my hamster is scared of spiders........

[blu3wave]

my hamster's scared pooless of spiders (sotospeak).... I noticed it this morning when I woke up and went over to his cage to give him his breakfast feed. ..... and poor dopey was crouching under his blanket, shaking like a leaf with his nose peeking out ..... I did nt understand why until I saw a spiderweb on the opposite side of the cage, and the spider was just going about its day but it also seemed puzzled by dopey's behavior :S
Anyway, i prodded dopey until he came out of the blanket, and i could see hi didnt get much sleep as were bags under its eyes and its whiskers kept twitching and it was all clingy and wouldnt leave my hand until i got rid of the spider.

I already threw the spider out the window but i'm worried about dopey as there'll always be spiders in the house and he may become an insomniac if he keeps getting scared all the time.
How do i get him to face his phobia? is there some sort of counselling or guide books about pets with strange phobias that can help?
thx!

[weeal]

maybe his gay hamster friend could help? hold his wee hand

[blu3wave]

no the hamster gathering is not until another 2 weeks..... dopey's almost mastered his juggling (he's moved onto gumballs) and brushes his fur every day with his paws to keep himself looking good.

Would it help if i put a mini baseball bat in his cage so he wouldnt feel unsafe and afraid? Or maybe a packet of maltesers so it could fling it at an intruder and knock em out> any more ideas?

[weeal]

maltesers make very poor amunition, the honeycombed middle weighs soooooo little

[blu3wave]

what about m&m's with peanuts in them?
I'm also gonna leave a toothpick, some extra gumballs i he neds them, and a clove of garlic wrapped in candy wrapper (secret weapon teehee) .... only poor dopey doesnt like garlic all that much himself ... so i may have to stich him a face mask in that case.... :(

[Thunderbird+]

shut him in the closet for a couple of hous then fling the door open and shout COME OUT!
That should do the trick.

[weeal]

eh?

[weeal]

well if he has to wait 2 flamin weeks for his boyfriend's company no wonder he's in a state, maybe its not a spider phobia but a manifestation of l u r v

[blu3wave]

i would never shout at my hamster,thunderbird, that just sounds cruel and mean and i hope you never have a pet as i'm sure you'd be a very abusive 'parent' to it!!!
shouting at a hamster, whatever next? pinching its bum when it bites your finger???
I am going to make sure my hamster's safe and sound and provide it with ''arms'' so it feels safe at night and can have a good nite sleep like every other hamster.
I'm making my list for him, if you can add to that, i might think of you as a little less useless than before...............until then, please go away.

[frankiecat]

I will come and protect your hamster for you. I like hamsters. Spiders are also tasty (em - I that's maybe not the word that I want to use). Dash - ruined my chances!

Frankie
Cat