Hat Hoppers

Hat Hoppers suddenly appear out of hats. Once a Hopper has claimed a new hat good luck getting it back. These little critters love hats and hoard any they can get. The only thing better than hats is other folks to show hats off. Hat Hoppers are social creatures that love people, befriending them means gaining a life long pet and friend. If a hat hopper really loves it’s friends It might let them wear its hat or ride on their heads.
But caring for them isn’t so simple. Given that they like to sneak along and worm their way into apartments and homes long before anyone notices it might be hard to care for a sudden freeloading companion. If you find yourself wanting to own one You need to know a few simple things first.

Body Type:
Hat hoppers have six limbs. The front most paws act as fully functional hands. They can stand on two legs and walk around but it’s bothersome for them and they like standing on the back four or all six. They are about 8 to 10 inches tall (on hind legs) normally. Hat Hoppers can grow over weight and need to be taken for walks or at least played with. Both genders have fluffy manes around their neck. This is called Baby Fluff and they may or may not lose it once they grow up. Owners can also shave it given that the fluffy mane does require daily brushing.

Hat Hoppers have very sensitive ears and can hear things one hundred times better then Humans. They have evolved as such due to their ears constantly being covered or pushed into strange angles to wear their hats. Do Not under any circumstances leave them alone in a room with items that make loud consistent noise.


Hats:
Hat Hoppers claim to be born from Hats and spend their whole lives attached to one hat. Usually this hat becomes their pride and they live to make it match every aspect of their life. Be careful about this behavior though! They might start trying to make everyone around them match with their hat and style. They do not show or give the original hat to anyone unless they are very close. Not even Mates take or touch each others hats without permission.


Family Life:
Hat Hoppers mate for life and together design hats for future Hatlings. The offspring spend a few days with the parents before taking their hats and setting out. The offspring ride in hats or pockets of larger species traveling far away to new homes. There are annoying cases of Hatlings never leaving and of Parents home being over crowded. Hatlings are very clingy. Once they go off they become very close to whoever gives them a home. Unless they become strays, in which case then they will be very much guarded and jumpy.
Some Hat Hoppers Perfer to move as family units and these rare cases become known as Bonded. Parents in bonded families will welcome and willingly keep their children very close, leading to incredibly spoiled hatlings.

Social Needs:
Hat Hoppers do better in groups or family settings even if it’s with members of other species. They are very vocal about their need for companionship… and have learned stealing other’s articles of clothing is effective for attention. They tend to like cuddling so prepare to share bed space or have a place set up for them in advance.
Hat Hoppers should have a designated friend or partner to spend time with in order to keep themselves occupied. Even just giving them something to play with can keep them happy.
They tend to get lost or need to be picked out of shoes or other items they might get stuck in. If you don't want a Hat Hopper in something the best choice is to buy baby safe locks and keep electrical sockets covers.

THINGS THAT HAT HOPPERS SHOULD NOT HAVE:
Unless you want to watch them cause a lot of trouble...
- Coffee- Do not let your hat Hopper drink coffee, They will become very sick.
- Scissors- Do you really want to ask?
- Lighters- Again... I dare you to ask why...
- Gummi based Candy- hard to digest, if wishing to share a little bit it must be cut up.
- Access to your Facebook accounts...
- Socks- Unless your okay with wearing mix matched socks for the rest of your life.
- Clocks- Hat Hoppers will break them due to the noise.
- Tvs- If you wish to leave your hat hopper alone at home keep the TV off as any repetitive noises, even commercials can upset them.
- Microwaves- Hat Hoppers can crawl inside of them... and a few are not nice to others.
- Bath Tubs- When washing or caring for your Hat hopper it is best to use a Sink.
- Q Tips.... They use them as swords...
- Cleaning supplies- Hat Hoppers tend to dump out liquid cleaners in order to play and carry the bottles around.
- Open Air Vents- Hat Hoppers tend to like exploring new dark places in homes...
- Fans- Like clocks... only worse because even ceiling fans are not safe from these guys...
- Fridges- Hat hoppers should not have a way to open the fridge themselves... Or else they might accidentally get stuck inside.
- Plastic Bags- REALLY BAD IDEA!


Types of Odd Hat Hoppers:
Maxis: Hat Hoppers who grow up to 2 to 3 feet tall. These Large fellows are semi common and have longer middle limbs then front limbs.

Minis: Hat Hoppers who grow to 4 to 6 inches. They tend to have all short limbs.

Fluff Less: Hat Hoppers who are missing either their Baby Neck Fluff or their Tail Fluff.

Braid Tails: Tails shaped like a braid. Highly unusual and needs extra combing and grooming.

Glitters: Glitters are an anomaly among Hat Hoppers. They are antisocial and dislike being around others. They have black eyes and have a rare trait for have a long tongue like appendage that seems to break out of the body in either the front or back midsection normally. The rarest form of the Glitters famed slimy, glowing, and brightly colored tongue is one to two tongues that appear out of front hands.

Strays: Hat Hoppers who where abandoned at Birth. They are not blessed with a hand made hat from their parents and as such use garbage or other odd things in a hat's place. They are wild and unsocial and tend to have unkempt fur. They need extra attention and should not be kept surrounded by other hat hoppers without proper introduction and their full trust.

Bonded- Whole families of Hat Hoppers who move and stay together for life. They all usually match in hat schemes. They don't mind living between two owners but hate to be broken up. Bondings tend to be consistent of Parents and one to three kids. One being the most common version of a bonding given that it's their only child and three being the rarest due to space issues.

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If anyone Wants a Hat Hopper, I'll be making a set of 4 that will be a mix of draw to adopt or free giveaway.