humfry cleans up his act

[humfry]

humfry is still reclusive, which is why I am not on here much as there is nothing for me to report. However at last something has happened. I was cleaning out his bin yesterday & after waiting two days to catch him out & about had finally resorted to dragging him out with his bedding. To my surprise he has built a pair of semi detached nests in the deep substrate under his dining platform! He is sleeping in one side & right next door has been used as foodstore & toilet! Which is an improvement from keeping food, peeing & pooing & sleeping all in one room! Now if only he would construct a terrace of nests & reserve one as a toilet . . . sigh!

[racinghamster]

What a sweetie. I found that when I had my Syrian, I used a shoe box for his bed as these boxes are larger and allow the hamster to nest at one end and they usually go to the other end to pee! So it keeps their sleeping area clean. Hamster burrows in the wild have separate areas like this, so if a hamster bed/nest is too small, I can imagine why the poor hamster doesn`t have space to turn around!

Even now, I use a long hankie box for my Russian hybrid`s bed because he really loves the space inside and he has pulled all the shavings towards the box to make it look as if he`s snowed in!

[BrainGirl]

Ha! Good job Humfry My girl Suri builds some impressive galleries too. I hate to destroy them at cleanout but it has to be done

[humfry]

Humf has tons of space - 6 inches of substrate covers the bottom of the biggest SAMLA bin. But up to now he has chosen to hunker down in one corner in a burrow no matter how many choices of sleeping boxes he has been given. This truly is progress for him! And almost 10 months old so it's been a long haul.

[humfry]

He's the first hamster I ever owned who would not agree to be trained to use a large jar or tray as a toilet so I have found him very frustrating!

[Thin Lizzy]

Aww that is so adorable!
He might be frustrating at times but he's clearly and dearly loved by you,
This is good progress!

[humfry]

I wouldn't be without him even though I don't see much of him. When he comes out to play on the sofa with he happily scrambles around the cushions & over me & sits on my shoulder. Very cute! But also has a habit of suddenly snuggling down by my leg & if I don't catch him quick enough he pees on me! Must be marking me as his territory!

Through this cold spell he has been getting a hot water bottle between the wall & his bin to keep his nest corner nice & cosy so he does not hibernate. I am in a routine of changing it every 8 hours so he has 24/7 warmth. Lucky ham!

[Thin Lizzy]

He's very lucky! When he does come out, he's very affectionate with you. He might not come out often but makes up for it when he does.