My `Unexpected` new little friend!

[racinghamster]

Well, little Freddy Flintstone has arrived! He is such a darling little guy and looks wonderful for his age. The photos earlier don`t do him justice. He`s nosey, wants to be out a lot and by this evening once he`s had his power nap, he will be in a Gabber Rex. He is currently residing in a yellow based Ferplast mini duna and myself and zany knew that because he was such an active, nosey little fella, he needed more space, so he will be switched to my Gabber Rex later on. I will be putting his duna shelf inside the Gabber at one end so that he doesn`t miss having his shelf. He will also have an upright wheel as well as a flying saucer wheel and various other little accessories, so he is going to be a happy wee man.

His diet is WAGG gerbil/hamster/mouse food, but having sprinkled some Burgess dwarf mix on his cage floor, he scooped it up! So I will feed him one shallow dish with the WAGG in and a second shallow dish with the Burgess dwarf in and see which mix he prefers. I won`t change anything unless he tells me. If he chooses to ignore the WAGG altogether and go for the Burgess over time, I will switch him, but I like using the two mixes right now as I like him to have the choice and variety.

The woman who previously owned Fred did seem to do the right thing by him and she had him checked over by a vet six months ago just as routine and he was fine. She also contacted zany after she had collected Fred to ask after him, so I`m sure if she wasn`t moving house soon and hadn`t gotten a new puppy, she may well have kept hold of Fred.

But in the end, Fred has ended up in a safe, loving home, thanks to my friends efforts and I won`t be left wondering "what if"....had she not been able to get him for me. It just goes to show that sometimes, it`s worth persevering with these things and not losing hope. x

[amie]

I’m so relieved to hear that Fred is finally with you. What a lucky boy he is. He looks a lot younger than 2.

I am sure you will have lots of happy times together. Well done and glad there is a happy ending to this saga. I know it’s been a worrying time for you.

[racinghamster]

Hi aimi, thank you. Fred is loving his new home and when I transferred him from his mini duna to the Gabber Rex tank yesterday, I placed his Flying Saucer wheel in and he hopped on immediately and he adores it! While he was running about checking things out, he kept coming out to check that his wheel was still there! Poor wee man. I don`t know how long his previous wheel had been stuck in place like that, but all I can say is, I had to use wire cutters to get the wheel off the ferplast shelf stand clip. So that will give you an idea of how difficult it was to turn or remove. It amzaed me how well he looked having had not much stimulation in this duna cage. At least now he has a wheel, more floor space and bedding. I also introduced him to the Burgess dwarf hamster mix and he loves it, so I feed him this now as well as a small teaspoonful of the WAGG mix he was getting.

I`m planning to give him his ferplast shelf back, but will have to add blocks of pine to the shelf using screws adding legs to it as it won`t sit properly in the Gabber base gap between the base and the clear top. I was hoping it would just slide in and I could fit something under the other end to hold the shelf up, but it wasn`t secure enough. So I will give that a go and see if it works.

[TraceyH]

I'm glad he finally ended up with you in a loving home. He could so easily have ended up in the wrong hands or ended up with someone that kept him with the same stuck wheel.

That's a shame the shelf isn't secure in the new cage. When I had my other chinese in the zoozone1 I used to prop the shelf up with one of those round hut houses. Think I've still got a pic somewhere.

[jesselle]

Awww so happy Fred is in his new home x

[Munchalot]

Awww that is such fantastic news! I'm so glad it all worked out and Fred is now enjoying his new life with you. He really does look brilliant for his age, and such a hansom little old man.

[racinghamster]

Thanks guys and thanks Tracey for the image of your shelf! That is exactly what I tried to do, but for some reason, the little plastic clips that slide in between the cage parts didn`t seem to match up and if I pushed one end straight, the other side jotted slightly out? It was just a slight alignment issue more than anything. BUT.... this afternoon, I took a saw to two blocks of pine, then melted two holes in the ferplast shelf. I then screwed the wooden legs under the shelf and hoped for the best. Thankfully, I got it just right! I managed to slide the side clips between the cage parts, but with the two wooden pine legs attached, it has made the shelf more static, so it doesn`t wobble around. So it is now in place and has a fiddlestix wooden log ladder leading to the floor since the plastic clip on the shelf was broken away so I can`t use the ferplast ladder. So Fred now has his ferplast shelf back!

During the fitting of the shelf, I got pestered no end by a little fluff ball! I`ve never known such a nosey parker robo in my life! He`s like a puppy under your feet!!! I kept having to stop and say "Fred, will you move your little furry bum out the way"!!!

[icklemunch]

Hahaha love the nosey parker Fred. Bless him he sounds like such a little character

[Munchalot]

Aww bless him! He sounds absolutely adorable!

[Petite1]

Awww this is just a great thread, so happy Fred has a great forever homex