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Old 09-28-2019, 07:31 AM   #51
Ria P
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkpixie View Post
Love the Thomas The Tank Engine themed names!
Not intentionally at first. I got a baby hamster in March and wanted a name with H to go with Hamster. My OH used to have a ham called Herman so it was a toss up between Horace and Henry. Henry Hamster rolled off the tongue easier. Then i came across this poor little sod already named Gordon who had spent almost all his life (7mths+) in a tiny pet shop tank, felt sorry for him and after a lot of hooha accommodation wise took him home. My OH (steam train enthusiast) laughed when he heard the name and pointed out the Thomas the Tank connection which hadn't occurred to me. He also jokingly said that all we need now is a Percy and went off to Sweden.
I made a bin cage because i enjoy using power tools, put it up for sale but priced it far too high so it wouldn't sell and give me the perfect excuse to rehome a homeless Percy (formerly Paddy).

ps: I'm out of date regarding Thomas the Tank but do hope that there aren't any other train engines with names. Please don't tell me if there are because I'm out of control when it comes to hamsters.
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Old 09-28-2019, 05:52 PM   #52
Chicleteer
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

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Originally Posted by Ria P View Post
I have a pear tree in my garden and brake off twigs then bake them at 100C for about an hour to kill off bugs. I put them in my hamsters habitats to nibble on.

Percy is fat. Must be that muesli they fed him at the pet shop. He's on the Rodipet junior dwarf mix now.
He's not tame. I gently stroked him this morning and he jumped a little but it didn't put him off his food because he continued eating!
I put my hand in and he nibbled it, probably checking if i'm edible then went back to nibble his whimzee.
Hmm, the way to Percy is food but i don't want him to get even fatter, he's territorial and seems ok to be out in the open (he doesn't dive for shelter). Three things i've learned about him. I think i need to get him into a mug (should be easy with a sunflower seed), maybe Monday, set up the playpen with toys and me in it but no food (keep some within reach in case he panics and thinks there's a famine) then see what happens.

Henry is tame on his terms and Gordon....Gordon is a bit of a ghost hamster who burrows deep down, gets up after midnight and goes to sleep around 06.00/06.30 which makes attempts of taming difficult. He has put his paws on my fingers to lick off linseeds which is progress but i haven't taken him out of his tank because i don't want to chase and scare him. He may be a hamster to watch only but that's fine too, makes me happy to see his cute little face. I go along with whatever he's comfortable with but will continue to put my hand in his tank with seeds on it.

That pear tree answer turned into an update on my Trio.

Must go now and buy a flying saucer .....
Aha, now I understand. How nice to be able to break off and bake fresh twigs for your hammies. I’ve bought chew twigs from pet stores, but of course they’re not as fresh, and also more expensive. It’s mighty frustrating to spend money on toys/chews for them and some of them get rejected right off the bat. But that doesn’t stop me from trying some new ones! And sometimes they’re a big hit, and then it all seems worthwhile...

Enjoyed the update, too!
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Old 09-29-2019, 05:07 AM   #53
Ria P
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

This morning i baked pear tree and hazel twigs from the garden and made a foraging corner in Henry's cage. There was a clay pot there before but he peed in it which stunk so i replaced it with a glazed mug which he ignored hence this corner. Also has a hazelnut from the garden which i had to crack open. The first homegrown nut i gave him whole thinking he's a hamster so its his job to get inside the shell. He tried but couldn't do it because he's either too lazy or too deskilled and domesticated. He ended up playing pawball with it.

Wee Gordon has a new twig on top of his house.

Percy. Not sure what's going on with him. He came out when i put the twig in to gnaw on it.
I then offered him a seed and he attacked again. Bit into my nail instead of taking the seed, held on to it, i pulled my hand up acting on sheer reflex and he fell off, only a couple of inches onto substrate so no worries there.

He had a drink and hopped into his foodbowl to get more food. When he came out i noticed his full pouches. It looks like he carries his hoard about which tells me that he is insecure and hasn't settled yet.

My instinct tells me to stop trying to interact with him directly and to leave him alone for a couple of weeks.

Or should i keep trying to interact with him wearing gardening gloves to see whether he'll continue to attack or whether he'll eventually stop trying to find out why he does it?

Any advice appreciated.

I'm on the look out for an exo terra to create a natural set up for him but have so far only seen the smaller ones advertised second hand in my area. They do come up though.

One more question: what are the signs of diabetes in hamsters? He seems to drink and sleep a lot plus the "aggression" and he looks overweight so he could be a candidate.
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Old 09-29-2019, 05:10 AM   #54
Ria P
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

Forgot to add photos.
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Old 09-29-2019, 10:14 AM   #55
Ria P
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

I meant that he had full pouches when he came out of his hiding place not when he came out of the food bowl.
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Old 10-06-2019, 11:37 AM   #56
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

That looks like an excellent hamster foraging area As for Percy - I would go with your instincts and leave him alone for a few days. Will he jump into a hamster ball if lowered into the tank? Just thinking you could get him out in it and into the bathtub or a playpen for some gradual taming possibly, after he's had a few days left alone.

A cage change might help as well. What is he in at the moment?(I've lost track of which dwarf is in which cage! sorry).

Vectis has a good piece about diabetes.

https://vectishams.com/chinese-hamster-diabetes/
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Old 10-06-2019, 01:40 PM   #57
Ria P
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

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Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
That looks like an excellent hamster foraging area As for Percy - I would go with your instincts and leave him alone for a few days. Will he jump into a hamster ball if lowered into the tank? Just thinking you could get him out in it and into the bathtub or a playpen for some gradual taming possibly, after he's had a few days left alone.

A cage change might help as well. What is he in at the moment?(I've lost track of which dwarf is in which cage! sorry).

Vectis has a good piece about diabetes.

https://vectishams.com/chinese-hamster-diabetes/
PERCY is in a 70cmx40cm bin cage. He did go in a mug and has been in the play pen. I think he liked it but he is so frantic when out that its hard to say. Could be nervous hyperactivity. He didn't like the bath tub and kept jumping up the sides, dived under the blanket etc.
I can't touch him because he bites, kicks, squirms and throws himself about. This is not normal behaviour even when allowing for hamsters to be nippy, scared or nervous.

Now he's made himself a little cave in a bottom corner of the bin which he enters via a tunnel under a bendy bridge. He's been out for a drink while i was in the room but i didn't get a chance to interact with him because he went straight back to his cave.

I haven't sat in the play pen with him yet because he spends so much time in his cave and i'm going to be away for a week so will wait till i'm back and then hopefully start taming sessions and possibly upgrade his cage.

HENRY dug in his sand when he was little but gradually lost interest and seems to walk in it only to get to his toilet. Now he's peed in the sand instead of going to the corner toilet and i wonder if it could actually be in his way. I've taken it out but wonder if that was a good idea. He's awake but hasn't come out of his house yet so i'll have to wait and see. He'll throw a tantrum if he's not happy.

GORDON lives in the fish tank and he's cute but shy. He does lick seeds of my fingers though. Gordon seems to be quite a content hamster who goes about his hamster business and looks really well. I haven't had him out yet because i am the one who is nervous of dropping him or him escaping because he is so tiny and so so fast. I've spot cleaned his house tonight so he's moved into his coconut. How does anyone manage to tame a Robo??

Thank you for the link on diabetes.

That"s Robo Gordon peeking out tonight.
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Old 10-06-2019, 02:01 PM   #58
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

Taming Percy could take a lot of time and patience. When he's in the bathtub, use an old toothbrush to gently give him a stroke on the back - while he's scrambling up the sides. Just one stroke. If he jerks round as if to bite it, or does bite it. Wait. Try again a bit later. Maybe two attempts this session. Next session the same again. Eventually he should accept it and not jerk round or bite it. This is a lot of progress as he is accepting touch. When you get to that stage you could move on to putting your hand flat on the base of the bath, palm up (with gloves if you want), in front of him and let him just walk over it. A couple of times of this in one session. Next session, lift the hand very slightly as he walks over it - maybe 1cm or so but let him walk off. Two or three times of that. Once you can do that, raise the hand a bit more, an inch or so, but still let him walk off. Once it's at that stage you should be able to hold him - when he walks on your hand, let him run from hand to hand with your hands in a tunnel. He should be tame then. It can take a lot of time and patience.

He might be better in a barred cage like the Alaska or Hamster Heaven where he can see the world a bit and interact through the bars.
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Old 10-06-2019, 03:28 PM   #59
Ria P
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Taming Percy could take a lot of time and patience. When he's in the bathtub, use an old toothbrush to gently give him a stroke on the back - while he's scrambling up the sides. Just one stroke. If he jerks round as if to bite it, or does bite it. Wait. Try again a bit later. Maybe two attempts this session. Next session the same again. Eventually he should accept it and not jerk round or bite it. This is a lot of progress as he is accepting touch. When you get to that stage you could move on to putting your hand flat on the base of the bath, palm up (with gloves if you want), in front of him and let him just walk over it. A couple of times of this in one session. Next session, lift the hand very slightly as he walks over it - maybe 1cm or so but let him walk off. Two or three times of that. Once you can do that, raise the hand a bit more, an inch or so, but still let him walk off. Once it's at that stage you should be able to hold him - when he walks on your hand, let him run from hand to hand with your hands in a tunnel. He should be tame then. It can take a lot of time and patience.

He might be better in a barred cage like the Alaska or Hamster Heaven where he can see the world a bit and interact through the bars.
Thanks for the tip with the tooth brush. That is a really good idea.

He can see out of the bin cage because it has a big meshed front window and the lid is meshed also but i have been looking at barred cages. The Alaska is too high but the Hamster Haven is lower. A glass base to allow for deep substrate with a barred top that has a door would be ideal but the ones available are ridiculously expensive.

I need to figure out how to tempt him out of his cave for taming unless i get up at 05.00!
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Old 10-06-2019, 04:40 PM   #60
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Henry and Gordon

With our first Syrian, Charlie, who used to hide away, I used to put a tube over his house door with a smelly treat at the far end. He would walk into the tube and I'd then put both hands over the ends of the tube and lift it out and put one end into a hamster ball and he'd walk into the ball - then pop the lid on quick - and carry him to the bath in the ball. You could wear gloves when lifting him out in the tube if he might bite or make you jump, so you don't drop him!

Yes the toothbrush means you can do it at arms length. It would be wonderful if he was tamed eventually - very rewarding. If he is a bit crazy he may never be really tame but should be handleable and learn to trust you a bit.
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