Oak and Ash

[evel_lin]

Since losing Snowy over Easter the house hasn't felt the same without a dwarf hamster. We've been keeping an eye out on various online sites such as preloved, gumtree etc. and also popping into PAH stores when we're nearby just to see if they had any in the adoption centre. Well today we got lucky. We adopted two boys, father and son. Taking them home was a bit scary as Oak (Dad) managed to chew through the first cardboard box so we quickly transferred him into a shoebox we had in the car after making some holes in it first! They are quite similar in photos but Oak is bigger in real life. Oak is also fairly tame from what we've seen of him, not handled him yet. Ash squeaks a lot if frightened or if Oak comes near him which we are obviously going to keep an eye on. There have been no signs of aggression from Oak at this point. We do have a spare cage if needed

Here's their cage. Two cubes with water bottles on the right, no shelves, scatter feeding and tried to arrange things to prevent one getting trapped by another. Happy to take advice though :)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5341/8749704867_f9718b9286.jpg

Here's Oak (Dad, approx 1 yr old):

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7384/8749709577_1699716dfd.jpg

And here's Ash (son, approx 4-5 months)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8420/8749707145_713fd7b779.jpg

I think this is Oak again but not sure :oops:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8412/8749706023_c266d4c638.jpg

This one is definitely Oak

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3727/8750828102_1a4a13117f.jpg


At the moment they are having a great time constructing tunnels in their megazorb. I thought Snowy was fond of tunnels but Oak especially is amazing. He just disappears and then pops up again somewhere completely different. :)

[Silver]

LOL

Congratulations on your two new fur baby's. They are absolutely Gorgeous!

I have a soft spot for Dad Oak (but don't tell Ash!)

xxx

[evel_lin]

LOL

Congratulations on your two new fur baby's. They are absolutely Gorgeous!

I have a soft spot for Dad Oak (but don't tell Ash!)

xxx

(I do too! Shhh)

Thank you :) I can't get over the size difference between them and Snowy though, she really was a tiny girl. Oak's twice the size of her!

[littlescruffies]

Aww, congratulations on getting them. Their cage looks good :)

[Stockannette]

They are adorable!

[Nikkigrace]

What beautiful boys :) I hope they remain peaceful together

[HamsterCrazy2013]

Congratulations on your two new arrivals. They are both really cute. :)

[Sanctuary]

awww they are wonderful, congratulations x

[cactus]

They're so cute! I really love the names too :) Their cage looks amazing.

[evel_lin]

Thanks guys :) Just had them out for a quick handling session as they were both awake. Oak weighs 60g and is a bit of a splat ham, he didn't want to get off my hand when I lowered him back into the cage. Ash weighs 40g and is a bit quicker but still tame. He's less confident generally than Oak it seems but that may improve with time. Snowy weighed around 23g when she died, they both seem huge in comparison!

They've each claimed a different area to sleep in and if the larger Oak comes towards Ash whilst he's tunnelling then Ash squeaks even though there doesn't seem to be any aggression behind Oak's actions. A couple of times yesterday Oak has wrestled Ash onto his back briefly but there doesn't seem to be any sign of injuries on Ash.

I'll continue to keep them together for now but will continue to keep an eye on them and if they don't settle down again I'll move Ash into the Alaska

[evel_lin]

Came home from school run to find Oak was wandering around the cage and then he charged into the place where Ash was hiding and went for him. There had been squeaking and a little brief chasing before now which we were keeping an eye on but I immediately checked Ash out and he'd got a couple of little bite marks on his belly so I've taken him out and put him in the Alaska. I had a feeling they wouldn't stay together but I knew I had a spare cage before taking them on. Whilst it would have been nice for them to share a cage, I feel much less worried now they are apart.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8138/8780311925_16fd191bc6.jpg

He's hidden himself underneath the wheel but there are a range of tunnels and hiding places for him to explore. He's definitely a shy-er guy so hopefully this will suit him

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7348/8780304471_47a15e1376.jpg

And here's Oak's ZZ2. He came out when I was taking pictures and has had a little look around as the layout has changed a bit. Possibly looking for Ash too, who knows

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5462/8780297151_2443a87d55.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5345/8780290521_e76cc84db8.jpg

I'll get him some more toys soon, and I guess I'll have to eat some more ice cream so he's got a tub for a sandbath...the sacrifices we poor hamster owners have to make ;)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5443/8786859506_593cce9fc4.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3676/8780275807_1bf17046ec.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8257/8780269143_47a6e6318d.jpg

He then dug a hole and disappeared!

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2859/8786838132_3b9182fa0f.jpg

I'll make them a thread each later on once I've got some photos to show. Going to let them settle down for a bit first though :)

[jesselle]

Awwwwww, shame they had to be split but bite marks to the tum don't sound worth the risk.

Nice to see them in spacious cages :)

[evel_lin]

That's what I thought. The bites weren't deep or bleeding much but the line had been crossed. It's much less stressful having them in separate cages. Barely seen Ash since apart from when I dug him out of the fitch to check his wounds again. He's munched the dandelion I put in the cage though ;)

[Gazmo]

aww very cute :D