Raffy (Syrian Hamster)

[Member ID2]

That's the trouble. Hamsters can get very sulky when they don't get their way which makes us feel guilty. Something to do with their size and cute faces. Poor little things and all that.
I bet Raffy has making you feel guilty down to a fine art.

 

[Maz]

Oh he was in a foul mood next day - very bad tempered. Yes I wondered if it was the weather as it has been colder again just recently.

 

[Maz]

Raffy got out of the room again last night I thought he had given up actually - now the board is well and truly hamsterproof. So you would think he would give up investigating. I maybe relaxed a bit too much and was a bit sloppy in putting it up last night and had it upside down. One side is flat and the other side is very slightly curved - so if I have it the wrong way up it doesn't sit completely flat on the floor. I also use a door stop to hold it up which isn't very strong (a stuffed duck!) and had stopped bothering to put the chair there as well thinking he couldn't push it over. Well he did!

I almost know within minutes when he's not in the room - it is just particularly quiet somehow. So I checked the board and sure enough it had been pushed over a bit, leaving enough of a gap to climb through - because it was the wrong way up.

As usual he had gone straight to the downstairs bedroom and was sitting on top of a floor sweeper next to the hamster treats drawer! Closed so he couldn't get in it.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Lol I think he dreams about the treat drawer and how he can get to it!

 

[Hamster Haven]

Lol I think he dreams about the treat drawer and how he can get to it!

Raffy got out of the room again last night I thought he had given up actually - now the board is well and truly hamsterproof. So you would think he would give up investigating. I maybe relaxed a bit too much and was a bit sloppy in putting it up last night and had it upside down. One side is flat and the other side is very slightly curved - so if I have it the wrong way up it doesn't sit completely flat on the floor. I also use a door stop to hold it up which isn't very strong (a stuffed duck!) and had stopped bothering to put the chair there as well thinking he couldn't push it over. Well he did!

I almost know within minutes when he's not in the room - it is just particularly quiet somehow. So I checked the board and sure enough it had been pushed over a bit, leaving enough of a gap to climb through - because it was the wrong way up.

As usual he had gone straight to the downstairs bedroom and was sitting on top of a floor sweeper next to the hamster treats drawer! Closed so he couldn't get in it.

he knows how to get there!

 

[Maz]

I've also noticed Raffy gets up to drink during the day sometimes, these days - looking half asleep. And this evening he got up around 7pm (unheard of) even before I put food out, and went and sat in his coconut. Now he has ignored that coconut ever since I got him! It was nice to see him curled up in it. He didn't stay there long though and went down his tunnel to his little private corner where he sits for a wash. So I put the food out earlier. He had that then went back to bed.

 

[Member ID2]

He is in a huff now because you closed the treats drawer. I think if you would leave it open, he'd get up early. Maybe that's what he's trying to tell you, hehe.

 

[Maz]

It's become a bit of a game. This pretending not to check the board any more then sneaking off and trying again. For about a week he's just been sitting at my feet and running on his trixie wheel and not bothered with the board. He must be able to smell a gap or mistake!

 

[Maz]

On another note, him starting to use the coconut makes me feel he is getting older. He had very short shrift for anything like that when he first came. No cosying up for Raffy, it was all high activity.

 

[Member ID2]

Yes, they do get more settled as they get older. An armchair for a human and a coconut for a hamster.

 

[Maz]

He's not exactly old yet So maybe he just noticed the coconut! I'm putting him at a year and 2 months but he may be slightly more (or less).

Just weighed Raffy tonight and was surprised to find he is 201g! I haven't weighed him for quite a while though and thought he was fully grown at 180g. I double checked making sure the scales were on a solid flat surface and it was correct. Of course it's possible I've been giving him too many sunflower seeds! I do think he looks slightly chunky - but not overweight really.

Here he is tonight free roaming. He starts off clambering over boxes in an alcove behind the TV - the messiest area he can find as an obstacle course. Tends to shoot off to various parts of the room and likes to sit inside OH's file box on the floor sometimes. Regularly heads over to the board blocking his exit from the room - and ends up under the coffee table on his wheel for a while.

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[elusive]

Lovely to see you out & about Raffy
I don’t think he’ll ever give up on that board now, he must have been so disappointed to find the draw closed!

 

[Maz]

Thanks Elusive Yes he will check that board every time in case there's a gap or I haven't secured it enough! He did get a walnut when weighed though and some porridge this morning so he did get some treats despite not getting into the treat drawer!

I still can't believe he weighed 201g! He was only 97g when he arrived about 10.5 months ago.

 

[Member ID2]

201g is a healthy weight but what a jump from 97g, lol! He certainly thrived in your care.

I know what you mean though. I used to call Clive 'weedy' so you can imagine my disbelieve when he weighed in at 202g on the vet's scales.

 

[Maz]

I don't think he looks overweight do you? OH says he has a chunky backend though lol

 

[Member ID2]

No, he's not overweight. Raffy looks very healthy and fit.

 

[Zara]

What a fantastic video, Raffy is so active, whizzing about, I think he looks really healthy and fit too. (Hams doesn’t seem to do anything quickly, he’s a real plodder). Raffy looks a similar size to Hams and he doesn’t use his coconut hide. I’ve always thought it’s just a bit too small for the slightly larger Syrians, but I guess it would make it more cosy.

 

[Maz]

Thank you both Ah so Hams is another one not so interested in his coconut. Every Syrian I've had has loved their coconut hut - it's round and they like curling up in it. But maybe it's a personality thing. Raffy was definitely a bit of a gypsy for a while and didn't really have a proper nest till this winter. He didn't show any interest in hidey places. But he likes tubes and tunnels! He had a lovely ceramic round hide as well that' plenty big enough but he never gets in it - he uses it as a place to store special treats.

On the other hand I did wonder if Raffy was slightly brain damaged by stress or trauma for a while - so maybe he is only now starting to get over it and relax and do some normal hamster things - I think the free roaming has helped his personality develop as well.

Not suggesting that Hams had a similar brain damaging experience! Maybe he has other cosy hides he prefers

 

[RainbowBrite]

Orko never uses his coconut. I tried to get him to use it by hiding a mealworm in it so now he only goes inside to see if there is a mealworm and straight back out again.

 

[Maz]

I don't think Robos sit still long enough to enjoy hides much! And Orko has so many alternative lovely hides it maybe just isn't his favourite. Pip only went in his in the playpen because it was the only place to hide.