Otto

[Member ID2]

He had a monkey nut but other nuts are a good idea.
I'll try him with a bit of egg tonight. He likes his fresh food which is good.

 

[Maz]

It's difficult to know how old he looks - their personalities can vary. Our first hamster Charlie looked like an old man at a year old - just his look really. But he lived till he was 2 years and 8 months. I think hair thinning is more an indication. Around two years old (sometimes a bit earlier ) their hair can start looking thinner (especially behind the ears).

 

[Member ID2]

He's taking an interest in food. I ate my dinner in the hamster room because Lilly is asleep in that little fluffy hide.
Otto came out of his nest air sniffing so i chucked a pea and a sweetcorn kernel in his cage. He found and pouched both and his piece of walnut as well which he nibbled first. Then he pouched some bedding and went back to his nest.
It could be that he's not familiar with some of the foods he gets here. He was fed on pellets that were for any rodent according to the packet that came with him.
I can hear him cluttering about in his nest now.

 

[elusive]

Real food must be a whole new experience for him then, it’s lovely to hear that he’s taking more of an interest now, it must have seemed very strange after nothing but pellets.
He never looks old to me in his photos, hopefully a good diet & some nice treats will make a difference now.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Aw, it is lovely he showed an interest in the new foods. Do you remember how long it took before Orko would try new foods? I remember you laughing when he ignored all my attempts.

 

[Member ID2]

I suppose he looks and feels so thin to me because he's a similar colouring to Jack and Jack was a very big hamster.
I must get my head round the fact that this colouring also comes in a smaller, lightweight version.

I had a foster hamster once who looked identical in colouring to Rory who was a black eyed cream but Paddy looked like a baby version of Rory. Paddy was a lot older than Rory but tiny.

Rory you all know and this is Paddy who was around 16 mths when this photo was taken.

 

[RainbowBrite]

I can see the similarities between Paddy and Rory. Rory looks a bit chubbier.

 

[Member ID2]

Otto has put on 6g so he's going in the right direction.

 

[RainbowBrite]

This is such wonderful news!

 

[Maz]

That's excellent! On that last photo, I can see Otto looks a bit thin. It could simply be poor nutrition from the pellets, before he came to you, but I think there's a psychological element to thriving as well. Also as you say, if he's a smaller hamster he may feel a bit less chunky and more fragile. Moo was my "average sized" Syrian and he always felt a bit like a bag of bones, although looked fluffy. He was about a year old when he came to me.

Paddy was gorgeous

 

[Member ID2]

Yes, i believe it's a combination of things. The other thing is that he didn't have a wheel so couldn't build up any muscle either.

It is a joy to watch him run around exploring. Tonight he discovered the playbox with the dig boxes. It was always open but today was the first time he ventured in it.

Otto seems to have very light sensitive eyes (so do i) which is something i noticed rightaway.

 

[Maz]

Going back to nuts. I did some research some time ago about the highest calorie foods (for building up a hamster at the time). Pecan nuts are high in calorie and supposed to be the most high calorie nuts. I think it was brazil nuts after that. Hemp seeds also.

I think all hamsters are a bit light sensitive but it sounds like Otto is going to be a sensitive boy generally maybe. How sad he had no exercise to build up muscles. Luckily muscles can build up quite quickly.

 

[Member ID2]

I just sat in the hamster room quietly without any lights on and watched Otto hamstering about.
He got some nuts from his nibble stick, licked up all the brown linseeds and pouched some Little One mix. He ignored the Harry Hamster.
Otto had a drink from his bowl and not his bottle.
He definitely prefers a smaller textured mix and his eyes look normal without the light on. He seemed quite relaxed but was aware of me. When i moved he looked over and then carried on with what he was doing.

 

[RainbowBrite]

That is interesting he prefers the smaller food. It is lovely he felt comfortable with you watching him.

 

[Member ID2]

I need to go to The Range or Hobbycraft tomorrow to buy two sheets of coloured cardboard for the top of Otto's Alaska to keep the light off. I'm going to cover the top door separately so i can still open it.

 

[elusive]

That’s a good idea, I usually cover a part of the top so they have a darker area if they want it.

 

[Member ID2]

I do that as well with boredom breaker mats but want to see if covering the whole top would be preferable for him.

He is not using his house which is another thing i may adjust. I could take the front panel off and make it into a bus shelter type of thing which he may prefer and use for storage or another place to go.

He didn't have a house (i don't count the tiny pod things on a Hamster Heaven shelf as houses) and probably slept under the shelf like he's doing now.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Sounds like it may take time for Otto to learn how to use all the lovely things in his cage as he is not used to such lovely enrichment.

 

[elusive]

I guess it’s natural that he’s doing what he’s used to, he might change his habits a bit with time but I do like the idea of a bus shelter for a hamster!

 

[Frida]

I was thinking of covering some parts of Albert's cage roof but wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Could you please post some photos of what your cage roofs look like?