Hi spoke to hamster man (breeder) this morning he said he may not be coming out now because he has hoarded enough food and is content to sleep all day not needing to come out to forage and has reverted back to his nighttime excursions for his exercise I'm also probably over feeding him as he takes out his favourite foods and leaves the rest he said try him with meal worm's as a treat and if I get him into a routine at certain times he will probably come out at that time every day once he is used to it and to keep rattling his treat container
Little Pete one week on
- Thread starter Jain
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elusive
That may be true to an extent, if he has enough food hoarded he won’t need to come out but I usually find that they are curious & active, most be active to some extent during the day regardless of how much food they have stashed away.
How much are you feeding? About a teaspoon a day is usually enough although I always allow a bit more especially when they are young & still growing.
How much & what kind of enrichment do you have in the cage?
Things like millet & flax sprays, sugar & honey free treat bars, scatter feeding & hiding things around the cage can all help to keep them more active & spending more time out & about.
I use something like this fruit holder for monkey nuts & other treats so they have to work at it to get the treat & can’t just run off with it.
The small wicker ball type things are good for hiding treats to.
Do you have plenty of hides, tubes etc in the cage? If there’s too much open space that can make them feel very vulnerable so plenty of hides will also encourage them to come out more & help them feel safe.
How much are you feeding? About a teaspoon a day is usually enough although I always allow a bit more especially when they are young & still growing.
How much & what kind of enrichment do you have in the cage?
Things like millet & flax sprays, sugar & honey free treat bars, scatter feeding & hiding things around the cage can all help to keep them more active & spending more time out & about.
I use something like this fruit holder for monkey nuts & other treats so they have to work at it to get the treat & can’t just run off with it.
The small wicker ball type things are good for hiding treats to.
Do you have plenty of hides, tubes etc in the cage? If there’s too much open space that can make them feel very vulnerable so plenty of hides will also encourage them to come out more & help them feel safe.
E
elusive
Random question really! I don’t think it’s come up, does he have a sand bath?
Sand is important to keep their coats in good condition but it’s also something they really enjoy, especially if it’s partially covered, something else that might encourage him to come out more if he doesn’t already have one.
Sand is important to keep their coats in good condition but it’s also something they really enjoy, especially if it’s partially covered, something else that might encourage him to come out more if he doesn’t already have one.
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That's a good suggestion to make some treat rattling noise at a set time each day. We usually suggest something similar by making a bit of cage noise at feeding time. I find the one thing they can't resist coming out for though is the bit of fresh veg. It's very important to put hamster mix out every day though. However much food they have hoarded, if there is no new food out each day to "forage" for they can become quite anxious. And actually the routine of coming out for food is partly a reason to come out at all! Putting some sprays in is a good idea. The other thing I do is put the bit of daily veg on a separate dish from the rest of the food - at the far end of the cage - ie furthest away from the house! That encourages them to come out and use most of the cage and they soon get in a routine of going to find the veg in that spot each day. Maybe just use cucumber at first as it's quite strong smelling and brings them out!
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elusive
Tempting them with the veg is a good idea & often works, some of mine haven’t been keen on cucumber but broccoli usually goes down well, they’re all different but I don’t think I’ve had one that didn’t like broccoli.
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I'll just add - you can't overfeed a hamster. They will eat what they need and hoard the rest. But I am aware of hamsters starving to death because someone was reducing the food they put out and only putting it out every few days instead of daily (but had also cleaned out the hoard). Foraging for food daily is their natural instinct. Pete has just flown the nest and become independent, in his own home, and getting his own habits so he is bound to behave differently once in a new home. And he will be enjoying that. It's true that if he has everything he needs he has nothing to come out for! But the veg could help with that, if given early evening regularly. There is a balance between them having normal behavious and being encouraged to come out. Once they get used to coming out they are keen on it.
Thank you for the feedback to answer your queries yes he has a sand bath but I was going to put that into his play pen where he will hopefully at some point spend "happy time"on a daily basis I've bought enough to create hamster Alton Towers in there. I've been giving him around 6 gms of food daily plus tiny bits of broccoli he,s also had chicken and scrambled egg on alternate days. Yes he has a lot of hiding places in his cage his favourite is a log with holes in it and he did used to enjoy playing "pee-po" before he went reclusive. Now todays update I know this could be controversial but it seemed to work for Pete I took the top part off his cage I laid my hand inside with a tiny piece of Wensleydale held between my finger and thumb he was in his hide so I lifted it off he looked surprised and sniffed the air came and took the cheese noctulantly walked round his cage and then used his toilet and came back to my hand I offered him a piece of cucumber with my other hand (easier to do without it going above him with the top off) he looked disgusted and went back to bed I had put the hide back but he chose to go into his substrate tunnel. The total duration was a few minutes no stress for either party so will continue daily until he decides to actually climb onto my hand. Sorry for the long post but I didn't want to leave anything out especially as it was good news.
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That's lovely he took some food from you 
There are different ways of finding out how hamsters react and what they like so don't worry - there is no one fixed way to do things when it comes to interaction with your hamster and you'll work out between you what works. He's getting some lovely treats . Food is usually a helpful way of getting them to respond! Sounds like he likes cheese but not cucumber
The only thing I'd be a bit cautious about perhaps is in case he jumps out of the cage while the top is off (this has happened to me!).
He sounds like he's getting braver every day and more and more familiar with you.
There are different ways of finding out how hamsters react and what they like so don't worry - there is no one fixed way to do things when it comes to interaction with your hamster and you'll work out between you what works. He's getting some lovely treats . Food is usually a helpful way of getting them to respond! Sounds like he likes cheese but not cucumber The only thing I'd be a bit cautious about perhaps is in case he jumps out of the cage while the top is off (this has happened to me!).
He sounds like he's getting braver every day and more and more familiar with you.
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elusive
Great to hear he took the cheese from you.
I agree with Maz, different things work for different hamsters, I’d still take it slow & see how his overall behaviour is, maybe try every other day with talking to him & leaving a treat if he doesn’t come out in between.
It’s always worth experimenting with different treats to temp them, they can have very individual tastes!
Maybe get another sand bath or make one for the playpen & keep the one he has in the cage as he does need to have that available all the time.
I agree with Maz, different things work for different hamsters, I’d still take it slow & see how his overall behaviour is, maybe try every other day with talking to him & leaving a treat if he doesn’t come out in between.
It’s always worth experimenting with different treats to temp them, they can have very individual tastes!
Maybe get another sand bath or make one for the playpen & keep the one he has in the cage as he does need to have that available all the time.
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That's lovely he took some food from you
The only thing I'd be a bit cautious about perhaps is in case he jumps out of the cage while the top is off (this has happened to me!).
He sounds like he's getting braver every day and more and more familiar with you.
I admit he did come right up to the edge will be happier when I can sit on the floor with him it's a safe space and he can free roaming if he wants to