Jupiter's thread - Page 2

VOESSY · 01-28-2020, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peculiarplanets

Update: Not much has changed in the past few days. Apart from her suddenly jumping at random things in her cage. She'll like sniff this piece of wood and jump because she feels a leaf poking out from the top of the wood. She doesn't seem scared though, so that's good.

She's completely comfortable taking a treat from my hand when I offer it to her. She also takes treats from my palm but rarely sits on it. I'm trying to think of ways to bond with her, considering I don't have a bathtub. I'm still thinking about getting a playpen but I'm not sure if she's ready for that yet. I want to try and scoop her out with a bowl or a mug, but so far she's been skeptical of incoming objects that aren't my hand (but hey, that means she trusts my hand!). Jupiter has proven herself to be a hamster who is curious, but needs time to get out of her shell. In Dutch we have a nice saying for that: de kat uit de boom kijken (literally: watch the cat out of the tree). This basically means watching what's going on around you and then make a move. She's very much like that. But it's been great so far to watch her grow and learn.

I am at a very similar pace with Mocha.
When you have further success with bonding with her, I'll keep a lookout for that update.

She's very cute.

peculiarplanets · 01-29-2020, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VOESSY

I am at a very similar pace with Mocha.
When you have further success with bonding with her, I'll keep a lookout for that update.

She's very cute.

She is! And I'll be sure to update!

peculiarplanets · 01-30-2020, 02:06 PM

Another update + video!

I scooped her up in a bowl so I could try and bond with her. She didn't seem to freak out and actually continued to munch her treat while I petted her gently. I then tried to get her to go on my hand. She didn't seem to understand or somehow refused to stand on my hand until she figured it would act as a bridge to get back to the ground safely. So she slowly stepped on my hand (you could almost see her think "is this safe?") and then walked over it, back into her cage. It's a step in the right direction, especially because she didn't mind me petting her.

I also recorded a small video of her munching on a piece of bell pepper I gave her.
https://vimeo.com/388337339

Pebbles82 · 01-30-2020, 04:00 PM

She is really gorgeous

peculiarplanets · 01-30-2020, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

She is really gorgeous

I know right? <3

Ria P · 01-31-2020, 10:08 AM

That is real progress that she trusts you so soon! Great feeling, isn't it?

peculiarplanets · 01-31-2020, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ria P

That is real progress that she trusts you so soon! Great feeling, isn't it?

It is! I mean, it's been 2 months since I got her so I'm glad she's trusting me now.

peculiarplanets · 02-03-2020, 02:46 PM

Welp, we've got an escape artist!

I just came home from dance class, showered, finally sat down on the couch when I heard a rustle coming from the closet where I store my art supplies. Just before that, when I came home, I checked on Jupiter and noticed her food barely had gone down and the millet spray she loves was still barely touched. I thought maybe she had hoarded a lot of food and wasn't hungry

Anyway, so I checked in the closet and saw her scurrying away quickly. No idea low long she had been in there for but when I put her back in her cage (using the small canvas she had used as a toilet) she began to drink immediately, so I guess quite a while.

For now I placed heavy books on top of the cage lid. But if anyone has any ideas to weigh down the lid, I'm all ears! At least Jupiter is now safe again and I'm glad I found her in time. I have been wondering if she needs more exercise because I never see her run in her wheel (I did place substrate on top of it and it was gone the next morning, but she also tends to crawl behind the wheel and it moves a little when she does so). I haven't gotten around getting a playpen yet and she's often awake an hour before I go to bed, so during weekdays I don't have much time with her. During the weekends she wakes up later, probably because I'm around all day. I guess I'll just have to take whatever time I have with her. As well as hope she won't escape again :P

peculiarplanets · 02-07-2020, 12:03 AM

Another update: I managed to hold her yesterday! I saw her climbing onto her water bottle (which is apparently how she escaped before) so I put some sunflower seeds onto my hand and held it out to her, while she was on the bottle. At first she did what she always does: eat the seeds she can reach without getting onto my hand. But once she realised she really needed to get further onto my hand to reach the last few seeds, she just went to sit on it. So I took her out of the cage and let her explore my hands and my chest for a moment.

After a minute or so I could tell she was looking for a way to escape, and I don't have a play pen yet, so I carefully put her back in the cage and rewarded her with a treat. It's another step in the right direction!

peculiarplanets · 02-08-2020, 04:58 PM

I think it's safe to say that Jupiter has been almost entirely tamed now! She got onto my hand willingly and I took her out of the cage to explore the couch. She seemed very energetic and I caught her climbing on top of her water bottle again and biting the bars of the lid. I don't think she uses her wheel much. I just saw her run in it for like two seconds, get out, and run again for 3 seconds before going back to climbing. I'm looking at a playpen as we speak so I can give her a place to get rid of her energy.

I caught a video of her on the couch:
https://vimeo.com/390226317