Sugar update

[Sparx]

Hello, I thought I would come back and update you all on how Sugar is doing in her new cage set up. After the disastrous purchase at the beginning Sugar has settled really well into her new cage. She is not an early riser so we don't see her as much as we would like but she occasionally wakes up before 8:30pm so my daughter can bond with her. With this is mind it is taking a little longer to tame her. She will take food from our hands and recognises our voices. She will happily go into a box to take her out of the cage but hates the bath! We've tried a few times and I think she feels overwhelmed and looks quite distressed, unfortunately we don't have anywhere she can run around free without getting into mischief! I think we may need to try and get a play pen or something similar for her at some point.

Sugar is a quirky character and is quite mischievous! She loves nothing more than transferring her food to her wheel and running around with it in there, the first night I heard her do this it scared the life out of me!

Sugar loves to sleep in her house now, which is filled to the roof with bedding. She uses it as a toilet too but not in one place so we just have to regularly take out the smelly bits. I bought her a litter tray when she use to wee outside her house but prefers to use this as a sand bath, she loves to roll in it and flick the sand outside the cage. We have no idea where her food stash is, we see her take it into her house but can't find it in there - she must dig deep and have formed a tunnel somewhere else in the cage. She can destroy a flax stem spray in a matter of minutes!

 

[Socks' Mum]

These are the sweetest photos

 

[Maz]

Aw that is a lovely Sugar update I do love her name! She sounds like she's happily hamstering along. I particularly love the photo where she has the flax in her paws

I wouldn't give up on the bathtub yet. How long has she been in her new cage? She might just not be quite ready to leave it and want to get back to it. Also what do you put in the bathtub? I put a fleece blanket on the bottom, a spare wheel, various hides and tunnels (cardboard is fine - eg cardboard boxes and tunnels). A chew stick and a bit of food. But females are notoriously maverick and she may just ignore everything! The carrot cottages are popular for out of cage time - it distracts them and they like to nibble the top, hide in them or tip them over! But yes maybe she would prefer a playpen than the bathtub. I tend to start with the bathtub, until I can stroke and handle a bit, then move to the playpen because it's harder to handle them once they get to a bigger area like a playpen. Although you can sit inside it with them and then they run all over you and that is part of taming too, as they get used to you. Just keep away from the edges or they can run up your arm and jump out!

What does she actually do in the playpen? Just scrabble up the sides?

I have a short video of when I was taming Tino in the bathtub (but he was a slightly cautious male!) if it helps!

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[Socks' Mum]

The slippery surface of the bath could make her uncomfortable if she goes on it

 

[Sparx]

Aw that is a lovely Sugar update I do love her name! She sounds like she's happily hamstering along. I particularly love the photo where she has the flax in her paws

I wouldn't give up on the bathtub yet. How long has she been in her new cage? She might just not be quite ready to leave it and want to get back to it. Also what do you put in the bathtub? I put a fleece blanket on the bottom, a spare wheel, various hides and tunnels (cardboard is fine - eg cardboard boxes and tunnels). A chew stick and a bit of food. But females are notoriously maverick and she may just ignore everything! The carrot cottages are popular for out of cage time - it distracts them and they like to nibble the top, hide in them or tip them over! But yes maybe she would prefer a playpen than the bathtub. I tend to start with the bathtub, until I can stroke and handle a bit, then move to the playpen because it's harder to handle them once they get to a bigger area like a playpen. Although you can sit inside it with them and then they run all over you and that is part of taming too, as they get used to you. Just keep away from the edges or they can run up your arm and jump out!

What does she actually do in the playpen? Just scrabble up the sides?

I have a short video of when I was taming Tino in the bathtub (but he was a slightly cautious male!) if it helps!

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She's been in her new cage for nearly 6 weeks now. When she's in the bath we put down a thick towel, which is only hers so has her scent on, tubes, treats, a natural ball and a wooden arch. She just tries to climb out of it and slides everywhere.
Thanks for the video x

 

[Sparx]

The slippery surface of the bath could make her uncomfortable if she goes on it

Yes, that's what we're finding

 

[Maz]

I think they do tend to run up and slide down the sides, to try and get out. Does anything distract her at all? Maybe a playpen would be better then.

 

[Sparx]

I think they do tend to run up and slide down the sides, to try and get out. Does anything distract her at all? Maybe a playpen would be better then.

Nope, other than the box we use to transport her

 

[Socks' Mum]

Yes, the Omlet playpen is great and really big. A wheel in the playpen can be great as they often race around and then jump in the wheel, using up energy

 

[Hamster Haven]

Our Oaky took about 3 months to truly warm up to us. She was very jumpy around hands at first. We didn't "bathtub bond" but would use the tub just to give her time outside the cage because she is very explorative and curious. She also will spend a good deal of her time trying to escape the tub, but she'll also settle at times and use the wheel or a dig box. I think just our occasionally taking her out and giving her alternate environments did the most for taming her- now that she knows I won't hurt her and I'm her ticket to out of cage time she trusts me immensely! But it started happening right when I'd started to believe she wouldn't ever be very tame!