Progress (maybe) with Hubble this evening. He's been waking up promptly at 8:30 pm for the past few evenings, so I was ready by the cage with treats and his ball tonight. I'm not sure who is trying to tame who here... After he'd had a stretch, yawn, and a wash, I opened the cage door and held the ball out for him. He hopped in right away! Once out, he rolled about for five minutes or so before stopping in the corner. I'm not sure if he was less interested or just still a bit sleepy. Regardless, I put him back inside his cage and gave him his very first sunflower seed. Boy, did he gobble that one up. I think I've found his favorite.
For the past few nights, I've spent some time just sitting by his cage with the door open talking to him while he runs around and does hamster things. My boyfriend thinks I'm nuts. Tonight was the first time he came up to the door on his own without any prompting. So, I gave him another sunflower seed.
Then, I tried a mealworm. He sniffed at that, then sniffed my fingers and gave me a little nibble. And then another nibble. I pulled away a little, and he turned and walked off. I think I offended him, haha. So, a few minutes later, I tried another mealworm. He nibbled me again. I'm not sure if he was going to go in for a full on bite, but I hope not. It seems like we're making progress otherwise. Maybe he just doesn't like mealworms, and the nibble was a way to tell me so! Silly hamster.