build me mazes out of blocks and Legos, and I can run through them. I love exploring the therapy rooms in my exercise ball. Just like kids, I need a lot of exercise.

I’m very soft and kids love to hold me and pet me. My counselors help kids learn a lot of lessons with me like playing gently, so they don’t accidentally hurt me and learning responsibility because they have to watch out for me when I’m in the room with them.

I think some kids can probably relate to the story of me being bullied when I was at the pet store, and some kids have gotten moved to new homes just like I did – so we have a lot in common.

Sometimes if a child is feeling shy or afraid to come play with my counselors, having me in the room can make them forget they were afraid, and I help them to feel at home.

If you come for an appointment at Delta Family Counseling, ask your counselor if I can come play with you! I’m usually sleeping curled up in a ball inside my house, but I’m always happy to wake up and come out to play.

That stuff about us being nocturnal is only partly true. We’re fine to get up in daylight, too.

I’m looking forward to meeting you!