Ambrose's Thread - Page 4

hamtarokid · 05-05-2016, 10:02 PM

Okay, I removed the ladder toy and replaced it with a tube. I also removed the ramp up to the digging tower. There wasn't a point in it anyway since all the substrate is down at the bottom of the tower now. I also gave her one of those toys that's a toilet paper tube stuffed with other toilet paper tubes with sunflower seeds hiding in the spaces.

In her last cage she made a nest in her cardboard box but this time she seems to be ignoring the box and she's made a nest behind her wheel. :P She also keeps burying her food dish so I've replaced it with another one that hopefully she won't bury. Her fur looks nicer now that she has a sand bath to bathe in.

hamtarokid · 05-09-2016, 06:23 AM

Ambrose's itching never got any better so I switched out her aspen substrate for paper substrate. The aspen substrate smelled nice, but the paper substrate is just very likable for some reason. She really didn't like waiting in her travel cage last time so I put her in a big cardboard box with a treat puzzle toy this time and she was a lot calmer. She still bites me when she gets the chance, but I guess there've been a lot of changes to stress her out.

I've also introduced some hamster food to her diet that already included seed mix, vegetables, and fresh mealworms (and sometimes tofu). The store only had two kinds of hamster food that didn't have fruit in them, and the other had cheese powder as an ingredient which I thought was really weird. This one seems to have really high protein and fiber amounts though so I think it'll be good for her. Didn't take away any of the other stuff, just reduced the amount of seed mix.

Thin Lizzy · 05-09-2016, 08:28 PM

How's Ambrose liking the changes?

cypher · 05-10-2016, 12:49 AM

They do like to move their nests around sometimes not to mention sleeping in funny places but she can sort that out for herself, same goes for burying the food bowl, it's not unusual & it's good for her to have to dig for her food & find it again!
She has had quite a lot of changes so I'd just let her settle with the way things are before trying to handle her too much if she's biting.

hamtarokid · 05-10-2016, 03:34 AM

I think Ambrose likes the new substrate a lot better. She was up all last night doing what, based on sounds, I can only describe as "frolicking". Whatever it was, she must have worn herself out because when I woke up this morning she was passed out next to her cardboard house. No nest or anything, just threw herself down on the ground and slept. :P She was sleeping in her nest behind the wheel again when I came home, and promptly buried herself under the substrate once the light was on.

She's a very good eater. I don't thinks she's crazy about the hamster mix, but it looks like she ate some of it. So far she hasn't rejected anything we've given her, but I guess hamster food isn't as exciting as vegetables and mealworms. The only problem with letting her bury her food bowl is that when she does I can't really tell when I should be giving her more food, since I'm trying to wait until she eats everything to give her more in order to discourage picky eating. But she's been such a good eater so far, maybe it won't be a problem anyway.

I'll give her some time to settle in now that (hopefully) the changes are over.

hamtarokid · 07-29-2016, 08:28 AM

Well, you guys, Ambrose is finally letting me pick her up a little. Just up and down a couple times a day for now, but we're working on it.

Thing is, when I picked her up today I got a good view of her underside and, well, I think she really is a boy after all.

Gimleyand Meeko · 07-29-2016, 08:29 AM

That's good that he is becoming tame

cypher · 07-29-2016, 09:23 PM

Good to hear that taming is progressing well

Confusion between boys & girls happens so often, it can be hard to tell when they are small but I'm sure he won't mind having been called she if he really is a he!

They do love to bury the food bowl, maybe Ambrose thinks more food will magically appear if he hides it

Thin Lizzy · 07-30-2016, 10:57 PM

Good to hear you're making progress with your little one. There's been quite a few members here who've thought their ham was a girl only to then realise it's a boy. If he is a boy, you could just call him Master Ambrose.

hamtarokid · 07-31-2016, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thin Lizzy

Good to hear you're making progress with your little one. There's been quite a few members here who've thought their ham was a girl only to then realise it's a boy. If he is a boy, you could just call him Master Ambrose.

Haha, we were actually told he was a boy when we got him, hence the already masculine name. But when I checked him at home I messed it up somehow. I don't really know what led me to believe he was female, but oh well. He's an only hamster so there was never anything to be worried about.

Master Ambrose is actually kind of fitting, given his personality. He's a very independent hamster, which is why taming has been such slow going. I ended up skipping the having him eat food from my palm stage, because if you just leave a hand in his cage that's not doing anything he'll bite it. Hands need to have a purpose, apparently.