Oatmeal_Cupcake
06-07-2015, 09:33 PM
So...
I actually got another hamster about a week ago. He's a male that was a result of kids putting a male and female together without their parents knowing. Surprise! He was the last one looking for a home. He has been handled since he was young so there isn't much of a taming process. The child who answered the door opened the door before I could knock and handed me the hamster. The mom invited me in and I asked them all sorts of questions. I met the parents and two of his litter mates that they decided to keep.
I've never had a non-petstore hamster. I've never had a male so I figured that I would see what it was like.
So far I've got to admit that I find myself missing the taming period. It's so crazy because I've hit some lows with Kit Kat and Aria where I thought I wasn't ever going to tame them and felt like giving up. At the end of the day they were tamed and I developed deep bonds with them because of the taming period. I know that with time I will also develop a bond with this little guy but it's just different to be handed trust verses earning it. I like the feeling of accomplishment and being rewarded with friendship after so many weeks or months of trying.
Don't get me wrong, he's a cute trusting hamster... I'm just surprised! Ha ha.
One of the surprises I encountered was learning about quarantine. Maybe I've been oblivious to this and it's something that others are familiar with. However, I kinda felt a wee bit lost when I learned that I needed to do a quarantine. Then other questions arose like being very sanitary while holding the new hamster and your current hamster. Being careful with your clothing and simply not cross contaminating. I always thought that you saw a hamster, brought it home and there you go. I think it's because I often saw stories of people already having a hamster and falling in love at the pet store and just bringing it home.
I'm thinking that it might not be a bad idea for someone to write a guide on introducing a new hamster into your home when you already have another hamster. Maybe a bit more information on the dos and don'ts of owning more than one hamster.
Anyways, enough about that. He really seems healthy. He still has a week more to go as far as quarantine goes. He loves being in his cage and outside of his cage but he won't go wild and crazy if he's not in his cage.
I felt really guilty after I got him. I mean, I wanted him but I felt like I was cheating on Aria. I was so worried about neglecting her and just feeling bad for liking another hamster. Aria is very reclusive and she honestly feels happy spending time in her cage. I do take her out but it doesn't take much time for her to freak out. So this left me in a position where I wanted more interaction with a hamster. So I got this little guy. So far I haven't neglected Aria and I have time for both of them. I'm a real night owl. If I'm not watching a show then I'm playing video games. So I can spare time from video games and tv shows. I've got my own pet shop at home so aspen, food, toys are in surplus. No need to worry about additional costs.
So I now feel like I made a good choice and that I've got to lovely hamsters to love. But gosh... how I WISH that we could keep Syrians in pairs or groups.
Anyways, here he is! He is 9 weeks old.
http://i.imgur.com/aeumTnk.jpg?1
I actually got another hamster about a week ago. He's a male that was a result of kids putting a male and female together without their parents knowing. Surprise! He was the last one looking for a home. He has been handled since he was young so there isn't much of a taming process. The child who answered the door opened the door before I could knock and handed me the hamster. The mom invited me in and I asked them all sorts of questions. I met the parents and two of his litter mates that they decided to keep.
I've never had a non-petstore hamster. I've never had a male so I figured that I would see what it was like.
So far I've got to admit that I find myself missing the taming period. It's so crazy because I've hit some lows with Kit Kat and Aria where I thought I wasn't ever going to tame them and felt like giving up. At the end of the day they were tamed and I developed deep bonds with them because of the taming period. I know that with time I will also develop a bond with this little guy but it's just different to be handed trust verses earning it. I like the feeling of accomplishment and being rewarded with friendship after so many weeks or months of trying.
Don't get me wrong, he's a cute trusting hamster... I'm just surprised! Ha ha.
One of the surprises I encountered was learning about quarantine. Maybe I've been oblivious to this and it's something that others are familiar with. However, I kinda felt a wee bit lost when I learned that I needed to do a quarantine. Then other questions arose like being very sanitary while holding the new hamster and your current hamster. Being careful with your clothing and simply not cross contaminating. I always thought that you saw a hamster, brought it home and there you go. I think it's because I often saw stories of people already having a hamster and falling in love at the pet store and just bringing it home.
I'm thinking that it might not be a bad idea for someone to write a guide on introducing a new hamster into your home when you already have another hamster. Maybe a bit more information on the dos and don'ts of owning more than one hamster.
Anyways, enough about that. He really seems healthy. He still has a week more to go as far as quarantine goes. He loves being in his cage and outside of his cage but he won't go wild and crazy if he's not in his cage.
I felt really guilty after I got him. I mean, I wanted him but I felt like I was cheating on Aria. I was so worried about neglecting her and just feeling bad for liking another hamster. Aria is very reclusive and she honestly feels happy spending time in her cage. I do take her out but it doesn't take much time for her to freak out. So this left me in a position where I wanted more interaction with a hamster. So I got this little guy. So far I haven't neglected Aria and I have time for both of them. I'm a real night owl. If I'm not watching a show then I'm playing video games. So I can spare time from video games and tv shows. I've got my own pet shop at home so aspen, food, toys are in surplus. No need to worry about additional costs.
So I now feel like I made a good choice and that I've got to lovely hamsters to love. But gosh... how I WISH that we could keep Syrians in pairs or groups.
Anyways, here he is! He is 9 weeks old.
http://i.imgur.com/aeumTnk.jpg?1