Cujo's Thread

Cujo · 06-07-2015, 12:01 PM

So this thread will be dedicated to Cujo. My first and only little one.
I got Cujo from PetSmart. I met Cujo on May 26th, 2015. My boyfriend and i were there to get dog food, and the lady who had helped us before was helping us again and we were giving her an update on my bf's dog. (She is 14 and deaf and blind and stable for the time being). The associates name is Megan. This time megan was holding a clearish plastic bin under her arm, with brown bedding in the bottom. I asked her what had happened, had an animal gotten a new home? She said that no, that this little guy can't be sold. I asked what was wrong.(i still hadnt seen him, the cage appeared empty and i was afraid the little one had been just put down) She said, "This little guy can't be with the other hamsters. He was attacked and had been bitten pretty badly. Nobody can touch him, but we cant leave him alone by himself. Hes been to the vet, and has the equivalent of neosporin on, and hes been getting better. I asked if i could see him, she said hes in here somewhere and began poking the bedding around with the back end of her pen, at which time there was the most horrible sqeaking/screaming/squealing sound id ever heard! It sounded almost demonic. It startled all of us and we jumped back. She nodded and said"Yep thats it." I said, whats his name? and she told me that his name is Cujo.(Stephen King's Cujo is a large St. Bernard that gets rabies and goes on an attacking spree.) She went on to explain that no one can touch him because he bites. A lot. I had wanted a hamster for a long time, years actually and was up for the challenge and asked her what they were going to do with him. She said that they were going to try to adopt him but didnt know if it was possible but that she would take down my information and call me in a couple of days. Two days later, on the 28th, I was told that i could adopt him and that there was no adoption fee, but i just had to get a cage and all the essentials for him. I went in, got all of the necessary things, and i now have Cujo! I will try to post something daily and give an update.

Cujo · 06-07-2015, 12:25 PM

Now, i know people are going to be up in arms like why would you get a hamster like that, this is your first one, youre going to have a bad experience, you cant take care of him blah blah BLAH! Well, I like learning new things, and I didnt want to leave him there as he may have ended up dead! During my talk with megan, and the other associate who had been taking care of him, the situation seemed really bleak. The store had only had cujo for about a week. Remember as well, this is a large pet store, that did not have the time and resources to dedicate an associate full time taking care of just one hamster. I currently am unemployed and have plenty of time to dedicate to Cujo, as well as endless love and care! I and others around me believe that with time, patience, understanding, and lots of love, that Cujo can become more socialized. Now, ive only had Cujo for 9 days, and my initial impression, is that Cujo doesn't trust people. He is not hand tamed. The first day i had him though, he would climb right into my, and my boyfriends hand. He seemed curious about us, and his new cage. My friend Steve had gone with me to pick him up. He would let us touch him, didn't seem stressed, wasnt excessively bathing himself, he shook the tiniest bit the first time. He surprised me and my boyfriend Danny, as when we poked around for him he didn't scream like he did in the pet store. He seemed much calmer. When i put him in his cage, he climbed the bars, and made lots of burrows(as hamsters do). The first night, and first few days, he became bar-obsessive. Now i have lots of years around animals, 22 years with cats, 12 years with horses, 13 years with dogs(ive been around animals my whole life and have been told im a horse whisperer, i can just get along with them so easily and seem to 'know' and understand them better than other people even their owners. i have years experience in training and breaking horses, but i know hamsters are different) and i can tell when something is just on their mind, cant ignore it, and he would chew and chew and chew and chew. to the point that his whole body would be moving and my boyfriends brother in the next room could hear him gnawing away on the bars of his cage and neither danny nor i could sleep! I went and got him a mini knot nibbler, tubes, and treats. This has seemed to calm him down a bit. I have noticed his claws getting longer, so danny and i got him a lava block with wood chews on it, and a salt lick wheel and a treat ka-bob. His claws remain long, to the point that he can scratch skin if he wants to.

Shannonmcn · 06-07-2015, 12:46 PM

I don't think anybody here would ever criticise you for giving a hamster like Cujo a chance at a good home, I for one love hearing adoption stories! This is generally a very friendly forum, nobody is going to be "up in arms". With time and patience I'm sure he'll come around, there are plenty of people on here with hams who started out scared and screechy.

The two best solutions to bar chewing are a bigger cage or a tank-style cage, what have you got him in at the minute? He could be doing it out of boredom or because it gets him attention or just as a bad habit but you don't want a broken tooth on your hands! You can trim their nails yourself or ask a vet to do it, some people use a large sterilised garden stone in the cage to keep nails trim, if you put it in a place they walk over it a lot like under their water bottle.

Welcome to the forum, look forward to seeing more of you and Cujo

**DrKMcK** · 06-07-2015, 05:45 PM

Far from criticizing you, I think it's great that you took him on. If you work gently with him his whole life will be better. Kudos to you for helping him. I am going to look forward to watching this little one. Go at his pace and see how he does. Lots of folks here will have ideas for you as time goes by. Good job there!

Maybe think about a new name as Cujo just seems like a self fulfilling prophesy.

Cujo · 06-07-2015, 09:59 PM

The new name idea sounds great. I'll have to figure out how to post pictures, (I'm gonna get some help with that in a minute) and I'd love to have anyone and everyone here on HC help me to figure out a new name. Maybe a poll?

cypher · 06-08-2015, 01:15 AM

Well done for taking little Cujo on, poor guy has had a rough start to his life but I'm sure he'll come round with lots of care & patience.
Hopefully the bar chewing may ease off once he's had some time to settle down, it does seem a lot less common in dwarfs than syrians usually, what kind of cage do you have him in?
Look forward to seeing some photos of the little guy when you can post them.

Pebbles82 · 06-08-2015, 01:56 AM

How about Phoenix? Like the Phoenix that has risen from the ashes - it's kind of positive.

**DrKMcK** · 06-08-2015, 08:43 AM

How appropriate!

From mad killer hamster to lovely beautiful creature soaring above it all!

I vote for Phoenix.

Snowz · 06-08-2015, 10:17 AM

looking forward to maybe seeing some photos!

Cujo · 06-08-2015, 12:05 PM

I love the name Phoenix, number one name change choice so far. I am taking advice from DrKMcK, Cujos training is starting over, this is his first day with no contact from either me or Danny. I have a convention im going to, MetroCon in Tampa, im taking Cujo with me, i have no choice but to take him, so hes gonna be a super secret spy hammie for the weekend, gonna have to sneak him into the embassy hotel. Lol. This oughta be fun. hehehe