Raffy (Syrian Hamster)

[Maz]

Thanks ilguy

 

[Maz]

I put the hay hide back up carefully without pushing it down too much so I didn't destroy his diggings. Today the mound of bedding is even bigger behind it and blocking the wheel! Glad to see he's enjoying digging! He won't have had much wheel running last night though. I've freed it up now.

 

[Maz]

Raffy told me what for last night. When he went back in his cage after free roaming he was on his house roof and seemed a bit bothered that his step wasn't there to step down onto (it had been tipped over again) - despite the fact he had a cork log he could use at the other end. Instead he went to the end of the house and down through another cork log. When he got to the bottom of that he seemed bothered and hesitant! Substrate was all piled up in a mountain in front of it. I thought - maybe he doesn't like that for some reason. So I decided to help him out and pressed it down a bit. And it was also blocking his wheel so I cleared that a bit so it spun ok. The mountain appears daily and I assumed it was from digging under his house as he has a burrow and hoards under there. Well he didn't seem to like that! He came out and spent a good 20 minutes digging up all the substrate I had flattened down and proceeded to pile it all up again and kick substrate all over the wheel and jam it up again. Eventually he then went under his shelf at the other end to have a wash - so I surreptitiously freed up the wheel again - he shot me a suspicious look. Because I was about to go to bed and he wouldn't have been able to use his wheel.

I have all this on video and will post it later

 

[Socks' Mum]

I can imagine him digging away, asking himself why humans don't understand how much hard work is involved in tunnelling

 

[Maz]

It was very odd - he seemed determined to block up his wheel! It reminded me of when he was very young and I first had him. He did quite a bit of digging and tunnelling and it would pile up behind his house and block his wheel. It was a temporary shoe box house and I'd tried a different layout with the house nearer the middle of the cage and the wheel on the end part of the cage behind it. I decided that wasn't working! So when his new house came I had it on the end of the cage so nothing behind it, and the wheel on the back of the cage - and that has worked well ever since - until now!

 

[Lovelyness]

Keeping you on your toes!!

 

[Maz]

That same night I managed to trim one nail While he was out I had him on the sofa briefly, with a teaspoon of porridge on a book and while he was engrossed in eating it I managed to snip one nail. After that he was pulling his feet up if I went near. So this is going to take time ........

 

[Maz]

Ok so here's the video He was digging solidly for a full 12 to 13 minutes! And the video was 13 minutes long - so I speeded it up and now it's only 3 minutes long. At one point he is actually running on his wheel and digging at the same time! Which is pretty impressive for a two and a half year old hamster .

All I did was press down the substrate a bit in front of the cork log (near the wheel) and around his wheel because it was blocked. And he set about digging energetically in that area - and then in various other parts of the cage too - he was even digging while walking through his hay house! If you see it, at one point he pouches a bit of bedding while digging (when nearer the front of the cage).

He thoroughly jammed the wheel up again and filled the wheel with bedding. I suppose he was just wanting to put everything back as it was before that meddling human interfered.

At the end he just leaves it all, goes under his shelf and has a wash.

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[Lovelyness]

A very busy boy!

 

[ilguy]

Good job Maz, having a good path to the wheel is serious business. It's so great to see Raffy still so energetic at his age, he's such a special ham!

 

[Maz]

Thanks Lovelyness and ilguy . He was definitely showing he can still dig a lot!

 

[Maz]

Raffy has clearly been doing more digging underground - tonight the mountain near the wheel is even bigger and the hay house step toppled over again I did see him earlier at feeding time and he had a short run on the wheel - maybe to show me it's still working. It is but slightly slowed up by the bedding. I'm thinking about moving the wheel a bit further along. But that means I'll have to move his coconut and he might not like that! But I won't have to move him far. No out of cage time last night as I went to bed early - he gets upset if he misses a night so I made an extra effort to call him around 10.30pm but he was no show. Either slightly deaf or under too much bedding! He probably wants to come out at midnight and I can't do that midweek as have to get up early. So we're both out of sync with that. I'm sure he'll be raring to be out tomorrow night. What he does is come out - see if I'm around, and if I'm not he goes back to bed - and then I can't rouse him! I wasn't in the room when he came out tonight and by the time OH had called me he'd gone again!

 

[ilguy]

Aw, that's a difficulty I run into with Henry a good deal. He loves digging under the wheel and slowing it down with bedding too. Does Raffy give you a hard time when you clear it out so the wheel can move normally?

 

[Maz]

Well he did recently hence his big digging spree to put it all back again

 

[Zara]

What a fantastic video of Raffy digging and manoeuvring his bedding to have it his way, he’s funny . Think I was pretty lucky wt Ham in that if he missed a night out, he’d be up earlier the following evening and hang around by the door for longer. Hope Raffys already up and out this eve, enjoying his time to explore

 

[Maz]

Thank you Zara Yes he's been out this evening He also pushed his little plate around that his baby food and medicine goes on, making a rattling noise, as I hadn't put it out. He absolutely loves the baby food. Just run out so he had porridge tonight with baby food (he loves that too but goes potty for the baby food )

 

[Zara]

That’s so cute, he’s thinking where’s the yummy smooth food tonight?

I really did find it the easiest way to give medicine. Which ones are his fav?

 

[Maz]

He's only had a choice of two so far, and seems to love both of them but I suspect the Sweet Squash and chicken is the favourite - as it seems to have been with previous hamsters I had one other Hipp one - I think it was rice and vegetables. Just sent for those again plus some Ella's kitchen peas peas peas, and pumpkin, broccoli and sweetcorn. There's a limited choice I can get here from the safe list. It does waste quite a bit though when they only last 24 hours (ie two days worth) and the Hipp ones say don't freeze. Also the Ella's kitchen strawberry and raspberry instant porridge with crispy bits. They all go ecstatic for that

 

[Socks' Mum]

Mom: "I must get those, just to see which ones Socks likes".
Socks: "Stop eating my food Mom!"

 

[Jain]

He's only had a choice of two so far, and seems to love both of them but I suspect the Sweet Squash and chicken is the favourite - as it seems to have been with previous hamsters I had one other Hipp one - I think it was rice and vegetables. Just sent for those again plus some Ella's kitchen peas peas peas, and pumpkin, broccoli and sweetcorn. There's a limited choice I can get here from the safe list. It does waste quite a bit though when they only last 24 hours (ie two days worth) and the Hipp ones say don't freeze. Also the Ella's kitchen strawberry and raspberry instant porridge with crispy bits. They all go ecstatic for that

It's always good when you can see them enjoying their food