All About My Maple

[Coco61]

What great news SKB. Loved reading the taming diary and then seeing the photos. Maple is such a gorgeous girl with that satin coat. Lots of treats to come for her and I am sure it is all with Pumpkin's blessing. She sounds an energetic and outgoing character.

[livedinhogwarts]

So glad to hear how well the taming is going with Maple, SKB. She seems to have bonded really a lot with you. The photos you took of her are so adorable. Looking forward to further updates x

[Thin Lizzy]

Wonderful taming updates skb, Maple so deserves to be spoilt, my heart melted at the truly beautiful pics, I'm so very in love with her, she's stunning! Those sleeping pics so Aww & Aww! Sleeping Beauty she is!
P. S. I've been trying to reply to your pm but your box is fiull, I know you've been busy. XXX

[cypher]

Good to hear how well things are going with Maple SKB!
She really is a beautiful girl, love the photos of her sleeping in her cage, that is so cute, lovely to see her discovering & enjoying new treats too.

[SKB_Hamsters]

Thank you Sasha04, Coco61, livedinhogwarts, Thin Lizzy and cypher. I am so pleasantly surprised by how well taming is going and I feel like we have a very special bond already. I can't be more happy to have her to spoil and to spend time with as she really is already something truly special!

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Taming Update and The BIG Move

Maple taming has been continuing to go really well, I feel like our bond is growing each day as I can feel that she learning to trust me more day by day.

On Sunday 15th, I decided to set up my DIY cage as a play area for Maple so she could spend some time in the evening plus her taming session in the cage for her to explore plus for her to get familiar to the cage before she would move in permanently - I had set her big move day as Sunday 22nd or whenever I or Maple decided the time was right either before or after. As I didn’t want to move her in too quickly in case the additional space was too overwhelming too soon. I decide to set the cage up slightly different to the way I did Pumpkins although majority of it is very similar as I didn’t want the cage to remind me too much of Pumpkin as I did build the cage especially for her.

Maple really enjoyed having her playtimes in the DIY cage, she thoroughly enjoyed exploring every inch of the cage plus enjoying the wheels and burrowing away in the fitch. It was so lovely seeing Maple enjoying the cage and made me feel really happy. She would spend 45 mins playing followed by a 15 mins handling session. The handling was continuing to go really well Maple is still very comfortable with being handled and picked up – plus really enjoys running the hand treadmill. I feel that our bond is growing with each session and it so lovely spending the time with her.

Tuesday playtime started the same as the previous days however towards the end of her playtime Maple had other ideas she disappeared off into her house where I could hear her digging around and I was waiting for her to emerge again like she had been doing on the other days but it went silent. So I waited and waited still completely silent so decided to call her name, this was when she stuck her head out and I told her it was time to go back to her cage but Maple had other ideas and disappeared back inside the house. This was when I knew Maple had decided that she wanted to stay in the DIY cage – especially as this is the first time she has slept in a house since bringing her home and she seemed perfectly content inside the cage. Although at this moment in time I hadn’t fully decided whether she was going to stay in the cage or not permanently as I wanted to observe her in the evening to make sure she was still happy with being in the cage. Well it she was more than happy and was thoroughly enjoying all the additional space and was trying to get out like she had started doing in her temporary bin cage. I must admit it was so very strange seeing Maple in the cage in the evening when I had the red lights on instead of Pumpkin. My DIY cage now has a new name initially called Pumpkin’s Palace the cage is now known as Maple’s Mansion!

Now that Maple is now residing in her mansion she hasn’t been having her daily playtimes as she more than happy with amusing herself with all the additional space and toys in her cage. Plus has been really enjoying having access to two wheels and just like Pumpkin enjoying running back and forth between the wheels in the evening. Although we have been continuing our handling sessions every evening (apart from one evening when our neighbours were really noisy and Maple was very nervous with the unfamiliar sounds so decided it was best to not have our handling session) with continually progress being made.


Tonight Maple will get to try some new treats which I bought for her today when I visited a local pet store which often has new items which I have only seen online. So I got Maple some freeze-dried Strawberries and Raspberries to try!

Now for the some pictures …

Maple Mansion set up for July…

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Plus photos of Maple exploring and one of her showing you her excellent camouflaging skills (I found it hard to spot Pumpkin in her natural set up and Maple is as equally hard to spot too as she blends right in) Still haven’t managed to get my camera to not make Maple eyes bright red (as her eyes are a little more redder than Pumpkin so need experiment a little with my camera to stop this – like previously mentioned her eyes are actually purple-y red)

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[Sasha04]

That’s really great to hear that Maple is loving her new cage! I really love how you set it up with all the toys and enrichment! I really just can’t get my head rapped around on how cute she is! That’s awesome that taming and bonding is going great! I love the pictures you got of her!

[cypher]

Lovely to see your cage all set up & in use again SKB, I'm not surprised Maple took to it so quickly, she must be loving it
Great to see all the photos of her too, I love the one of her climbing into the salt pig!

[Thin Lizzy]

Aww Maple Mansion lol! A wonderful setup SKB for your joyous girl, not at all surprised she's keeping herself busy running a mansion.
Extremely gorgeous pics, totally hooked.

[Coco61]

Wonderful set up for Maple, SKB. She can be a busy bee in there! Love the photos and enjoyed Maple spotting but the one getting into the sand bath is sooo cute!

[dreamtree1234]

Aww, I'm so happy for you that you found such an amazing ham to help heal your broken heart after losing your beloved Pumpkin. I totally understand how you fell instantly in love with Maple; she is amazing in every way and I'm already in love with her, too. Maple really hit the jackpot when she gained you as her Mum; now she will be sure to receive all the infinite love and care she so deserves. I'm sure that Pumpkin will be looking down happily from the Rainbow Bridge at the two of you enjoying your precious time with one another. Pumpkin will be so pleased that Maple is so blessed to have you as her loving and devoted Mum to spoil her and that you have finally found happiness again with having a loving ham to cherish in your life. It is great that Pumkin's Palace is now being enjoyed by Maple, and I love the new name for it - Maple's Mansion is perfect.

Maple is truly stunning and her gorgeous coat is very spectacular. I love her coloring and glossy coat; her expressions are precious, too. She is a true beauty and extremely photogenic!!! All of her pics are terrific; I especially love the ones where she is sleeping and the one where she is climbing into her salt pig. I also love her wonderful, adventurous, and cheeky personality. I'm she will bring plenty of happiness, amusement, and love to your life. I'm so glad that her taming has gone exceedingly well for the two of you, and she is enjoying every second with you. Thanks for sharing her taming diary with all of us; it was wonderful to see how her confidence and trust progressed.

I look forward to getting to know her, seeing her gorgeous photos, and hearing about all of her magnificent adventures with you. I'm already hooked on her wonderful thread, and it has just begun, lol. Have fun, SKB; I couldn't be any happier for you right now! Hugs to you and cuddles to your newest "troublemaker". Eros scurried up to the computer screen to give Maple a high-four so I'm sure she is thrilled to meet Maple, too. She also has a message for Maple. Squeaking from her own personal experience, Eros is requesting that Maple not give up too quickly on mealworms; give it a few more tries and most likely she will be absolutely hooked on them, too.