My snowy ham, Chance

[Drago]

I have decided I'd like to introduce a little hamster of mine, Chance. After losing my little Spider Cider just a few months ago, I didn't think I was ready for another hamster, but chance seems to have nibbled his way into my heart!
He is a rescue ham, he was in a cage with a hamster who I assume was his brother. He was extremely tiny and seemed very sickly and scared. I watched him for a few minutes before I noticed his brother came at him, I'm no experienced hamster breeder, but his brother toppled him over and backed him into the corner before pinning him down. Chance seemed to be struggling to escape, and I thought that maybe they were playing, but I noticed that chance's brother had drawn blood. He continued to antagonize chance, chasing him around their tank and my heart broke for him, and I had never seen a white Syrian before so I was in amazement at his coat colors. I told the worker that chance had been bitten and was bleeding, but the worker insisted that it was normal play-fighting behavior. I'm not sure if perhaps it was, but he seemed scared to me as he wedged himself under his dish in an effort to hide from the other ham. I decided to go in and hold him, he was scared and ran from me, he didn't seem well, but I decided that it was time to add another ham to my ham family and so little chance came home with me!


Chance had not at all been what I expected, separating him from his brother made him truly come out of his shell and I realized just how mischievous and charismatic this little guy was going to be! I put him in a 40 gallon breeder tank, but he did NOT like it at all and after a week of not leaving the corner and being very spookish, I downgraded him to a bin cage that is about 20 gallons. He has been so much more confident since the switch and now explores, chews, plays, and comes to greet me when I walk near his bin. I have been taking things very slow with him, just been giving tissues with my scent, talking to him, and when he goes into my bath tub for exercise, I sit near or in the bathtub with him. Today has been exciting as it's the first day he's allowed me to pet him without flinching! I will keep taking things slow with him and help to give him the best life possible. I hope he'll gain enough confidence to be upgraded soon as he's in such a small cage I don't know how he stands it! I hope to keep updates on the taming and growing of my little guy over time. So I'd like to welcome Chance,my little snowy ham.
Here are some pictures of little Chance, if they don't work, please let me know!

Chance in his classic pose

http://rs349.pbsrc.com/albums/q393/D...h=480&fit=clip

Chance taking a cheerio from me

http://rs349.pbsrc.com/albums/q393/D...h=480&fit=clip

Chance on his wheel

http://rs349.pbsrc.com/albums/q393/D...h=480&fit=clip

http://rs349.pbsrc.com/albums/q393/D...h=480&fit=clip


Posing


http://rs349.pbsrc.com/albums/q393/D...h=480&fit=clip

[cypher]

Congrats on getting another ham Drago, Chance is a lovely little guy!
It's sad when serious fighting gets dismissed as play by those working in the shop & Chance must be so happy to have a lovely home with you now.

In case you don't know you can copy the image link on your photobucket page (under where it says share this photo on the right) & just paste the link into your reply & the images will show up here.

[Thin Lizzy]

Congratulations on your rescue ham Chance, what a little beauty, he reminds me off Harvey.
So great that he's gained so much confidence being on his own.

[Pebbles82]

He is lovely - so glad you rescued him! He does look a bit thin and timid and I am sure he will thrive now

[BorisPasha]

Very pleased to meet you Chance, you're very cute. Such a shame he had such a bad start, must have been horrible to see that. I'm glad he's found a lovely, caring home with you Drago, well done for rescuing him

[Hamsterita]

Awww he's so cute. I'm so glad that you rescued him, well done! And his name is very appropriate

Looking forward to know more about him

[Drago]

Originally Posted by cypher

Congrats on getting another ham Drago, Chance is a lovely little guy!
It's sad when serious fighting gets dismissed as play by those working in the shop & Chance must be so happy to have a lovely home with you now.

In case you don't know you can copy the image link on your photobucket page (under where it says share this photo on the right) & just paste the link into your reply & the images will show up here.

I definitely agree that it's sad how the hams are neglected in such a way, his brother looked to have an eye infection as well

Thank you for the photobucket tips, for some reason I'm totally inept when it comes to working photo sharing sites!

[Drago]

Thank you all for the kind words! I too am glad he's become more confident, I definitely love having the little critter around! I'll try and do a proper photo shoot with him when he feels ready, it'll be good for him with taming, and good for me to finally learn how to add pictures to this forum!

[Jeir]

I...may be wrong, but...could Chance be female?
It might just be the young age or the angles, but to me there doesn't seem to be any obvious sign of the typical male 'bulge' in pics 1 and 3. o.o;

In any case, cute little furball. =) Glad he (or...possibly-she) has a new safe home with you.

[Drago]

Originally Posted by Jeir

I...may be wrong, but...could Chance be female?
It might just be the young age or the angles, but to me there doesn't seem to be any obvious sign of the typical male 'bulge' in pics 1 and 3. o.o;

In any case, cute little furball. =) Glad he (or...possibly-she) has a new safe home with you.

I actually thought for a while that he was a she! You're totally right in that he doesn't have the signature "male" look, but one night, well, he made it pretty clear that he was in fact male!