Hamster Central - View Single Post - I have the hammie version of the guy from Memento

Pebbles82 · 02-21-2019, 02:26 AM

Thanks for the update. I agree with everything you say, from my experiences

Although they do vary in personality there are some common things. Our hamster also liked it when the room was nice and warm - I used to have a little heater on at night with our last Syrian as our house got very cold at night - draughty and high ceilings. I would come down later and find him literally "basking" or sunbathing ha ha - curled up in his sputnik and looking very chilled.

It can also get too warm for them so about 68 to 70 degrees is about right. They do hide away more in cold weather and make their nest bigger too so keep putting nesting material out.

I have never had a hamster walk on my hand when I put it in the cage - neither of our hamsters liked a hand in the cage. And they also began to sense it was a "trick" to get hold of them if I had food in my hand!

Our current hamster will eat off my hand or climb onto it out of the cage where he is less territorial.

They are very zippy when they're young and semi-tame! Still zippy even when they are tame and always keen to do a runner if possible, even when hand tame - I think it's just the roaming instinct and a sense of freedom.

Can you pick him up and hold him, when he's out of the cage - without him pinging? ie wriggling free and leaping high in the air at the same time? If you can pick him up and stroke him and he doesn't try to escape (other than just wanting to keep walking off but accepts you picking him up and stroking him again) then he is hand tame. But will still want to do a runner.

If you want to try the sofa again, try at around 8pm to 9pm maybe. Depending on the hamster, they can be more dopey at that time of night. That was the case with our last one. He was most active up to 8pm and once it got to 10pm he was super active, but around 8pm or 9pm he liked a bit of a nap sometimes and was more docile.

I used to have a rolled up blanket on the front of the sofa - they can still climb over it but it slows them up so you can catch them before they get over! Also having a few cushions on the sofa seems to help - something to climb over or go under.

What really helped me with sofa time was a little cardboard house with hay and carrot stuck on the outside - our last hamster would spend ages inside this scratching the hay off (although ignored it if it was in his cage). Our current one is mildly interested but not for as long.

It's this one but it seems very expensive in the US as probably imported. Maybe you could find something similar - or just a house with some treats inside.

https://www.amazon.com/ROSEWOOD-Natu...r=8-1-fkmrnull

By the time they get to 6 months they have often got past the super zippy stage!

Playpen - bathtub sounds safer! Or some people get a plastic paddling pool as a playpen - or you can make one out of large sheets of correx or cardboard and use bulldog clips top and bottom to hold the pieces together. I had a correx playpen for a long time but you have to constantly keep an eye or they chew at the corners or manage to push a gap somewhere if the edges aren't tight enough together. But ours couldn't get over the top. Mine was really high as I used A1 sheets but that was probably overkill. A3 is probably fine

Also it worked out quite expensive. Cost me about £25 for that many large sheets of correx whereas I've now bought a wood playpen for £25 but that's in Europe from Zooplus. It would work out cheaper with A3.

Here's a video of my correx one. The idea came from someone else on this forum. On the video I have it set up round the cage - I used to leave the cage door open as the cage was on the floor, so our hamster could go in and out but it needed constant supervision. But mostly it was set up on its own and you can make it different shapes - long and thin like a run, or square etc.

02-21-2019, 02:26 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: I have the hammie version of the guy from Memento Thanks for the update. I agree with everything you say, from my experiences Although they do vary in personality there are some common things. Our hamster also liked it when the room was nice and warm - I used to have a little heater on at night with our last Syrian as our house got very cold at night - draughty and high ceilings. I would come down later and find him literally "basking" or sunbathing ha ha - curled up in his sputnik and looking very chilled. It can also get too warm for them so about 68 to 70 degrees is about right. They do hide away more in cold weather and make their nest bigger too so keep putting nesting material out. I have never had a hamster walk on my hand when I put it in the cage - neither of our hamsters liked a hand in the cage. And they also began to sense it was a "trick" to get hold of them if I had food in my hand! Our current hamster will eat off my hand or climb onto it out of the cage where he is less territorial. They are very zippy when they're young and semi-tame! Still zippy even when they are tame and always keen to do a runner if possible, even when hand tame - I think it's just the roaming instinct and a sense of freedom. Can you pick him up and hold him, when he's out of the cage - without him pinging? ie wriggling free and leaping high in the air at the same time? If you can pick him up and stroke him and he doesn't try to escape (other than just wanting to keep walking off but accepts you picking him up and stroking him again) then he is hand tame. But will still want to do a runner. If you want to try the sofa again, try at around 8pm to 9pm maybe. Depending on the hamster, they can be more dopey at that time of night. That was the case with our last one. He was most active up to 8pm and once it got to 10pm he was super active, but around 8pm or 9pm he liked a bit of a nap sometimes and was more docile. I used to have a rolled up blanket on the front of the sofa - they can still climb over it but it slows them up so you can catch them before they get over! Also having a few cushions on the sofa seems to help - something to climb over or go under. What really helped me with sofa time was a little cardboard house with hay and carrot stuck on the outside - our last hamster would spend ages inside this scratching the hay off (although ignored it if it was in his cage). Our current one is mildly interested but not for as long. It's this one but it seems very expensive in the US as probably imported. Maybe you could find something similar - or just a house with some treats inside. https://www.amazon.com/ROSEWOOD-Natu...r=8-1-fkmrnull By the time they get to 6 months they have often got past the super zippy stage! Playpen - bathtub sounds safer! Or some people get a plastic paddling pool as a playpen - or you can make one out of large sheets of correx or cardboard and use bulldog clips top and bottom to hold the pieces together. I had a correx playpen for a long time but you have to constantly keep an eye or they chew at the corners or manage to push a gap somewhere if the edges aren't tight enough together. But ours couldn't get over the top. Mine was really high as I used A1 sheets but that was probably overkill. A3 is probably fine Also it worked out quite expensive. Cost me about £25 for that many large sheets of correx whereas I've now bought a wood playpen for £25 but that's in Europe from Zooplus. It would work out cheaper with A3. Here's a video of my correx one. The idea came from someone else on this forum. On the video I have it set up round the cage - I used to leave the cage door open as the cage was on the floor, so our hamster could go in and out but it needed constant supervision. But mostly it was set up on its own and you can make it different shapes - long and thin like a run, or square etc.