Raffy (Syrian Hamster)

[ilguy]

So great to see some footage of Raffy, he still looks young at heart with that meerkatting! With the dishwasher, you could try adding a tablespoon of vinegar before running a load. It helps with odor, also works for washing machines too

 

[Maz]

Thanks! Dishwasher smell is fine now after removing the stinky pot that had unglazed teracotta inside. So after running a cycle normally the smell is gone - it turned out it was the pot that smelled, not the dishwasher itself! Useful tip though thank you - and I've used a fair bit of vinegar recently with cage cleaning.

 

[Maz]

Raffy sat for a lovely long stroke and cuddle again last night - after his free roaming time

 

[RainbowBrite]

Aww, that really is so adorable.

 

[Maz]

It was - he has never been a cuddly hamster but is mellowing

 

[Frida]

A cuddle from Raffy is lovely but I can't help wondering what he's planning

 

[elusive]

That’s lovely.

 

[Maz]

A cuddle from Raffy is lovely but I can't help wondering what he's planning

Ha ha - good point.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Raffy is our Syrian who arrived on St George's Day this year, at approximately 8 to 12 weeks old apparently (adopted from Happy Hamsters). So I had considered calling him George but he didn't seem like a George - he was absolutely tiny, only weighed 97 grammes and very perky and active. Absolutely adorable. So he was called Raffy, short for Raphael (who was a teenage mutant ninja turtle, and an Angel - both of which suited his personality). Raphael was also an artist but Raffy hasn't shown artistic tendencies (yet).

I absolutely love him. He is quite quirky. He is out every single night, seems very confident (yet at the same time was scared of hands and used to bite at first). He really interacts with you and is so sweet - and also extremely active.

He moved straight into a Savic Plaza cage which he settled into straight away and explored every inch of. Hence him being confident in some ways. However he has always seemed a bit of a gypsy who never really seemed settled. He didn't even have much of a nest in his house at first. He seemed to just be sleeping rough in the house!

He now has a rodipet labyrinth house and is a bit more settled and has a kind of nest - which he has built in the tiniest back compartment of the house! Surprised he even fits in there along with his nest. Unlike other Syrians we've had who choose the larger front compartment for a nest.

Taming was slow and took time and patience (and gloves to avoid being bitten) but I can now pick him up easily and he accepts it without biting - especially on the sofa - although he still doesn't like it.

He had been a child's pet for, presumably, a very short time, before he went to Happy Hamsters. So assume he's had a bad experience with hands or handling in the past.

I thought he was just a very small Syrian but he grew! And is now a healthy 170 grammes and a normal sized looking hamster. I guessed he had probably just been a baby when he arrived but Happy Hamsters thought he wasn't. Anyway he has grown and thrived.

He keeps me on my toes as wants to be out every single night - we've got into a routine. He began escaping the playpen for a while by hurling himself at the sides off the top of a hide. So I removed the hide and added a flying saucer (as well as a wheel). He loves the flying saucer and doesn't try to escape the playpen any more.

He must be about 8 to 9 months old now.

So here he is - the day he arrived

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He had the Carolina Storm wheel as a temporary wheel at first until I managed to get another one (which took longer than expected) and he absolutely thundered in it. Although it was a silent wheel it banged against the cage bars, attached like that. He now has a 32cm rodipet wheel - which I forked out for and love - and so does Raffy. I quite missed the noise after the wheel was changed!

He was absolutely wild at first and I thought about calling him - Raffy the destroyer. Because the Plaza cage is quite tall I had carefully attached about 5" of cardboard round the inside bars and had deeper bedding - to reduce the height. Raffy chewed off most of the cardboard in the first few days and there was substrate all over the floor. He also used to leap on top of his flower basket.

He has definitely calmed down a bit but maybe that's the cooler nights. He comes out a bit later now but would happily keep me away all night so he could have out of cage time!

Here he is in the playpen (this was when he was still quite little)

View attachment 265

This is his cage set up now (with the labyrinth house and 32cm wheel).

View attachment 267

Which then had to be adapted at one end when he couldn't reach the sputnik

View attachment 268

He is out now while I am typing this so will have to go and have our time together!

What kind of gloves did you use? I'm thinking of potential vet visits. Socks is very sweet (touch wood) and although he has swatted occasionally, I haven't felt at risk of being bitten. Of course like all small pets he needs to be handled with gently and with respect! The swatting is far less now and I think he is beginning to like being gently stroked. I am a bit worried about vet visits though, mainly the thought of him being dropped from a height or falling off the table if the vet isn't used to a hamster.

 

[elusive]

What kind of gloves did you use? I'm thinking of potential vet visits. Socks is very sweet (touch wood) and although he has swatted occasionally, I haven't felt at risk of being bitten. Of course like all small pets he needs to be handled with gently and with respect! The swatting is far less now and I think he is beginning to like being gently stroked. I am a bit worried about vet visits though, mainly the thought of him being dropped from a height or falling off the table if the vet isn't used to a hamster.

Do you have a vet yet? If not it’s good to find a good exotic vet who’s experienced with hamsters before you need one.
Vet visits can be stressful but they’re usually fine, I think if you wore gloves it would make it more stressful as that would another strange thing for her to experience, best to keep things as normal & reassuring as possible.

 

[Maz]

What kind of gloves did you use? I'm thinking of potential vet visits. Socks is very sweet (touch wood) and although he has swatted occasionally, I haven't felt at risk of being bitten. Of course like all small pets he needs to be handled with gently and with respect! The swatting is far less now and I think he is beginning to like being gently stroked. I am a bit worried about vet visits though, mainly the thought of him being dropped from a height or falling off the table if the vet isn't used to a hamster.

For taming, something like fabric gardening gloves is good. I don't have any of those, but did have an old pair of part suede, thick lined gloves so I wore those. That was mainly to break the thing where he made me jump, which wouldn't have helped taming.

For vet visits, I would just go prepared. I would also worry about a hamster being dropped or running off the table. But as long as you have a good sized pet carrier (guinea pig size) you can make it cosy with bedding and a bit of food and cucumber and a small house - and I've found the vets usually lift them straight from that to examine and then put them straight back into it.

So I wouldn't wear gloves to the vets. Vets are used to being bitten by hamsters anyway! A good vet will handle them gently and then not get bitten!

With smaller hamsters I used to take a kind of low height storage bin with me with hemp mat inside, and a couple of "toys" - eg a tunnel or bendy bridge and maybe a flying saucer - and put that on the vet table and transfer the hamster from the pet carrier to the bin so they could run around and the vet have a good look and the hamster not be able to run off the table, as I was also worried about that. To transfer the hamster from the pet carrier to the bin I used a snooze cube in the pet carrier. Not because I'm worried about being bitten, but because it can be stressful for them being picked up from the pet carrier if they're trying to hide. They tend to sit in the snooze cube as it's cosy and you can then just lift that out, with a hand over the door and put it down in the storage bin. Also if the vet picks them up from the bin, it's a bigger area to put them back down in and the hamster can do some normal things like eat or sit in a hide or use the things in the bin, while the vet is talking to you. I'd put a handful of food in the bin when I got there as well.

I think the first time I did this the vet was a bit surprised I put a low height storage bin on the vet table but after that they got used to the idea.

That wouldn't work with a Syrian though as they'd just climb out of the bin and a higher sided one could be a bit big to take with you and not easy for the vet to see in. However I still use the snooze cube in the pet carrier with Syrians and just lift that out and put it on the vet table.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Do you have a vet yet? If not it’s good to find a good exotic vet who’s experienced with hamsters before you need one.
Vet visits can be stressful but they’re usually fine, I think if you wore gloves it would make it more stressful as that would another strange thing for her to experience, best to keep things as normal & reassuring as possible.

I have registered with the nearest vet, but would feel more reassured to know how to access a specialist rodent vet. I think often it depends on who is on duty. I have been surprised by how fast and strong hamsters are when they choose to be, and that was only in a mild situation, a cage cleaning strop. A genuinely panicking hamster would be impossible to hold onto without training and skill. They are so fragile and yet can be very fast and quite strong. I agree about the gloves though. I saw a video where the vet used a cloth and it went well, but she was obviously well versed in hamsters.

 

[Socks' Mum]

For taming, something like fabric gardening gloves is good. I don't have any of those, but did have an old pair of part suede, thick lined gloves so I wore those. That was mainly to break the thing where he made me jump, which wouldn't have helped taming.

For vet visits, I would just go prepared. I would also worry about a hamster being dropped or running off the table. But as long as you have a good sized pet carrier (guinea pig size) you can make it cosy with bedding and a bit of food and cucumber and a small house - and I've found the vets usually lift them straight from that to examine and then put them straight back into it.

So I wouldn't wear gloves to the vets. Vets are used to being bitten by hamsters anyway! A good vet will handle them gently and then not get bitten!

With smaller hamsters I used to take a kind of low height storage bin with me with hemp mat inside, and a couple of "toys" - eg a tunnel or bendy bridge and maybe a flying saucer - and put that on the vet table and transfer the hamster from the pet carrier to the bin so they could run around and the vet have a good look and the hamster not be able to run off the table, as I was also worried about that. To transfer the hamster from the pet carrier to the bin I used a snooze cube in the pet carrier. Not because I'm worried about being bitten, but because it can be stressful for them being picked up from the pet carrier if they're trying to hide. They tend to sit in the snooze cube as it's cosy and you can then just lift that out, with a hand over the door and put it down in the storage bin. Also if the vet picks them up from the bin, it's a bigger area to put them back down in and the hamster can do some normal things like eat or sit in a hide or use the things in the bin, while the vet is talking to you. I'd put a handful of food in the bin when I got there as well.

I think the first time I did this the vet was a bit surprised I put a low height storage bin on the vet table but after that they got used to the idea.

That wouldn't work with a Syrian though as they'd just climb out of the bin and a higher sided one could be a bit big to take with you and not easy for the vet to see in. However I still use the snooze cube in the pet carrier with Syrians and just lift that out and put it on the vet table.

Thank you! Yes, his carrier is 25cm x 21cm × 20cm, which is guinea pig size I think. I have a lidded plastic tub I could put clothes into and put the carrier into that. That could make it easier to get a taxi too, I think.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Socks is really getting good about hands and in his familiar environment allows me to approach him to give him food, move things and stroke him gently without being aggressive. Sometimes he gets fed up with being stroked though, and flounces off, but this is getting less and less.

 

[Zara]

Just catching up on Raffys thread, how lovely he’ll sit and enjoy some cuddles and strokes, that’s so nice for both of you. Great video of him on this flying saucer, he was really going for it

 

[Maz]

Most hamsters are scared of hoovers. Raffy, however, wants to either play with it or operate it himself, I'm not sure which. I had the handheld bit of the hoover out last night as had spilled bedding on the floor. Raffy came over and was trying to do something to the hoover - not sure what!

 

[RainbowBrite]

Aww, maybe he wants to learn how to use it to help you do the housework.

 

[Zara]

Te, he, how cute, he wanted to help tidy

 

[Maz]

It was funny - he wouldn't leave it alone!

 

[Maz]

Raffy is back in his Plaza 120 in the living room I let him have an explore in it last night, just before his free roam. That seemed to go well, so popped him in there after his free roam for the night. It needs more adding to the cage - I'd forgotten how big it is. But he seems happy with it at the moment.

This is him exploring before he moved in - no food in there at this point - it's quite a long video at about 8 minutes, but he checks out absolutely everything

He seemed very pleased to have his old wheel back and his pot in the corner. It's a slightly different set up to before - some things had to be thrown away and I also decided to leave out his big shelf and roof run as he's coming up for 2 years old and although still very active, I think in the next few months the levels could be a bit risky - so he has low levels and two cork logs. And a new Happy Henry Homes house, which is the same size and layout as his old Rodipet house (which isn't made any more). A bit more needed to fill up the space though!

Also I later removed the Christmas hanging thing from the bars in case he tried to chew the string through the bars, after seeing him investigate it. I had intended to have a digging box in there and had bought two bags of cork granules but they weren't very nice - black and smelled burnt, so didn't use them. I had a bit left from a previous bag that were nice ones so at the moment it's just an egg box of cork granules! But he seemed to find it interesting anyway.

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