Finley

[Frida]

That's a heart warming update Beryl. It's been a long time coming but well worth the wait. Lovely photo too

 

[elusive]

That is such great news, it’s so lovely when they finally begin to accept you & begin to interact.
He looks so sweet looking up at you thee

 

[Maz]

It's good news and a lovely photo

 

[Member ID2]

I'm a bit stunned tbh. Finley has been living here for nearly 14 months and he was over a year old when i adopted him, going by the info i was given.
My OH has been chatting to him for a while now and Finley has gone up from a novelty hamster to his little mate.

 

[Jain]

One of these days i'm going to get a lovely clear photo of Finley when he's not in a huff and hopefully it will be this year.

Finley is now around 17 months old and he came from an adoption tank. He had lost his home because his young human got fed up with him.

I tried my best to find him a lovely forever home with a big and well enriched enclosure but nobody wanted him. So now he's stuck with us.

He doesn't seem to mind as long as we leave him alone but will squeak very loudly and angrily when removed from his tank.. He tolerates my OH because he's never touched him or any of his belongings.

Finley is the messiest hamster i've ever met so i have to tidy up small sections of his tank sometimes. Clean his toilet, sieve his sand and exchange his smelly wheel with a clean one. I leave him without a wheel for all of 30 secs because i've bought him two identical wheels but he still goes in his obs hide and sulks for days.

He tolerates me only when i don't talk, move, look or breathe. Ideally, not exist.

I can get nice photos of him when he's busy and i'm far enough away but it's like wildlife photography trying to get a picture of Finley.

Here are two photos. One from today when i exchanged his wheel and a photo to proof that he is a beautiful Robo when he's not grumpy.

View attachment 181View attachment 183

Worth the wait Beryl it's a lovely clear photo of Finley on his wheel he's a little beauty

 

[RainbowBrite]

That really is the cutest thing ever! I remember you saying your OH chats to Finley when you are at work. Now Finely is your friend too.

 

[Maz]

It seems your OH has won Finley over to humans. I do think generally, Robos take a lot longer to accept you than other hamsters and they become calmer and more accepting as they get older. That is a huge generalisation of course, as some people hand tame their robos from an early age and they all have different personalities.

 

[Member ID2]

Finley never liked his big sandbath but has always loved that shell. He had a good wash tonight and wasn't bothered with me watching and chatting to him.

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[Maz]

Aw he looks so sweet in there! Where did you get the shell?

 

[Member ID2]

Aw he looks so sweet in there! Where did you get the shell?

It came with one of the small cages i pick up to take to the tip.

 

[elusive]

Hello Finley
I really enjoyed watching him in there, the shell is a great idea for a sandbath & you can see how much he loves it.

 

[Frida]

Lovely video. It's nice to see more of Finley I too like the shell and it makes a great sand bath.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Finley looks like a beautiful pearl inside the shell.

 

[Member ID2]

Items in this corner had sunk so i took them out to spot clean and add more substrate.

Instead of hiding like he used to do Finley came out to investigate and he wasn't happy with the empty corner. I quickly sorted it.

The other day he stuck his nose out of his tipee at feeding time, took the coconut flake i was holding and started eating it while i still had my hands in his tank.

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[RainbowBrite]

Wow, this is amazing progress! I am so happy to hear this. All your patience with little Finley as really helped him to realise you can be trusted after all. You must have felt so happy when the took the coconut flake and stayed out with your hands in his cage.

 

[elusive]

Well done Finley!
He really is getting brave & sociable, must be lovely to see more of him & be able to interact a bit now.

 

[Member ID2]

OH spends quite a bit of time with Finley chatting to him and has done for a while, long before Finley stopped running away from me.
Tonight OH said that he thinks Finley has gone blind which is something i've suspected as well. I may have mentioned it in an earlier post.
Finley's eyes look fine but he does follow our voices looking up. Sometimes he seems to be looking for his tippee which is the gate to his underground world.
It's only a small tank and he knows his way around it. He doesn't seem stressed either, more the opposite.
If he is blind it's age related. Going by the info i was given and the time he's been here he must be around 27 months now.
Finley still runs on his wheel a little but he's no longer competing in wheel races with Bernard.

 

[RainbowBrite]

I remember you wondered if Finley was blind. It is so lovely he is more confident and he is comfortable with your OH chatting to him. Finley is such an amazing age.

 

[elusive]

He is a good age now but sounds as though he’s enjoying life & enjoying a bit of human company now too!
I doubt it will bother him too much if he is blind, Tinwë was blind towards the end of his life & it really didn’t seem to cause him any problems at all.

 

[Member ID2]

It doesn't seem to bother him at all and may well be an advantage not to be able to see me.