Quote:
Originally Posted by velma
I was pretty lucky with Hector my last robo as he was pretty friendly. My first robo several years back was just happy doing his own thing & wasn't really a people person, err, hamster  I think the first thing to do is not compare the process with your Syrians. You might end up with a robo who wants to run around your hands but they're never really still or you may have a robo who will take food from you but doesn't want to be held. If he's not running away from you then that's good progress, I'd say. I personally favour a start smaller approach when it comes to cages. Hector never settled in a larger cage so went back to the min duna I started him in and lived there. It seems to make them a bit less skittish. The bath tub method people recommend for Syrians isn't suitable for robos as they're so small and quick. I used a plastic storage run for a play area, which actually wasn't that huge either. I put a handful of substrate in to scent it, a spare wheel, a loo roll and his sand bath or a little cardboard box. It gave him something to play with & hide in but not so much that he wouldn't come out. Luckily Hector was a greedy wee thing & was food driven which was easier. I had jam jar or mug to transfer him - just put your hand over the top - and to get him used to it, I'd put sunflower seeds in it so he'd go in voluntarily. He soon learnt the jar meant treats. When he was in his play tub, I'd give him a chance to run around and work out what was going and then is out my hand flat in the bottom, Usually with a sunflower seed or something in the middle & he soon got used to walking onto my hand. The joy of being in the rib is that you can then start gently lifting your hand - just a little bit to start - and if he jumps off he won't fall far & is safely contained in the plastic tub. Be patient, a month isn't long. I'm sure you'll get there. |
This is helpful for me. Thanks for the advice. He is in a 220L bin cage. My mum thinks its too big so I have bought a 110L one and still seems way to big, for temp until he is tame i mioght move him into the Pets At Home cage (large) (well its called a large hamster cage, but it's small.) lol.
He is still running away from my hand and he is finding it hard to get used to people walking by the cage as he is in a central area.