Hi I'm Henry

[Sarah9969]

Hi everyone,

I'm Henry, my new mum picked me up from the adoption section in Pets at Home today, she couldn't bear to leave me!

So far my new mum has worked out that I love to groom and I also enjoy peeing in my sand bath!

Bye for now!

[Chezzu]

Oh my gosh he's soon cute! I'm the same with hamsters in the adoption part of pets at home, last time I was practically crying when I had to leave a little robo called Stuart when I went for supplies :'c

He's adoorable! <3

[Penguin]

oh gosh hello you tiny adorable thing! I'm sure you will enjoy your new home

[cypher]

Hello Henry!
Very handsome little man, congrats!

[Sarah9969]

Thanks everyone, he's adorable! I'm so impressed that he's pretty much potty training himself too It wasn't what I had in mind for the sand bath but not to worry, I've got some hamster litter that my last hamster didn't use!

I came downstairs this morning to find his huge wheel back to front so it's safe to say he's been exploring!

[racinghamster]

Hello Henry! How`s he settling in Sarah? Nice to see another adoptee joining HC! x

[Sarah9969]

He's settling in fine thank you I haven't tried to interact with him yet, I want to give him a few days to settle but I did give him some tissue I'd kept in my pocket (to get my scent) which he's happily put into his nest. He's still using the sand bath as a toilet so I'm going to try replacing the sand with litter

I couldn't not adopt him when I saw him at Pets at Home, I only went to look around! He's around 10 weeks they say. The last owner (I use that term loosely) only had him a week before they returned him because "he bites too much". Anyway, he's with me now and I hope we'll be great friends

[racinghamster]

Russian hybrid hamsters can be nippy and that can be the main reason people mistrust them. It`s a shame because it`s not all about handling and cuddling. Hamsters need time, patience and handled little and often. If you scoop him up gently for say, 20 seconds and he gives a little warning nip, just place him down again. Offer him a seed treat and just allow him to come to you. Some hamsters will always nip or bite regardless of he owners patience, but if they do, it doesn`t mean they can`t still be watchable pets and interact in other ways. It`s nice to be able to handle them but patience is the key and by that, I mean months, not a few days! x

[Sarah9969]

My previous dwarf took 6 months to tame fully so I'm definitely not expecting him to be tame within a few days! I'm not even touching him for at least the first 5 days. I am talking to him though and giving him paper with my scent on to get him used to me being around, and he's already started to respond to my voice. I offered him a bit of broccoli yesterday but that's the extent of my contact for the first week

A lot of people don't realise how much work is needed to tame hamsters particularly dwarves, it's a real shame x

[racinghamster]

That`s why many are dumped on Gumtree or taken back to Pets At Home. Some people who buy a hamster don`t seem to have the patience or the knowledge to learn. They just want a quick fix and if it doesn`t happen, the hamster is to blame. x