Jupiter's thread

[peculiarplanets]

So I figured I'd make a thread to keep all updates and pictures in place.

This is my Syrian hamster Jupiter, she's been with me since the end of December 2019. She was born somewhere around the end of November 2019, which means her birthday is close to mine!

https://i.ibb.co/42y4QdY/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-26-1.jpg

Jupiter was very shy and skittish at first. She would jump at most sudden sounds and movements around her cage. So for the first week I just talked to her while she hid in one of her hideouts. She would only come out at night, when I was gone (I know this because I had placed treats around the cage and the next morning they were all gone).

Now we're at week 5 and she's definitely warming up to me. When there's a sudden sound her ears perk up but instead of scared, she's curious. I keep talking to her still to make her feel more at ease. She now takes treats from my hand and is actually curious about my hand. She only sat on it once, but that was because the treat was in the middle of my hand. She also nipped my hand a few times but it wasn't really biting, it was more "what is this and can I eat it?" nipping. Whenever it happened I would put on a stern voice and pull my hand away. When I put my hand back and she didn't bite, I gave her a treat. So I'm confident that it's just a curiosity thing. She's also become more active and less shy, showing more of her personality.

Her cage is a 100x50cm tank, which I gave a forest theme. It has three different hideouts, a platform, a sand bath, multiple places to hide behind or under, and a place to burrow. It also has a big wheel but she hasn't shown much interest in it yet. That, or she only uses it when I'm asleep. She's sat in it multiple times and walked in it, but then seemed confused as to why she was walking but not moving any further.

https://i.ibb.co/t3zFjVt/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-19-at-19-31-00.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/Xx4NJcP/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-19-at-19-31-00-1.jpg

Her favourite things to do seem to be digging and biting things. She's been digging in her sand box a lot, as well as in the corners of her cage. I even once caught her trying to get into the spider plant in her cage to dig in the sand there! As for biting things, she often bites the wooden items in her cage, so I gave her special biting wood which she really seems to enjoy. She also hoards a lot of things to her house. Not just the toilet paper I give her, but also a lot of substrate she uses as bedding. I see her moving the substrate around a lot so I think she's got some renovation plans. She's also starting to climb more and more. The wooden trunk in which her food bowl stands has a perfectly fine bridge to it, which she knows how to use. However, she chooses to climb onto the side of the trunk and lift herself onto the top like that. She's not a picky eater at all and has so far eaten everything I've offered her.

I'm hoping to continue this progress with her so I can soon start on lifting her out of the cage and explore places like the couch or maybe a playpen if I decide to buy one. I'll post further updates here! For now, enjoy some more photos of her.

https://i.ibb.co/X5nhhFS/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-27-1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/KKPbk9R/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-28-1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/DWb1HN8/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-28.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/ctxBWsx/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-29-1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/yF6Td2L/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-29.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/zn8Gf7v/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-30.jpg

[Vierville]

Jupiter is absolutely beautiful! And the cage is outstanding. Well done!

[Ria P]

Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful photos of your beautiful hamster in her amazing habitat. She looks so relaxed and happy.

Just put some substrate on top of her wheel so you can tell whether she's used it or not. She may also enjoy a Whimzee dog chew or something similar available in the Netherlands.

[Vierville]

Whimzees are made in the Netherlands I believe so should definitely be available there! And mine love them! Norman takes his back to his nest, Baldrick totally devours his!

Jupiter is a really lovely looking hamster.

[peculiarplanets]

Thanks all! And thanks for the tip Ria, I'll put some substrate on top of her wheel.

I'll look into getting a Whimzee!

[cypher]

She is a little beauty, good to hear she's settling in well now & clearly enjoying her lovely cage.

[peculiarplanets]

So Jupiter fully sat on my hand today!! Super thrilled about that. I took some videos of her. In the one where she's digging she started digging in the plant, so I decided to remove the plant from her cage. But other than that she's doing well!

https://vimeo.com/387066856
https://vimeo.com/387067042
https://vimeo.com/387067068

[Pebbles82]

She is absolutely gorgeous! And a lucky girl to have such a lovely interesting habitat. It's also the first time I've seen a hamster actually chewing nibble wood! Ours have all ignored any wood chews unless they have food stuck to them. But then only had boys.

Lovely that she sat on your hand. They can still "ping" until fully tame (ie suddenly leap 2 feet in the air and wriggle off you) so best to do it low down and over something where she can have a soft landing. Bathtub taming is popular - so they can't escape or fall and hurt themselves (dry bathtub).

[peculiarplanets]

She is absolutely gorgeous! And a lucky girl to have such a lovely interesting habitat. It's also the first time I've seen a hamster actually chewing nibble wood! Ours have all ignored any wood chews unless they have food stuck to them. But then only had boys.

Lovely that she sat on your hand. They can still "ping" until fully tame (ie suddenly leap 2 feet in the air and wriggle off you) so best to do it low down and over something where she can have a soft landing. Bathtub taming is popular - so they can't escape or fall and hurt themselves (dry bathtub).

She loves the nibble wood! And I've seen her "ping" a couple times but mostly because she was startled by something (still don't know what). So far I've only stick my hand in the cage to tame her and there's enough substrate for her to have a soft landing. Unfortunately I don't have a bathtub but I'm thinking about getting a playpen of sorts.

[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.

[VOESSY]

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]

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]

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]

She is really gorgeous :-)

[peculiarplanets]

She is really gorgeous :-)

I know right? <3

[Ria P]

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

[peculiarplanets]

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]

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]

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]

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

[VOESSY]

Aw, a joy to see. Good job. :)

[peculiarplanets]

So cleaned Jupiter's cage just now and put her in the playpen. But it's become very clear that she doesn't like the playpen at all as she keeps trying to escape. I changed the set-up of her cage again, mostly so she wouldn't climb on top of her water bottle all the time. But it's been 15 minutes since I put her in the cage and all she's been trying to do is climb things in an attempt to escape. BUT I did see her use her wheel more, so that's good.

I did some free roaming with her in the hallway which she seemed to enjoy, as she didn't try and escape as much. She's quite a handful, but luckily doesn't mind being handled.

I took some HQ photos of her and some of her new cage set-up. Enjoy!

Her cage:
https://ibb.co/r5t43gN
https://ibb.co/brkDLF4
https://ibb.co/sKV7k7F
https://ibb.co/pzk3xN7
https://ibb.co/TWkqPTQ

Some photos of her (and her attempted escape)
https://i.ibb.co/V3ccf0B/IMG-3834.jpg (https://ibb.co/0QRRHpJ)
https://i.ibb.co/18Dvc0r/IMG-3836.jpg (https://ibb.co/vZ7w9c3)
https://i.ibb.co/y8y9Ksb/IMG-3843.jpg (https://ibb.co/K9qPBy3)
https://i.ibb.co/QC03c43/IMG-3859.jpg (https://ibb.co/xfZtsNt)
https://i.ibb.co/bznSXtq/IMG-3849.jpg (https://ibb.co/ChFkQLN)

[Josie]

Such a little beauty & very photogenic as well :)

[LunaTheHamster1]

Lovely pics especially the last one

[peculiarplanets]

Here is a cute little video of Jupiter free roaming in the hall!

https://vimeo.com/393310800

[Ria P]

Thank you for sharing the lovely photos and video. The last photo especially is super cute and the one where the little monkey is about to climb up the bottle is so funny.

My hamsters don't like the playpen either but one likes free roaming, one climbs all over the futon and me, one likes a playpen box and one won't come out to play at all.

In the playpen they either sit and sulk or try to get out and i have no idea why that is the case but the playpen is gathering dust.

[peculiarplanets]

Jupiter seems to hate the playpen so I just let her roam free in the hallway. But even there she tries to dig corners after a while. Never can get enough space haha

[Pebbles82]

She is a cheeky monkey! Some females are quite maverick.

[peculiarplanets]

She sure is! But it's such an improvement from when I first got her. She took a lot of time to come out of her shell and when she did she practically yelled HERE I AM!

[peculiarplanets]

It's been a month! Jupiter is doing very well. She's been more active than before though and often bites the mesh on the lid of her cage a lot. But when I take her out for some free running in the hallway or my bedroom (she's currently in my bedroom with me as I'm writing this) she usually calms down again. She loves climbing and digging so I changed her cage set-up to cater to both needs. I'm a little worried that she won't like that I changed her cage twice in a short period, but I'm intending to leave it alone now.

Here's a picture of the cage:
https://i.ibb.co/7VY4rsQ/Photo-26-03-2020-23-21-45.jpg

[peculiarplanets]

Here's a video of Jupiter walking around my bed: https://vimeo.com/401155232

[NubiNuNu]

So I figured I'd make a thread to keep all updates and pictures in place.

This is my Syrian hamster Jupiter, she's been with me since the end of December 2019. She was born somewhere around the end of November 2019, which means her birthday is close to mine!

https://i.ibb.co/42y4QdY/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-26-1.jpg

Jupiter was very shy and skittish at first. She would jump at most sudden sounds and movements around her cage. So for the first week I just talked to her while she hid in one of her hideouts. She would only come out at night, when I was gone (I know this because I had placed treats around the cage and the next morning they were all gone).

Now we're at week 5 and she's definitely warming up to me. When there's a sudden sound her ears perk up but instead of scared, she's curious. I keep talking to her still to make her feel more at ease. She now takes treats from my hand and is actually curious about my hand. She only sat on it once, but that was because the treat was in the middle of my hand. She also nipped my hand a few times but it wasn't really biting, it was more "what is this and can I eat it?" nipping. Whenever it happened I would put on a stern voice and pull my hand away. When I put my hand back and she didn't bite, I gave her a treat. So I'm confident that it's just a curiosity thing. She's also become more active and less shy, showing more of her personality.

Her cage is a 100x50cm tank, which I gave a forest theme. It has three different hideouts, a platform, a sand bath, multiple places to hide behind or under, and a place to burrow. It also has a big wheel but she hasn't shown much interest in it yet. That, or she only uses it when I'm asleep. She's sat in it multiple times and walked in it, but then seemed confused as to why she was walking but not moving any further.

https://i.ibb.co/t3zFjVt/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-19-at-19-31-00.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/Xx4NJcP/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-19-at-19-31-00-1.jpg

Her favourite things to do seem to be digging and biting things. She's been digging in her sand box a lot, as well as in the corners of her cage. I even once caught her trying to get into the spider plant in her cage to dig in the sand there! As for biting things, she often bites the wooden items in her cage, so I gave her special biting wood which she really seems to enjoy. She also hoards a lot of things to her house. Not just the toilet paper I give her, but also a lot of substrate she uses as bedding. I see her moving the substrate around a lot so I think she's got some renovation plans. She's also starting to climb more and more. The wooden trunk in which her food bowl stands has a perfectly fine bridge to it, which she knows how to use. However, she chooses to climb onto the side of the trunk and lift herself onto the top like that. She's not a picky eater at all and has so far eaten everything I've offered her.

I'm hoping to continue this progress with her so I can soon start on lifting her out of the cage and explore places like the couch or maybe a playpen if I decide to buy one. I'll post further updates here! For now, enjoy some more photos of her.

https://i.ibb.co/X5nhhFS/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-27-1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/KKPbk9R/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-28-1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/DWb1HN8/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-28.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/ctxBWsx/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-29-1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/yF6Td2L/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-29.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/zn8Gf7v/Whats-App-Image-2020-01-22-at-23-23-30.jpg
Lol i used to have a syrian hamster (or sunfire dwarf) named Jupiter too, he had red eyes and cream fur, except he was a male

[peculiarplanets]

So by accident I found a good way to keep Jupiter from attacking my doorposts. I was planning to take out the paper waste but Jupiter started biting bars which indicates she wants to be let out. So I took her out for free running first. She loves to climb everything, and I mean everything. So what I didn't think about but could have seen coming was that she would climb into the box with paper waste.

She absolutely loves it! She digs around and gnaws on the paper and climbs in and out of the box and I can really tell she enjoys it. It's really fun to watch as well, so I took a small video: https://vimeo.com/403467089

[cypher]

Perfect distraction for the ham with lots of energy to spare! :D

[Vierville]

Jupiter really looks like she's enjoying it! She's a lovrly hamster!

[Ria P]

Jupiter looks like she's having fun in there. She's a beautiful, lively hamster.

[peculiarplanets]

She has so much energy it's unreal haha but also super fun to watch. I love her to bits

[peculiarplanets]

Little update! She's now using her wheel a lot more and doesn't constantly chew on the mesh of the lid of her cage. I take her out for free running every evening and to make sure she doesn't attack my doorposts I placed weighed down boxes in every corner. She loves to tear into them and demolish them haha it's very fun to watch

She also will still climb on everything she can find and is now not trying to run away when I try and pick her up to put her back in her cage. It almost seems like she's trusting me even more now.

[peculiarplanets]

Somehow the above message posted twice and idk how to delete it, so I edited this. Ignore this haha

[peculiarplanets]

It's been a while! Jupiter has been doing great! She's very playful and curious still and loves to do things I tell her not to do, like digging in my plant plots and quite literally climbing on the wall (I have this soft sort of wallpaper she digs her nails into). She's really a handful but I wouldn't have it any other way <3

https://i.ibb.co/vzDtVvp/Photo-30-06-2020-23-06-58.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/2jzDj5G/Photo-25-07-2020-23-01-00.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/p3cTKgP/Photo-26-07-2020-11-43-52.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/hBR1mYb/Photo-28-07-2020-22-29-10.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/g3kYM9N/Photo-30-06-2020-23-06-42.jpg

[Ria P]

The look of innocence on her face when caught in your plant pot and climbing a plant is priceless!
Lovely hamster and fab photos.

[peculiarplanets]

The look of innocence on her face when caught in your plant pot and climbing a plant is priceless!
Lovely hamster and fab photos.

I know right! She was looking like "...what?" it was so funny