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Old 05-21-2018, 11:35 AM   #1
Velle
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Question Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

Hello all!

I posted about Flora and Mallow in the introduction threads but thought I'd start a fresh topic so I could talk about some of the progress and not so much progress with the pair. Flora and Mallow are both female, and between 10 and 12 weeks old. So Flora & Mallow were fighting and were separated on Saturday morning, and since Sunday we've had them two weeks. Since everything is up in the air, I'm not expecting much of them but wanted a bit more advice on them, individually.



- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mallow - White w/ head spot.

Mallow is currently in the original cage they were fighting in since she's the tamer of the two. It's also the largest of the cages at the moment. Mallow has always been a bit dopey and way more friendlier than Flora, she's usually very active on her wheel and did pop out in the day more before the fight. She's actually a pretty gentle ham, especially for pet store origin and will usually take food from your hand. She's a good girl.

I've not seen her come out in the day at all since they were separated. She's been hiding in her coconut refusing to come out, which is very unlike her. I might catch a peek at her around 6-7am when I come into my office to work but she's not wanting to go on her wheel.

I don't know if she's being lethargic/lazier because of the heat, or the shock of Saturday but it's worrying? I also don't know if it's causing issue with the cage still having the original bedding and if the smell of Flora could still be upsetting her.

We also suspect that she might be deaf. She's not really reacting to any noises and is pretty lethargic overall. She's always been non-phased from a lot of things, no idea if all the kids probably bashing on the glass desensitised her to hell, or if it could just be her personality.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Flora - Agouti

Flora, Flora, Flora. She's always been a mixed bag but she's awfully cute. When we had the first cage she was the one who blocked herself into the tube, and when she was in the Eco Cage with Mallow (you can see a snippet in the image) you never ever saw her. She is absolutely terrified of everything including her own shadow.

She's currently in the smallest cage, with minimum bedding on the floor and her Tikki house stuffed to the brim with nesting material. She's got a ZooZone 2 cage coming soon so she's going to be upgraded again. I don't know if she's going to hate me from moving for the 4th time, but she's going to hate me.

Flora is absolutely impossible to catch even a glimpse and will absolutely 100% not come out in the day whatsoever. It's really worrying since it's starting to get really warm and being in the office it's just going to get warmer for her. I'm worried she's going to get pretty dehydrated. I've heard her shuffling around in the cage around 6/7am when I come into the office but she won't come out past that point. I don't think I've really seen much of her since we got her.

Another concern is that we're not ever going to have her Tame to the point where we can't open the cage without being so deathly fearful. We're not ever expecting Flora to be handled, or even petted we just want her to not feel like the world is out to get her. It's so disappointing since she was so sociable and alert in P@H, but now I'm questioning if it's because she was so high on alert.

**************************

And finally, is there anything I can do which'll help them to be sort of their old selves, and more confident.

At the moment I'm having to wake up Mallow and bothering her with a meal worm to check if she's still alive since she's refusing to leave the coconut and is toileting in there. She's not gone on her wheel at all and is sleeping a lot.

And with Flora... Well, I just know she's still alive since her meal worm is mysteriously gone from her tunnel but it'd be nice to see her go on her wheel.
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Last edited by Velle; 05-21-2018 at 11:37 AM. Reason: Photo needed resizing
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Old 05-21-2018, 10:32 PM   #2
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

Try not to worry too much, it's still very soon since they were separated & it can take them a couple of weeks to settle again & adjust to the change.
As long as you can see signs that they are eating ok, drinking & at least running in the wheel or signs that there's been some activity in the night then just give them time.
It can be hard to tell if a hamster is deaf tbh, they rely mostly on scent to get around & find things so even if she is deaf it's not really a major problem although you do have to take extra care to make sure they know you're around so you don't startle them.
I've always found top opening cages difficult & not really the easiest option for taming so always make sure your hand comes from the side as much as possible rather than above when approaching so it's less scary.
For now I would just keep talking to them offer a treat if you see them out but otherwise just see how they go as they adjust & settle again.
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Old 05-22-2018, 01:13 AM   #3
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

I've been bringing my hand down from the furthest corner I can from the cage so it's flat and not too imposing, Mallow doesn't seem to mind and Flora very much over thinks everything.

We went against a barred cage with side entrances since our cats have hooked the tip of their nail in the barred section of the temporary and and ripped their nail, because of course they had to do that. It's not even part of the cage, it's on the ground away from the cage. I just have that sinking feeling they'd either use it as an excuse to try to climb the cage or try and pull the cage down by it. They're never alone with the hamsters, but I'd rather keep everyone safe from one another.

I stayed up last night until midnight and saw a little of them both. Mallow was a good girl and took a meal worm from my hand, she also had a very big drink and gave a small go on her wheel. When I came into the office @8am she's been up and about. She's actually having a good zoom around her cage and wheel atm, hurrah!

And Flora actually surprised me a LOT last night. She's usually very flighty and unsociable but she went up to my hand and considered taking the meal worm from my hand. She had a good ol sniff of my finger and the meal worm and then decided that at the last moment it was too scary. Still, that is a staggering improvement! She's up at the moment too, I can hear her bathing and having a drink. Go Flora, go Flora!

I'm also 90% sure that Mallow is deaf, but it's no big deal. She's not reacted in anyway to clapping, scratching, or snapping my fingers right behind her ears. I'm just glad that she's overall a very nice little ham.
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Old 05-22-2018, 03:20 AM   #4
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

I'm glad that they are both doing so well and settling in nicely. It also sounds like they are gaining more courage to interact with you. Great job to all three of you. Since your cats have already placed its nails onto bars of the temporary cage, I would just stick with the one that you have and continue to enter your hand from the far corner. It is better to be safe than sorry.
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Old 05-22-2018, 07:41 AM   #5
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

It sounds as though they're both doing much better now then, that's really good to hear.
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Old 05-27-2018, 07:45 AM   #6
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

So now with two large cages we've got a new sort of set up for the hamsters and the zoozone 2 is here, which Flora is in.

set_flora.jpg

I've done some very minor adjustments to stop the cats more than Flora. I took off the clips, put some suckers on and some curtain wire for tension to keep the lid down. It's very firm and you can't move the top without moving the wire which is pretty awesome. The clips which were on before were so clunky and loud I was sure I'd freak her out pretty badly if I wanted to open the cage. I spent an entire day on the hunt for mesh wire for the top with no luck. I need to order it online but for now, only the left hand side of her cage is deep.

Her water bottle is kept up with two command hooks and some wire. She seems a lot happier since she's not so easily seen now with the blue bottom. Taming isn't going great since she's still exceptionally skittish. I have a feeling she wasn't handled at all in her life so this is all a bit of a shock to the system.

set_1.jpg

This is a crap photo so please excuse. So the cages are stacked at the moment on a Plasta Module from Ikea. I bought the 80x40x120cm and flipped in on it's side and attached 6 legs. not 100% sturdy but thankfully everything is really light weight on the top. and it's firmly tucked to the wall to give it some extra support.

Mallow is on the bottom since she's not phased by any sounds or movement which is kind of worrying? She doesn't notice you unless your hand is literally touching her nose. The cats do really like to watch her move about but they do for the most part leave her alone. I've noticed that lately she's pretty much using only the right side of her cage. I'm hoping that the cage clean out on the 3rd will help her get a little braver since I think it'd be best to remove all of the bedding so there is no trace of Flora in there.
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Old 05-27-2018, 01:36 PM   #7
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

Great cages and setups. I wouldn't be too concerned about Flora's taming not going as quickly as you had hoped. It is still quite early for Flora and Mallow to be completely settled in to their new homes, especially since they had to adjust to the separation, new cages/setups, etc. Fiona will probably gain more confidence soon when all things are more settled. I would just give her a bit more time. As far as Mallow is concerned, since she doesn't seem to react to any sounds/movements until your hand is literally touching her nose, I would just be extra cautious to not startle her because that may result in her nipping at you out of self defense. Just make all your movements slow and steady and let her approach your hand instead of the other way around. Good luck and have tons of fun with them.
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Old 05-27-2018, 03:05 PM   #8
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

I don't mean to bop Mallow on the nose haha. Each time I've caught her awake and about I've gone in with a tasty meal worm but she doesn't seem to notice, so I slowly move the treat closer and she doesn't really see it or smell it until my shaky hands have either accidentally bopped her or she's rooting around and ran into it herself. I had a little google-fu and found out they have bad eyesight which it could be, or she's just very oblivious. Maybe I need tastier treats.

With Flora I'm leaving her alone for the most part, but if I talk to her softly when she comes out she's gone quicker than a bullet. I have been dropping in some tissue every now and then that I've rubbed on my arms and hands so she gets used to my scent but she's been dragging it away and stashing it as far away as possible from her sleeping spot, food and drink. If you look at the pic of her cage, she's been sleeping in the teddy box on the left and all the white tissue infront of the tikki hut is her sweeping away and tearing up the tissues I've dropped in. She's a very err, fussy lady.
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Old 06-19-2018, 04:07 AM   #9
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

Hello all!

It's been a while since I updated on Flora & Mallow So there's been very little progress with the two, but we're starting to understand their personality a lot more. We also did a sex check with a glass and found out they're both boys! We don't really mind, and decided to stick to their current names. Also I haven't got any recent photo's of them, I've kind of just enjoyed watching them do their own thing.

I guess we'll start with Mallow, since he's come on a little bit more than Flora has. So this is Mallow's current set up with a lot of digga-digga potential which he is really appreciating. He appreciates sand a heck of a lot more than Flora does, so I bought some of the tesco's kid sand and baked it all until it was completely dry. We also bought a medium cat litter box to fill it up with, it's pretty deep, and also quite a good size. I see him in there most nights having a blast. On the left side of the cage there is what we call 'Mallow Mountain' which he sleeps in and stashes his food. When he gets too hot he moves up to the gerbil house to have a kip in.

Mallow seems to be more likely to be semi-tamed than Flora is. He's started to come out and greet us when we open his cage now, and really loves a coconut flake. I managed to lure him off his wheel with a promise of a mealworm too, so he's trusting us quite a bit. We've not attempted to handle him and we don't touch him either. He does sometime use our fingers as support as he munches though.

1.jpg

This is Flora's set up which we've dubbed the 'Trash cave'. He's very sensitive about being seen and will flee if he sees us from his cage. He seems to be OK with us talking to him but we're not allowed to see him. He really appreciates his Bear Hut and we've installed a big ol plastic guinea pig tunnel around the back of his cage into his cube. There's also enough of a gap for him to squeeze out directly from his cube into the main area of his cage too. We popped in that drink holder from McDonalds to see how he likes it, and apparently Flora sees it as the best hamster toy ever (jeeze, thanks dude for appreciating the money we put into your cage )

His bedding is overall very deep compared to Mallows since he prefers to dig in bedding than in the sand. His Sand dish isn't massive either since he prefers to bathe and then bury it in bedding. I don't really see a whole lot him since he's so nervous but it's like a hurricane in his cage in the morning and I hear him get up for a drink in the day so I'm going to assume he's fine.

2.jpg

3.jpg
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Old 06-19-2018, 05:25 AM   #10
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Default Re: Flora & Mallow; Taming, Nervousness and potentially deaf?

Great pics of Mallow's and Flora's cages! I'm glad that they are both doing well and enjoying their cages. I totally understand keeping their names when you discovered they are both boys; I did the same thing when I discovered Eros is actually a girl, lol.

It looks like gorgeous Winnie is enjoying watching Mallow's cage; maybe she is waiting to see if Mallow pops his head out of "Mallow Mountain", lol. I'm glad that Mallow greets you and enjoys his coconut flake and humongous sand bath.

I do hope that Flora gains more confidence over time; bless him. I had to laugh that his cage is known as the "Trash Cave", lol; sorry, Flora! It is also so funny that his cage looks like a hurricane went through it in the morning; Eros's cage is like that sometimes when she had an extra fun time getting into tons of mischief and rearranging the night before, lol. I'm glad that Flora enjoys his McDonald's drink holder, too; ham's are just so easy to please.
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