Introducing... Rory!

[HamsterMumMo]

Hi all,

I wanted to introduce you all to new baby hammy on the block, Rory! You may know me previously as mother to Oakley (who sadly passed away from Wet Tail only 72 hours after bringing him home from P@H). A few weeks after mourning, we actually felt ready to bring another hamster into our lives and vowed to adopt if we could, and the timings perfectly aligned with India's Hamster Rescue bringing in a new litter of baby Syrians.

We adopted him as a baby, just about 7 weeks old and he had previously still been living with his littermates (she was actually getting ready to separate them they day we picked him up) so it was quite a big change for him in terms of new home, but also the first time without his brothers. She mentioned he was quite handleable when we picked him up (he even let me stroke and hold him there) but since he's settled in with us, he's been more reserved.

He actively avoids us and mostly only comes out when we've gone to bed (also sometimes a quick peak in the afternoon if we're out (we have a camera set up)). He does seem confident in his enclosure (he loves running for hours on his wheel, hoovering up all his scattered food & treats, his cork log, flax sprays, burrowing and is absolutely obsessed with apple & strawberry puff baby treats!) I just wish he'd open up to us more now he's been with us for a month, rather than freezing then making a run for it when he hears us )

I do see pockets of hope - sometimes he's happy to take a treat from my hand, I've handled him a few of times and he was actually quite confident running from hand to hand, along my arms, etc. (although this was more us persisting taking him out with a tube, and while he seemed mostly fine once he was out, getting him out felt forced, he seemed maybe a little stressed and just not overly calm or pleased to come himself, so I stopped doing that). Today we did his first "proper" cage clean (just removing and replacing some soiled bedding and rearranging a bit) and used a playpen for the first time which he did seem much more relaxed and comfortable in, exploring and running around in for a bit before settling into his favourite coconut hide. When we put him back in his enclosure, he even sat in our presence eating his new scattered treats & herbs in his hide for a good 10 minutes while we watched and talked right in front of him (also took some treats from my hand again) so hopefully that's a sign we could be building trust!

 

[Maz]

He’s gorgeous I think things are coming along at a fairly normal pace I’m in a similar situation with a new hamster who is invisible! I think playpen time helps as then you can get him used to being stroked and move on to handling. You’ll get there. Our first Syrian took two months to hand tame (we did it in the bath tub) but after that he was happy to be picked up.

Their personalities vary so much though. Even when our first one was tame, he was still shy and reluctant to leave his cage - but once he was out he had a personality change.

I saw the litters India’s Hamster rescue had . They were too far away from me unfortunately.

 

[elusive]

Rory is a lovely hamster!
It can take some longer than others to settle in and gain confidence but it does sound as though he is gradually getting used to things & a bit more comfortable with you, I’m sure he will become more interactive & trusting with a bit more time.
It does as though did quite well in the playpen & some are much happier to interact out of the cage where they might prefer to be left alone & not want hands in their territory!
Maybe try him in the playpen again and do that a few times a week if you can get him out without stressing him & see how that goes.
I always try to go at a hamsters individual pace, they’re all different and it’s worth the wait when they take their time.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hi all,

I wanted to introduce you all to new baby hammy on the block, Rory! You may know me previously as mother to Oakley (who sadly passed away from Wet Tail only 72 hours after bringing him home from P@H). A few weeks after mourning, we actually felt ready to bring another hamster into our lives and vowed to adopt if we could, and the timings perfectly aligned with India's Hamster Rescue bringing in a new litter of baby Syrians.

We adopted him as a baby, just about 7 weeks old and he had previously still been living with his littermates (she was actually getting ready to separate them they day we picked him up) so it was quite a big change for him in terms of new home, but also the first time without his brothers. She mentioned he was quite handleable when we picked him up (he even let me stroke and hold him there) but since he's settled in with us, he's been more reserved.

He actively avoids us and mostly only comes out when we've gone to bed (also sometimes a quick peak in the afternoon if we're out (we have a camera set up)). He does seem confident in his enclosure (he loves running for hours on his wheel, hoovering up all his scattered food & treats, his cork log, flax sprays, burrowing and is absolutely obsessed with apple & strawberry puff baby treats!) I just wish he'd open up to us more now he's been with us for a month, rather than freezing then making a run for it when he hears us )

I do see pockets of hope - sometimes he's happy to take a treat from my hand, I've handled him a few of times and he was actually quite confident running from hand to hand, along my arms, etc. (although this was more us persisting taking him out with a tube, and while he seemed mostly fine once he was out, getting him out felt forced, he seemed maybe a little stressed and just not overly calm or pleased to come himself, so I stopped doing that). Today we did his first "proper" cage clean (just removing and replacing some soiled bedding and rearranging a bit) and used a playpen for the first time which he did seem much more relaxed and comfortable in, exploring and running around in for a bit before settling into his favourite coconut hide. When we put him back in his enclosure, he even sat in our presence eating his new scattered treats & herbs in his hide for a good 10 minutes while we watched and talked right in front of him (also took some treats from my hand again) so hopefully that's a sign we could be building trust!

He is a beauty, and such a lovely expressive little face! Seeing him snoozing in his coconut is gorgeous!

 

[Frida]

Hello Rory

He's gorgeous

 

[Maz]

I'd also suggest having a spare wheel or 12" flying saucer in the playpen, as then he'll have an incentive to come out A flying saucer is fine for non permanent use and mine loves his.

I'd say maybe every 2 or 3 days but not too often for playpen time. It can be difficult if they bury themselves away under bedding. Will he walk into a tube with a bit of cheese or cucumber at the far end? If you put it over his house door?

I think they are harder to deal with than hamsters who have come straight from pet shops sometimes and are used to being handled and cleaned out. When they've come straight from being in siblings, they are maybe having a first taste of independence and enjoying it too much!

 

[HamsterMumMo]

I'd also suggest having a spare wheel or 12" flying saucer in the playpen, as then he'll have an incentive to come out A flying saucer is fine for non permanent use and mine loves his.

I'd say maybe every 2 or 3 days but not too often for playpen time. It can be difficult if they bury themselves away under bedding. Will he walk into a tube with a bit of cheese or cucumber at the far end? If you put it over his house door?

I think they are harder to deal with than hamsters who have come straight from pet shops sometimes and are used to being handled and cleaned out. When they've come straight from being in siblings, they are maybe having a first taste of independence and enjoying it too much!

Thanks for the reassurance Maz! Yes I'm sure we will get there, and even the small improvements are a good sign, so it's just about staying patient!

Yeah I'm thinking about 3x a week for playpen time too, I'll leave it until tomorrow/Wednesday now as we had him out yesterday, just so he doesn't start to anticipate it too much and get stressed. Yes exactly, the hard thing is getting them out in the first place when they love to stay burrowed until after dark! If I turn the lights off and am quiet, I sometimes do catch him out (on the camera) before I'm fully asleep, but the set-up is just a bit timely because I used quite a lot from his enclosure (which makes me think that's why he was so comfortable as it was all so familiar for him?!) But I'll definitely think about getting spare items for the playpen specifically so I don't have to keep re-setting up!

I'll have to try the cheese at the end of a tube - I seem to have a feeling he won't fall for it as he is quite stubborn and easily resists fresh fruit & veg for hours! But worth a try!

 

[HamsterMumMo]

Rory is a lovely hamster!
It can take some longer than others to settle in and gain confidence but it does sound as though he is gradually getting used to things & a bit more comfortable with you, I’m sure he will become more interactive & trusting with a bit more time.
It does as though did quite well in the playpen & some are much happier to interact out of the cage where they might prefer to be left alone & not want hands in their territory!
Maybe try him in the playpen again and do that a few times a week if you can get him out without stressing him & see how that goes.
I always try to go at a hamsters individual pace, they’re all different and it’s worth the wait when they take their time.

Thank you so much!
Yes honestly I was pleasantly surprised with the playpen, he just seemed a lot more comfortable and relaxed (versus when I tried free roaming him on my bed a couple of times!) so it's a good sign. He explored and roamed around a bit and then went into his coconut hide to nap until cleaning was done and it was time to go back home So will definitely keep it up a few times a week - the challenge will certainly be trying to get him out in the first place in a non-stress-inducing way but finger's crossed!

 

[HamsterMumMo]

He is a beauty, and such a lovely expressive little face! Seeing him snoozing in his coconut is gorgeous!

Snoozing with snacc in hand

 

[HamsterMumMo]

Had a quick middle-of-the-night meeting with Rory last night. Funnily enough, it all started because he pooped on his wheel while running and so the sound of it rattling around in the wheel woke me up (I'm quite a light sleeper annoyingly! It is a silent wheel so the soft turning and pitter-patter of his feet don't bother me, especially as they are gentle and rhythmic noises, it actually kind of helps a bit - kind of like white noise. But anything rattling around on the wheel (seed mix or...poop!) usually get me. So I walked over (he obviously froze immediately), talked to him gently and took it off It's happened a few times actually, he doesn't seem to mind my hand in his enclosure for short periods like that (he's probably like: "as long as you're not snatching me, we're good!"). Mostly he'll just sit there still on his wheel, sniffing me, or he'll hop off to the side ("hurry up and finish lady, I've got places to run to!"). Sometimes he goes into his little hut to hide. When I'm gone, he hops back on to continue his marathon. He might not like me yet, but hey it's nice he at least doesn't completely run away into his burrow. I think he's used to it a bit now and knows that if it's a middle-of-the-night run-in with the groggy half asleep human, she'll only be here a minute

 

[HamsterMumMo]

Some live action nightcam content

 

[Maz]

I’ve had moments like that too . It sounds like he accepts you. But they are different in the middle of the night sometimes - kind of in their own little world. Must run all night!

What time does he wake up in the evening?

 

[Maz]

He looks very cute on the photos

 

[Socks' Mum]

Some live action nightcam content

Gorgeous little fellow!

 

[Frida]

Lovely update

 

[HamsterMumMo]

Thank you all!

@Maz yes he really does run mostly all night! It's funny though because he'll stop every so often to sniff outside his wheel, then resume, and repeat! I've read somewhere that it's just their prey instincts making them hyperaware and conscious to keep lookout. Sometimes, he'll even hop off for a little circle around too, then back on the wheel, repeat! He's like a little security guard

Wake up time still varies slightly depending on when I go to sleep, but mostly I'll hear him shuffling around in his burrow quite early from around 7/8pm but he never really comes up until around 10/11pm at the earliest, often after midnight. Gone are the blissful first couple of days when they're out early evening He's quite a late sleeper though, can usually spot him out after 8am - but he's definitely more grumpy in the morning ahaha... I spotted him today at 8.56am! He was hoarding some bedding and nibbling on a treat, clearly getting ready to hit the hay. I went and sat by his enclosure but he froze for what felt like a good 10 minutes before shoooooting off into his burrow... clearly not to be seen again until past my bedtime

Pic is from this morning, frozen and assessing his escape route when he busted me stalking lol

 

[HamsterMumMo]

Talk of the little devil, I can hear him nibbling on something right now

 

[Maz]

If he's up in the mornings, you could maybe try offering him some breakfast They can get in the habit of taking food from you in the mornings and start waiting for it. It sounds like he will need to be out of the cage to get used to humans and handling I think when they're in the cage it's very much "go away I'm busy"!

 

[HamsterMumMo]

The thing is he's grumpier in the mornings so doesn't seem to want to take anything from me! Like this morning, I offered him his absolute fave - strawberry & apple baby puffs! - and he was not having it But yes, maybe you're right that the main thing is trying to get him out. I should probably have his playpen set up "permanently" with items different to the ones in his enclosure so it's sort of ready to go.

What flying saucer do you recommend? Is there size/diameter recommendation the same as with traditional wheels? As seems like the flying saucers come smaller?

 

[Maz]

It needs to be a 12" flying saucer. Or if you have a spare wheel you could have that in the playpen. It's better not to use things from their cage as then they get stressy about the cage having been disturbed, or confused as to why familiar smelling cage items are in the playpen. They are very fussy!

You don't need a lot in the playpen - cardboard boxes or tunnels are fine. This is the saucer I have

Trixie plastic running disc 30cm