Our Adoption Story... - Page 7

ScoobyWoo · 05-27-2016, 11:29 PM

Thank you all for your lovely comments and advice about her weight too, she's very active so I won't worry too much.

So last night we had a mini drama where she was out exploring and she tried to get through the tiny hole in the side of the coconut (rather than the big one at the front), she got her head and body through but then got stuck trying to pull her bum through! She tried to back up and go backwards but couldn't so she was wedged! Hubby, put his hand in and Hattie put her back paws on his hand to push off- like a leg up! She managed to get out then and we swiftly removed the coconut- the shelves are looking very bare now as Hattie is moving the treats like the whimzee and the nibble pot to her house so there is not much on the shelves at all now.

In other news, we have seen her use her water bottle a few times now so that's reassured me but we still can't see where she is weeing. I've got a horrible feeling like she is going in her house which is going to make cleaning a nightmare without disturbing her hoard and nest. I'll have to leave it a few days before I check though, I don't want to stress her out.

Last night, I put my hand in the cage with a bit of brocolli and she hopped onto my hand and sat there munching. She really is incredibly tame, I don't think we need to worry about that. We might offer the ball or a big mug tonight to see if she'll venture into one of those, ready to start transporting her.

She was asleep when I came down this morning but she has just got up, pottered about a bit, had a wash and a drink and then gone back to bed, bless her

Have a good Saturday everybody

cypher · 05-28-2016, 01:16 AM

How lovely that she's so tame already, that must have been a bit help when she got herself stuck in the coconut! It seems a shame but it might be an idea to remove that now if you didn't already.
She's obviously making herself a nice hoard & keeping all her treats safe in her house now

Fingers crossed for you she doesn't decide to pee in her house, not long term anyway, it might take her a few days to choose the perfect spot!

Pebbles82 · 05-28-2016, 01:47 AM

I was thinking the same about it maybe being a few days before she's decided on a spot

It's lovely that she is so tame but I'd still give her at least 2 or 3 days on her own in the cage to adjust to her new environment. The coconut situation sounds like a nightmare. Maybe you could make the hole bigger? Generally 6cm diameter holes and up are best for Syrians, but a large Syrian might even need 7cm diameter. Rat sized holes and tubes are best really (they tend to be 10cm diameter). But a coconut isn't a tube so a 6 or 7cm hole should be fine.

We had something similar when we first got Charlie and he grew big quickly and got stuck in the tube in his cage - it was awful.

You'll need a couple of weeks to just go with the flow - by then you'll know where she is weeing and can adjust accordingly. She may have some old habits she has brought with her, being a year old already. She might never have seen a sand bath or potty before. If it turns out she has made a toilet in the house it might not be wee-stained. If it is then I went with putting a bigger house in with the potty inside

A shoe box would do - but just go with the flow for now - she might discover the potty!

ScoobyWoo · 05-28-2016, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

How lovely that she's so tame already, that must have been a bit help when she got herself stuck in the coconut! It seems a shame but it might be an idea to remove that now if you didn't already.
She's obviously making herself a nice hoard & keeping all her treats safe in her house now

Fingers crossed for you she doesn't decide to pee in her house, not long term anyway, it might take her a few days to choose the perfect spot!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I was thinking the same about it maybe being a few days before she's decided on a spot

It's lovely that she is so tame but I'd still give her at least 2 or 3 days on her own in the cage to adjust to her new environment. The coconut situation sounds like a nightmare. Maybe you could make the hole bigger? Generally 6cm diameter holes and up are best for Syrians, but a large Syrian might even need 7cm diameter. Rat sized holes and tubes are best really (they tend to be 10cm diameter). But a coconut isn't a tube so a 6 or 7cm hole should be fine.

We had something similar when we first got Charlie and he grew big quickly and got stuck in the tube in his cage - it was awful.

You'll need a couple of weeks to just go with the flow - by then you'll know where she is weeing and can adjust accordingly. She may have some old habits she has brought with her, being a year old already. She might never have seen a sand bath or potty before. If it turns out she has made a toilet in the house it might not be wee-stained. If it is then I went with putting a bigger house in with the potty inside

A shoe box would do - but just go with the flow for now - she might discover the potty!

Thanks both

We removed the coconut straight away! There was no way we were leaving that in there! It does have a big hole in the front which she can easily fit in and out of but she decided to try and get through the tiny one at the side! Silly girl! Hubby says he's going have a go at enlarging the hole. I've been thinking we might get a sputnik for up there instead over the shelf...not yet but maybe in time- we'll see.

Fingers crossed you are both right about her taking a few days to choose where to have a wee, if not- I've been eyeing up the house you have for Charlie! Again, we'll just have to wait and see

Serendipity, I wasn't planning on actually taking her out of the cage tonight, I just thought we'd put either the ball or the mug that we'll be using to transport her into the cage when we're giving her her veg so that she can get used to them. We'll see how she is when she eventually gets up- sleepyhead today! She was up about 7ish last night for an hour last night then went back to bed for an hour before getting up properly- tonight, she's still fast asleep, bless her!

Anyway, I'm rambling- again! Shhhhhh ScoobyWoo shhhhhh!

Pebbles82 · 05-28-2016, 12:58 PM

I actually emailed Rodipet to ask them which was the best house for a large Syrian. They suggested the labyrinth house I have, plus this one.

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/haeuser/...u-talalin.html

The only issue with the labyrinth house is I think some rooms could do to be a bit bigger and some a bit smaller. As she is such a big girl I think the nesting room could do to be a bit bigger than the room in the labyrinth house maybe.

I reckon the long one in the link above might work in your current set up. It's designed to kind of be a substerranean house - so could sit on just a bit of substrate and be mostly below the substrate. That way it could go along the right side of the cage and still be under the shelf at one end, where you have it now, but you could lift one of the other roof lids off to spot clean inside and access inside it easily without having to take the house out. Both rooms are good sizes and the centre bit could be for hoards as well. Charlie has used a small room for his hoard, but has buried it

I've noticed a tendency to "dump" any foraged food just inside the entrance to the house, in each house he has had, so that centre room would probably do the same thing.

They're not cheap though - that one works out at about £19 and postage is £7 on top. I guess one room would be the nest, the other for the litter tray and the centre one for hoards and access.

I was just imagining something like that would fit well in your current house corner and potty corner - it would go the whole depth of the cage and would probably rest on the cage base where it slopes in, at either end, which would support it a bit.

The bit of rough granite on top is good for helping keep nails short. There's a little video on that page further down. Or you could make one

ScoobyWoo · 05-28-2016, 01:29 PM

Thank you Serendipity, we love that one- especially the granite tile on the top, that looks brill.

I think a subterranean house would be perfect for her to be honest as she has pretty much made the house she has now into one- she's tipped it backwards a bit and piled mounds of substrate on top of it and all around the entrance! She is super keen on digging, foraging and burrowing- she spends more time underneath the substrate than she does on top!

In other news, she has just pretty much come out of the cage by herself! I opened the small front door, and popped my hand in to offer her a bit of carrot- she sat munching on that for a bit and then she followed my hand back as I drew it back to bring it out of the cage, so I lingered my hand by the door so she didn't fall and she stepped out onto it! Bless her, I just kept my hand really still whislt she had a good sniff and then she backed up and plopped back into the cage! Haha

I'd forgotten just how funny they are- loving this!

Pebbles82 · 05-28-2016, 02:48 PM

Great that she is so interactive and tame

I love the sound of her mountain building and house-keeping

She sounds quite happy with the current one for now - it'll be interesting to find out where she pees in the coming week or two though.

Thin Lizzy · 05-29-2016, 04:37 AM

So happy the bonding is going well. I love how she's making her cage suit her. Shame about the coconut, did you manage to enlarge the hole?

ScoobyWoo · 05-29-2016, 12:09 PM

We haven't sorted the coconut yet no, I've had hubby doing DIY for our house today- makes a change from Hattie's! Haha! We will have a look at it though at some point. We've put the bendy bridge that was in her carrier on the way home from the rescue in it's place for now, she was loving that last night and using it as a sort of perch to sit on and look over her mansion! Haha

She seems to like to just sit and watch, she was sitting on her trixie platform for a while last night too, just washing and looking around, bless her.

Taming is continuing to go well, we introduced the mug last night- popped a bit of carrot in it and she went straight in and sat happily munching away and then came out again. We've just done the same again tonight with some brocolli, and this time we tipped the mug slightly more upright and lifted it away a little- she just poked her head up, looked around and then went back to her brocolli. Then we put it back down and she sat in it a bit longer having a wash (she washes A LOT!) and then scampered out and off to have a mooch about.

She doesn't seem to be using her wheel a lot. She does use it, I know she does- we've seen her and I've done the substrate on top thing but she doesn't seem to run for very long.

She is definitely weeing and pooing in her house- she has to be as I can't see any signs anywhere else in the cage. The lid on the Barney house (which she seems to LOVE) doesn't easily come off and because it's under the shelf, it isn't easy to lift the whole house without removing the cage top which I don't want to do yet and stress her out. How long do you think I can leave it (hygienically) without clearing out the poo/wee from the nest?

ScoobyWoo · 05-30-2016, 01:33 PM

Just more details for our little diary

Last night, Hattie came and had her first "cuddle", we just followed her lead really, when she woke up she came to the door...I'm wondering if she is remembering that that's where the veggies come from- haha!

Anyway, after a little broccoli from my hand, we offered her the mug and she clambered in so my hubby sat down and she crawled out of the pot and went exploring his chest and she was happy to be stroked a little and crawl around over him and then onto my hands and arms. We only kept her out for a few minutes and we kept the mug resting nearby so she could crawl back in if she wanted. When she did crawl back in then we put her back in her cage and she had a quick mooch around and then had a drink and sat on her platform having a wash

Tonight, we set the play pen up on the floor and Hattie came out voluntarily as she did last night in the mug. I sat in the play pen and put the mug down in there and she came out and explored crawling over me and around the pen. She was quite happy for a bit until she found a corner and then she decided to try and chew her way out- little monkey. We only stayed in there for 5 minutes or so- we don't want to push it with her or stress her out.

However, having her out of the cage meant that hubby could have a really good look around to see if he could find a toilet area...he couldn't though

He even lifted the house up and had a look in her nest- he didn't prod around much because we don't want to disturb her bed so I think she must be going right at the bottom of the cage in the corner of the blue tray that is under her house. It doesn't smell in there so we'll leave it for now.

So that's about it really for today... we'll see what tomorrow brings in Hattie's world