You may have seen if you read my first two threads, but last week my mom’s coworker found a hamster running around outside. The coworker was going to keep him, but she was concerned that her dog or cat might get him. So, she has placed him under the care of my sister and I.
He’s a dwarf roborovski hamster (white face, we believe) and his name is Hedge. This is because his fur colorings kinda reminds us of a hedgehog! Something else I just realized, he was found near some bushes so I guess you could say Hedge was found near a hedge haha.
He’s a bit thin likely due to not finding much food on his adventure outside. We weren’t sure if he was drinking water from his water bottle, so we gave him a different water bottle and a water dish just in case. We think he’s been drinking water because I’m quite sure he would’ve died by now otherwise and my sister said she thinks she caught him drinking from the second water bottle. Hopefully, this is true.
His cage that the coworker supplied is too tall and not long enough for him, and came with a platform that could be reached through a tube. We’ve removed the platform and tube to free up a bit of ground space and because he didn’t need it and it was not being used. The coworker also supplied Oxbow pellets, but I looked to see what we
should be feeding him and I got him Higgins Vita Garden as well as Purebites freeze dried chicken for cats. We offered him the new food which came earlier today and he began eating and storing it with no hesitation, so we think it’s safe to say he likes it. He gave the chicken a nibble but hasn’t eaten it further.
We’re planning on getting him an aquarium to be his new home which’ll hopefully give him the space he needs. He’s been climbing his bars a bit and we know that he needs a lot more floor space than he has. We don’t have many toys or chews or other things to fill his current cage or future tank, but we will get him those as well. We don’t have a surplus of money to spend right now and we weren’t really expecting a hamster a few years after the last time we’ve had one.
He is soft, calm, and surprisingly tame. I’d expect a hamster that was rescued from being outside for who knows long would be skittish, fear human contact, bite, or take a while to behave how hamsters typically do, but he seems to be acclimated fairly well. He runs on his wheel, eats his food, sleeps regularly in his bedding, and doesn’t seem to mind our presence at all. He’ll give a few gentle nibbles here and there, but not in a way that would give reason for concern. He even will let you reach your hand in and gently stroke his back without flinching or biting in defense. He doesn’t seem to care at all, really. I worry that we’re moving too fast when it comes to things like making adjustments in the cage or touching him, but it’s a relief to see that he takes it all gracefully.
Although we weren’t expecting another hamster, and haven’t had a robo in particular before, we are going to do our utmost to do research and give him the best life he can. This is why, of course, I joined Hamster Central. I’m glad that he was found and that we can give him all that he wouldn’t have gotten if he had not been. I plan to give occasional updates here when there’s anything I wish to report. Thank you for reading! ^^ ♡