When the students heard that they were going to save the hamsters, they all opened their eyes wide at the same time. They were excited to varying degrees, and they listened carefully.
Zhang Zian took advantage of this rare opportunity to first explain the theory to them.
Hibernation was an instinct that many animals had. From small rodents to medium-sized reptiles to large carnivores such as bears, in order to cope with the cold weather and food shortage, they would choose to hibernate to fight against the harsh environment. When these animals hibernated, their body temperature dropped, their metabolism slowed down, and they could even not eat, drink, or move for the whole winter.
Hamsters also had a certain degree of hibernation ability, but compared to the animals that people were familiar with, the hibernation ability of hamsters could barely be regarded as a beginner level.
Other hibernating animals would make professional preparations before entering hibernation. They would eat until they were plump and store enough fat in their bodies for consumption and warmth. They would choose a comfortable, secluded, and safe nest to hide themselves in. By the time they came out, it was already spring and the flowers were blooming.
Shi Shi liked to wear sweaters for her and Liu Sanlang's Labrador to keep warm. Zhang Zian had specifically explained to her about the "specific surface area" problem. The smaller the animal, the larger the specific surface area, the easier it was to lose temperature. Therefore, medium and large dogs did not need to wear clothes in winter, only small dogs needed it. Hamsters were much smaller than small dogs, and they were more sensitive to temperature changes.
Hamsters' hibernation was very hasty. They did not know how to prepare for a rainy day. When they encountered a harsh environment that they could not survive, they would temporarily hibernate. This kind of hibernation was very dangerous, and they might not wake up again. Everyone felt that calling this life-saving behavior of hamsters "hibernation" was unfair to other animals, so they simply called the hibernation of hamsters "pseudo-hibernation" or "false hibernation."
Although Zhang Zian had only been there for a few minutes, he had already discovered several details, such as not using pure wood chips, the shelves for the utensils were located in the north instead of the south, the indoor humidity was slightly higher, the utensils were not up to standard, and so on. These were all reasons that caused the hamsters to hibernate, but the most fundamental reason was that the temperature was too low.
"In a while, I will help everyone move the shelves under the window in the south. There were two reasons for pseudo-hibernation. One was the low temperature, and the other was the short amount of sunlight. Now you guys split up and prepare some things. Let's save them first. "Zhang Zian thought about it and assigned tasks." Is there a kettle? The kind that can boil water. Also, is there a syringe? Or something like that will do. "
"There's a kettle in the classroom. I'll go get it," a little boy volunteered.
Wang Yaning frowned and said, "I think there are syringes in the biology classroom and the school hospital … But the biology classroom and the school hospital are now closed … The biology teacher and the school doctor are not here. Why don't we buy some outside? "
"I'll go. I know a small store nearby that sells toy syringes." Another little boy raised his hand and said. After Zhang Zian agreed, he ran a few steps outside, then ran back and asked, "How many should I buy?"
"One. The cheapest one will do." Zhang Zian raised one finger.
"Okay." The little boy also ran out.
"Does anyone have candy?" Zhang Zian asked.
"I … I brought candy …" the other girl beside Little Celery and Wang Yaning said weakly.
"We'll need some sugar for the Hamster later, so can you donate your sugar? One piece will do, no, half a piece, a little bit will do, "Zhang Zian said gently.
"Okay … Okay." The little girl grabbed a few pieces of candy from her pocket and put them on the table.
Zhang Zian nodded at her, then said to everyone, "Now, everyone put out your hands and rub your hands like this to warm up your palms."
He quickly rubbed his palms together to demonstrate to everyone.
They followed his example and rubbed their palms a few times. Their palms were red and hot.
"Okay, now everyone hold a Hamster in your hands. When you feel that the temperature is down, rub your hands again and blow on it," Zhang Zian said as he picked up a Hamster from the container and warmed it up.
The three little girls each chose a Hamster, held it in their warm palms, put it next to their mouths, and blew on it.
This was the simplest and safest way to warm up a Hamster. Using hot water or an electric blanket to warm up the Hamster wasn't easy to control and could backfire.
However, Zhang Zian only knew about this method. He had never tried it himself, so he wasn't sure if it would work or not.
The heat continued to spread from their palms into the Hamsters' bodies, and the hot breath from their mouths was like a warm wind blowing over their heads.
"I'm back!" The little boy who went to the classroom to get the electric kettle came back first, holding a silver stainless steel kettle high in his hand. "Is this okay?"
"It's okay …" Zhang Zian stared at the kettle with a blank face. "But the problem is … this is an electric kettle, right? Where's the base for electricity? Are you going to drill wood to make a fire to boil water? "
The girls also noticed this situation and were amused by it and giggled.
The little boy froze for a moment, then looked at the kettle in his hand. He was suddenly embarrassed and stuttered, "I … I'll go get it again …"
"Wait!" Zhang Zian stopped him. "Put the kettle down and go get the base."
"Oh." The little boy was so embarrassed that he couldn't show his face. After putting down the kettle, he quickly ran out, even faster than before.
After a while, the little boy who bought the syringe arrived first and bought a toy syringe. Zhang Zian also assigned a Hamster to him and asked him to heat up the Hamster like they did.
After a few more minutes, the little boy in front of him finally brought the base of the electric kettle with a red face.
"Now fill half the kettle with water and boil it. Be careful not to burn yourself." Zhang Zian assigned him the task.
It only took a few minutes for the kettle to boil.
Zhang Zian handed the Hamster in his hand to the little boy. He used a small cup to fill half a cup with hot water, then took a very small piece of sugar and put it into the hot water. The small piece of sugar quickly melted and disappeared.
He shook the half cup of hot sugar water and waited for the water to cool to a suitable temperature, which was probably slightly higher than human body temperature. Then he used the toy syringe to fill up the syringe, opened the mouth of the Hamster in the little boy's hand, and injected some warm sugar water into its mouth.
After feeding the Hamster the sugar water, he did the same and fed the other Hamsters in his hand the warm sugar water in turn.
He put down the syringe. He had done everything he could. All that was left was to wait patiently and hope that the Hamsters' will to survive was strong enough.
Little Celery looked at the Silver Fox Hamster in her hand anxiously. If her eyes had warmth, her gaze would definitely melt the ice.
Suddenly, she felt an itch in her palm, as if something had scratched her.
The Hamster's body wriggled a few times and it opened its eyes.
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