Hammy

[Zara]

Will just add that the little sore doesn't look any worse and Hams was in a super happy mood tonight, very active and into everything when he came out to play he even came out onto my lap and let me take a look at his tail without another nip, which I'm super happy with. Maybe he knew I was just trying to help but I took him by surprise yesterday. I've not treated it with anything as although it looks red, it looks clean and not wet.

 

[Maz]

That's great to hear he's in a good mood and happy and active

 

[Zara]

Sorry I meant to add I had to laugh at that pile of sand Did he kick it all out?

Ha, ha, yes he did I'm thinking I'll pop to The Range and find him a ceramic tray.

 

[Zara]

It's amazing how outgoing and trusting Hams is now, compared to the meek hamster we tried to simply stroke for around 7-8 months.

He's rarely bothered at my hand in his cage tidying up each evening while he potters around and he'll happily run around my hand sniffing me while I give him lots of strokes when he's out for a play.

In reality he was like so many other hamsters as he was brought for a child (my daughter) but he just wasn't what she was expecting, so he officially became my hamster very quickly and over time, with a lot of patience has become the fun and sometimes just a bit crazy, gorgeous Hams who is a member of our family and whom everyone chats to each day.

He's still not so keen on being picked up/handled and prefers his travel taxi (jug) I wonder if this is because it took me so long to tame him I kinda missed the picking up stage, but it's ok as what we do works well for everyone.

He's made me chuckle this week as the little logs in the forage tray have been diminishing in numbers and Ive just found 4 in his nest and 2 in a tube, not sure why he's started doing this. I've taken the ones in his nest out, so let's see if he moves them again tonight?

 

[Maz]

It’s lovely he’s so tame and fun . How old is he now? I always reckon they get more chilled and confident at about a year old in middle age .

 

[Member ID2]

Have you tried picking him up from your lap?

That's how a few of ours got used to getting picked up. I'm currently working on this with foster Syrian Davy.

I then progress by going down on the floor and let them walk into my arms so they know it's me who is going to pick them up and not some predator who wants to eat them.

 

[Zara]

It’s lovely he’s so tame and fun . How old is he now? I always reckon they get more chilled and confident at about a year old in middle age .

He‘s about 18 months now. Definitely noticed him become more calm and chilled at around 1year.

 

[Zara]

Have you tried picking him up from your lap?

That's how a few of ours got used to getting picked up. I'm currently working on this with foster Syrian Davy.

I then progress by going down on the floor and let them walk into my arms so they know it's me who is going to pick them up and not some predator who wants to eat them.

I have tried this, but he seems to panic and jumps out of my hands or he simply turns his head quick as though he’s going to give me a nip and I move my hand away. I think I need to be more confident myself. I don’t think he’d bite me, but guess we never know?

When he’s having a proper free roam he’ll climb over my legs too. I just need to keep trying.

Lovely that Davy is feeling settled, hope his picking up training goes well too.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Zara what a lovely update! Your patience has really paid off and Hams has learned he can trust you. Many hamsters are not a fan of hands but him going freely into his taxi is a wonderful sign.

 

[Frida]

The photos of the little logs made me giggle I wonder if he'll put them back in his nest tonight

 

[Zara]

The photos of the little logs made me giggle I wonder if he'll put them back in his nest tonight

Hi Frieda, he hid another two last night, I’m thinking he’d quite like the tray wt just the food at the bottom and no logs to move about to reach it but there’s no fun in that . He’s always really enjoyed chewing Twiggy Treats too and hides them around his cage.

 

[Zara]

Update on hams tail : it’s only been a couple of days since I spotted the red sore and it’s looking darker tonight, a good sign I think that it’s going to dry and heal on its own.

 

[Maz]

That's good to hear I wonder what he had been up to . Maybe he got it caught between two logs

 

[elusive]

Good to hear his tail is healing up ok.

 

[Frida]

Hi Frieda, he hid another two last night, I’m thinking he’d quite like the tray wt just the food at the bottom and no logs to move about to reach it but there’s no fun in that . He’s always really enjoyed chewing Twiggy Treats too and hides them around his cage.

I love this it's so cute. I wonder why he hides them

 

[Zara]

I love this it's so cute. I wonder why he hides them

I’m thinking its a game….. he does have a food bowl (and his forage tray) but I then hide other bits around his cage each day, which he always goes about searching for all at once, so I’m thinking, he’s thinking….right, if you’re going to hide food, I’ll start hiding logs for you to find

 

[Frida]

Yes 2 can play at that game...

 

[Member ID2]

Glad to hear Hams tail is healing up.
Funny how they hide things, even spoons!

 

[Zara]

Ha, ha, yes the hiding of the spoon. I can’t remember which hamster this was? But they must’ve thought they’d found a real treasure.

 

[Maz]

It was Pip