an update

[Ralph the hamster]

My son is pretty sure he's going to name the hamster Ralph. Probably-Ralph is still pretty shy and has been avoiding coming out if he knows I'm there. When I have managed to be there, he seems pretty curious about me, and spends a lot of time sniffing my hand/arm... and then scurrying away. Last night I was holding out a treat and he was sniffing at me and he bit my nail. My nails are kinda long and it didn't hurt but he seemed horrified when I flinched and then scurried back to his burrow. He didn't come out again that night.
Anyway, he does try the vegetables we put in, and sniffs at treats like a baby puff or a pumpkin seed, but he doesn't seem to be eating much else at all. Is this normal as he acclimates?

 

[RainbowBrite]

Ralph is a nice name.

Ralph may be coming out at night and eating his seed mix then. It can take new hamsters time to get used to different foods and to learn what they like. It is a great sign he is showing interest in you and wanting to sniff you.

 

[elusive]

It’s still early days so I wouldn’t worry about Ralph still being shy, it sounds as though you are making progress with him so just try to go at his pace.
I keep my nails really short but if they get a little bit longer the hams always seem to find them irresistible!
What are you feeding him? Do you mean you haven’t seen him eat or that all the food seems to remain where you put it?

 

[Maz]

I bet he scurried away! He tested you out for edibility and his potential food was alive and moved

A bit like in adventure films when someone sits on a rock only to find it starts moving and is actually a scary monster ha ha. I am sure he knows you’re safe and not a scary monster but he’s just testing things out

 

[Ralph the hamster]

I bet he scurried away! He tested you out for edibility and his potential food was alive and moved

A bit like in adventure films when someone sits on a rock only to find it starts moving and is actually a scary monster ha ha. I am sure he knows you’re safe and not a scary monster but he’s just testing things out

Very true I know I'm humanizing him a bit but his reaction was like a pause and then a back up and then a scurry like "oh s*&t man sorry, that was deeply uncool of me.... sorry... oh s*&t." or at least it was to me lol

 

[Ralph the hamster]

It’s still early days so I wouldn’t worry about Ralph still being shy, it sounds as though you are making progress with him so just try to go at his pace.
I keep my nails really short but if they get a little bit longer the hams always seem to find them irresistible!
What are you feeding him? Do you mean you haven’t seen him eat or that all the food seems to remain where you put it?

The food seems to remain. We are doing a seed mix/pellet blend recommended by Rachel Got Hamsters - I'll have to look up which - and fresh vegetables offered each day. We're sticking to the same veg in a rotation for a while to not overwhelm his stomach(s). We have a camera on him and he's not eating when we aren't looking. The very first day he did abscond with about a tablespoon to his burrow. Right now we're putting it in a dish, but planned to switch to foraging when he was more settled.

 

[elusive]

It may be the seed mix doesn’t suit him, hard to say without knowing what it is but it does seem unusual for a young ham not to be eating the mix, even if only when no one is around.

 

[Maz]

The food seems to remain. We are doing a seed mix/pellet blend recommended by Rachel Got Hamsters - I'll have to look up which - and fresh vegetables offered each day. We're sticking to the same veg in a rotation for a while to not overwhelm his stomach(s). We have a camera on him and he's not eating when we aren't looking. The very first day he did abscond with about a tablespoon to his burrow. Right now we're putting it in a dish, but planned to switch to foraging when he was more settled.

He might be just eating from his hoard. Do you have a night camera? He could be taking it at night to his hoard. He will be eating something.

I find they usually pouch food from the bowl rather than eat it and take it to the hoard and snack in bed . It’s rare they will actually empty the food bowl. But they will actually ignore food that has been in the bowl for a day or two. So it’s best to throw out any remaining food each day and put a new tablespoonful in. They are fussy and seem to know when it’s fresh and when it’s stuff that’s been sat there.

 

[Ralph the hamster]

It may be the seed mix doesn’t suit him, hard to say without knowing what it is but it does seem unusual for a young ham not to be eating the mix, even if only when no one is around.

Mazuri | Vegetarian Rat & Mouse Diet | Rodent Food] mixed with
Sweet Harvest Pumpkin Seeds, 5 Oz Bag - Real Pumpkin Seeds for Birds and Small Animals - Rabbits, Hamsters, Mice, Gerbils, Rats, Cockatiels, Parrots,
Sweet Harvest was the recommendation, mixed in equal parts.

 

[Maz]

So is it just the Mazuri and pumpkin seeds? It may be lack of variety if it is.

 

[Ralph the hamster]

So is it just the Mazuri and pumpkin seeds? It may be lack of variety if it is.

I copied the wrong one from my Amazon order it's a sunburst mix. I found a link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GHII5W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[elusive]

I would have thought he would be ok with that mix, maybe he has taken more than you thought into his nest possibly, I’d just keep an eye on it for now & see if he seems to be eating more.

 

[Ralph the hamster]

He might be just eating from his hoard. Do you have a night camera? He could be taking it at night to his hoard. He will be eating something.

I find they usually pouch food from the bowl rather than eat it and take it to the hoard and snack in bed . It’s rare they will actually empty the food bowl. But they will actually ignore food that has been in the bowl for a day or two. So it’s best to throw out any remaining food each day and put a new tablespoonful in. They are fussy and seem to know when it’s fresh and when it’s stuff that’s been sat there.

We do have a night camera. Even the vegetables he kinda nibbles each and moves on. I'll try freshening the mix; that's a good point. I do clean out the veg and water nightly.

 

[Maz]

They do eat very little really. I tend to only give one type of veg each day - no bigger than 1cm cubed size - they tend to eat all of that.

 

[Ralph the hamster]

An update for the update: got home late last night from work and Probably-Ralph was already up for the evening. He was very sniffy and didn't hide from me or run away at all this time. I emptied his seed/pellet mix bowl and put in a fresh tablespoon, offered some carrots, and talked to him a bit and then left. When I got upstairs and checked the camera app, he had gone up and taken half the food back into his burrow - so thanks for the fresh food tip, our tiny king apparently prefers a daily ration

 

[Maz]

Nice you got to have a bit of interaction with him

 

[RainbowBrite]

Aw, that is so sweet.

 

[Member ID2]

I have to smile at the Probably-Ralph name which is probably going to stick, lol.

Sniffy is always good. We often refer to a hamster as The nose.