Frank the Tank

[Ralph the hamster]

Frank does not enjoy a water bowl and goes out of his way to avoid it in his cage the water bottle biting has subsided except for fhe occasional bite when he first approaches it so I think he's gotten his head right.
Otherwise, still haven't seen the dude except on camera. I take him his veg, do food and water etc and chat to him every night but he still won't come out. I got home very late one night and he was already out... he FLED like he had robbed a bank when he heard me.
On camera, I'm noticing he is eating more out in the open (instead of pouching most things) and grooms himself quite a bit... does this mean he's settling in?
He does love searching for his food and treats so we've been having some fun with that.

 

[RainbowBrite]

What a beautiful hamster he is! I would say him eating out in the open does show he is settled. He sounds confident when he knows he is alone.

 

[Maz]

Lovely to have an update on Frank. Yes it sounds to me like he has settled into his cage and claimed his territory, but hasn't yet gained confidence with humans and is still a bit skitty. Which is fairly normal for a very young hamster. How long has it been now?

Maybe you could start his own thread on the diary section for updates

 

[Maz]

How is Frank doing?

 

[Ralph the hamster]

Hey! He's good. Two nights ago he came out of his burrow when I called for him and just kind of assessed me while he ate and then last night feigned deafness at the same opportunity, even though I had cucumbers. I did notice that the bedding under his chamber house has been like totally excavated, to the point where to get in and out of his burrows that way would require pretty crazy jumping and climbing from Frank. I have thought about adding more bedding in there but maybe he did it on purpose? Also he seemed very happy to jump or climb rather than use the ramps on the surface so it's probably on purpose?
We got through the nosiest part of the work being done in that room (they came early and I didn't get to move him) and he seemed rather annoyed but not traumatized so that's good.
Sometimes he just lies down and chills between shenanigans. Here's a pic!

 

[Maz]

Aw he looks very cute on the photo He still has quite a baby face. I forgot you were having work done. It sounds like he's coping fine with it. I wonder where he's put all the bedding from his excavations! He may be tunneling out from the burrow, rather than climbing out. You could maybe put a pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper (nesting material) next to the house, on the surface, near the entrance door. If he wants to fill anything in he will take those and put them where he wants You'll probably see the pile go down gradually. He might not have full nesting habits yet and still be working things out.

 

[Ralph the hamster]

We'll try that! He's coming in and out of the chamber opening and the "amphitheater" burrow opening on the other side equally, at least as far as we can tell on the night cam. Maybe he's taught himself parkour He's very fun and furry and we have loved watching his nonsense back in the morning. Hoping the trend of him coming out in response to hearing me continues but it feels like one step forward and two back. Another pic because I think he's the greatest:

 

[Maz]

He is really beautiful and fluffy! And clearly loving his home. Assume you're putting off out of cage taming until the work is finished.

 

[elusive]

Lovely photo of him, he’s a handsome little floof!

 

[Jain]

He's a lovely looking boy

 

[Ralph the hamster]

He is really beautiful and fluffy! And clearly loving his home. Assume you're putting off out of cage taming until the work is finished.

I think it's more fair to say Frank is putting off taming til after the work is finished Everything else is being done off-site and installed here after, so we are avoiding the sanding and staining air quality issues and are left with just noise and extra people smells. It's a Lego room with a small secret tunnel/hideaway play area and the kids already have massive plans for a free-roam hamster haven because they have seen Hameron Diaz on TikTok.
Pumping the brakes on the kids' ideas is like 80% of parenting at this age

 

[Ralph the hamster]

I think it's more fair to say Frank is putting off taming til after the work is finished Everything else is being done off-site and installed here after, so we are avoiding the sanding and staining air quality issues and are left with just noise and extra people smells. It's a Lego room with a small secret tunnel/hideaway play area and the kids already have massive plans for a free-roam hamster haven because they have seen Hameron Diaz on TikTok.
Pumping the brakes on the kids' ideas is like 80% of parenting at this age

 

[Ralph the hamster]

The second photo is from a series the kids call Franks 'Fits, where we discover what is stuck to his fur each day

 

[Zara]

That made me chuckle what a fantastic coat he has, a good place for hiding extra food. He looks really settled and comfy in his home.

 

[Maz]

What was it stuck to his fur?

 

[Ralph the hamster]

What was it stuck to his fur?

A piece of his bedding. Other fits have included several other pieces of bedding, selections of the foraging mixes, and one time a piece of dried cucumber.

 

[Ralph the hamster]

Tapping back in; it's now been three nights since he came out when I was calling his name and still no repeat event. Is that normal? I hear him in there doing his little tasks but he doesn't come up.... at least not until a couple hours later on camera. Did I do something wrong?

 

[elusive]

All these stages can take time, if you haven’t done anything different then it’s unlikely you’ve done anything to set him back, it might just take some perseverance.

 

[Maz]

It does all sound normal. My Syrian boy Raffy won’t come out when I want him to! He’s up about 9.30pm but spends AGES sitting in a private little corner, having a very good wash. If I offer him his tube to come out he sort of looks like “you’re interrupting me “. And ignores it. Sometimes he’ll come over and contemplate the tube - but then turns round and goes back to his wash corner.

So he keeps me waiting! Then when I am ready to go to bed he pesters to come out!

 

[Member ID2]

No, you didn't do anything wrong. I find that Syrians are very good at establishing routines that suits them but not necessarily not us.