*Theo's thread*

[Kirsty1987]

Just realised i never started a thread for theo had her for a few months now, we was told she was a boy when we got her but after a few weeks i had my suspicions that he was in fact a she. She is very shy and still not really tame she won't take treats from me and sometimes when i hold her she shakes but were getting there slowly which does involve me getting nipped a lot but she makes a clicking sound before she bites me so i know when she has had enough. She has a nice big rody cavia to herself loves mealworms and digging.
Here are some pics of my little girl

[racinghamster]

Aw, she`s lovely kirsty! The clicking sound is usually associated with aggitation and a warning. Might be a good idea to do little and often taming sessions with her? But keep her inside her cage while doing so before starting to get her out in the open too much as chinese hamsters can be shy and nervous until they are more aware of their owner and surroundings. She will start to climb onto you sleeve or run up the inside of it! This was how my little female started interacting with me.

The nipping usually is just their way of saying put me down I`ve had enough! My female nipped only once as I recall, but I never usually handled her with my hands all thet often and when I did, I came in from low down either side of her, gently scooped her up, gave her a little kiss and when I placed her down again, she would immediately turn around and look for a reward, which was a hemp seed or a small amount of millet from my open palm.

She soon realised that she was given a reward when my hand was in the cage! Chinese hamsters are really sweet normally. But some take a while longer than others to tame.

[Kirsty1987]

Some lovely pics I took of Theo tonight it hard to get a good picture of her she is so quick

[icklemunch]

Awwww Theo is beautiful. Love her big eyes

[Kirsty1987]

Thank you she has big bug eyes lol but i love them

[racinghamster]

She is just gorgeous! How is she now with nipping Kirsty? Chinese can be like that but over time, the nipping should stop. It`s probably just a reaction they have to being stressed or feeling a little unsure. My female Prinny was great with handling, but I started out scooping her up gently when she was facing me, give her a little kiss on the head and then gently return her again to her cage, where I would immediately have a seed treat ready as a reward. Prinny soon realised this was a good game and would end up scooting up my sleeve and then disappearing into my t.shirt! It`s a was so funny (and tickly!)

Chinese hamsters are rather shy which is why they love plenty of little hiding places. I kept my female in my Gabber Rex, but my next one will be in a two storey Imac Fantasy to allow for climbing as Chinese are more like mice and are good climbers.

[Kirsty1987]

She doesn't nip as often as she used to defiantly a big improvement and she leaps into my hand now not so shy any more, coming out earlier in the day has a good 15 to 20 mins play time on the bed and her favourite game get inside the duvets covers so its a mission to find her. She is like a little ninja lol, I have her in a zoozone 2 wasn't sure how how she would react to all the space but she loves it just got to mesh the top then will be adding another level and lots of hanging toys for her and she has about 6 inches of fitch to dig in can't wait to meet the new addition

[POLAR WHITES]

awww what a little cutie , so cute with them big eyes.

[Gizmoandfriends]

Aww! So much cuteness

[Gazmo]

she has amazing eyes :')