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FelicityAnn · 03-17-2017, 09:28 AM

Hi - well, I finally found her, my little Esmeralda (Esmie for short).

I took all the good advice I found on here and in ErinsAnimals videos, and I took a medium sized plastic container with holes in the top, half filled with torn up kitchen papaer & tissues.

I asked the man in the shop (very nice!) to give me a handful of the substrate in the cage to mix with the tissue, so that she would have her family's smell with her on the way home.

He wasn't sure how old she is, but as she arrived today with the rest of her litter and they were all sleeping together, we decided that they were still fairly young. We also decided together that she was a 'lady'. They only arrived today & they called me straight away to tell me, so he hadn't really had a good chance to sex them.

I brought her home in the car with a towel lightly covering the container, so as to give her a bit more security, and then when we had put the cage in the bath, I let her come out of the container on her own. (It's a converted guinea pig cage, and I want to be sure that it's escape-proof. Hence the bath test)

She came out on her own almost immediately, sniffing everywhere. I emptied the tissues into the cage and sprinkled the substrate from the shop all over her new home.

I then sat very quietly and watched her for about 20 minutes. She has explored EVERY CORNER at least six times. She's had something to eat, tried her wheel, (though not very sucessfully yet as I don't think she's ever had one), gone through her tunnel (twice) that I buried in the substrate from one end of the cage to the other - and has climbed her ladder to explore the little bird's nest I've hung from the roof. She liked that, and went back twice inside it.

I think she's decided that the coconut shell under the other shelf is her favourite, as that's where she's settled at the moment. That could well change, though, right?

I have put a covering over the top of the cage and will not disturb her for a couple of days. I will, of course, check regulary on her just to make sure she's OK. And I've put a blow heater in there with her (not close) to keep the temperature up at a comfortable level for her.

Did I do most things right? What did I miss?

03-17-2017, 09:28 AM
FelicityAnn Hamster Pup Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Sagunto, Spain Posts: 125	Finally found a Syrian! Esmeralda... Hi - well, I finally found her, my little Esmeralda (Esmie for short). I took all the good advice I found on here and in ErinsAnimals videos, and I took a medium sized plastic container with holes in the top, half filled with torn up kitchen papaer & tissues. I asked the man in the shop (very nice!) to give me a handful of the substrate in the cage to mix with the tissue, so that she would have her family's smell with her on the way home. He wasn't sure how old she is, but as she arrived today with the rest of her litter and they were all sleeping together, we decided that they were still fairly young. We also decided together that she was a 'lady'. They only arrived today & they called me straight away to tell me, so he hadn't really had a good chance to sex them. I brought her home in the car with a towel lightly covering the container, so as to give her a bit more security, and then when we had put the cage in the bath, I let her come out of the container on her own. (It's a converted guinea pig cage, and I want to be sure that it's escape-proof. Hence the bath test) She came out on her own almost immediately, sniffing everywhere. I emptied the tissues into the cage and sprinkled the substrate from the shop all over her new home. I then sat very quietly and watched her for about 20 minutes. She has explored EVERY CORNER at least six times. She's had something to eat, tried her wheel, (though not very sucessfully yet as I don't think she's ever had one), gone through her tunnel (twice) that I buried in the substrate from one end of the cage to the other - and has climbed her ladder to explore the little bird's nest I've hung from the roof. She liked that, and went back twice inside it. I think she's decided that the coconut shell under the other shelf is her favourite, as that's where she's settled at the moment. That could well change, though, right? I have put a covering over the top of the cage and will not disturb her for a couple of days. I will, of course, check regulary on her just to make sure she's OK. And I've put a blow heater in there with her (not close) to keep the temperature up at a comfortable level for her. Did I do most things right? What did I miss?