Newbie and Have a couple questions

missduoglide · 04-16-2015, 05:14 PM

My sister bought myself and my 3 sons a WW hammy on Sunday. I built him a bin cage using a 110 qt bin.
I read/heard you needed to keep your new furry friend in it's cage for 2 weeks with out disturbing him so he could get used to his new home. I have also read/heard that 3-4 days is fine. I know they are nocturnal and won't be up much during the day. I have noticed that his food bowl isn't going down much and neither is his water. But I know he runs on his saucer at night, I peek in the kids room before I go to bed to check on him. He doesn't chew any of his toys and nothing is out of place in the morning. I guess my question is, is this normal? When will it change? And how do I go about waking him up for taming sessions? I certainly don't want to stress the little guy out.
I did remove his igloo this morning and slowly woke him up. Let him smell my hand and when he ran into his tube, I picked it up and let him walk between both my hands holding each end of the tube. Hope that makes sense. Put his igloo back after about 8-10 mins and let him go back to sleep.
Any taming advice would be appreciated. I have read such great things about the WW's and yes, I am aware he is a hybrid as he was purchased from a pet store. But I don't care, he is SUPER CUTE!!! I am also aware of the diabetes issue and have made sure not to buy any sugary treats. Speaking of treats, he won't eat those either

Maybe as time goes on?
I have big plans of expanding his bin, but if the little buggar isn't going to be using the space, I don't see the point in spending the money.

Thanks in advance!!!

**kyrilliondaemon** · 04-17-2015, 05:48 PM

I think I've just posted on your other thread with taming advice

As long as the food bowl is going down I'd not worry. He must be eating a bit and some just prefer to not eat many treats and to eat their proper mix instead

He's also clearly exploring the cage as he's running, you must just have the rare neat hamster - most hams rearrange or chew things fairly promptly but there are a couple of oddballs out there who keep their cages tidy

Yours must be one of the oddballs

It doesn't mean he's not using the space though, just that he's happy with how you've laid it out for him.

missduoglide · 04-17-2015, 06:01 PM

Thanks for replying to both of my threads. I has posted one last night and couldn't find it. Thought maybe I did some thing wrong and it didn't go through. So I posted again this morning. Sorry for the double post. I am sure it gets annoying.

**kyrilliondaemon** · 04-17-2015, 06:35 PM

Your first few posts have to be approved by a moderator so that'll be why the thread didn't show. I found different stuff to answer in each thread so I don't mind

If I'd not liked seeing both threads I'd have just ignored one of them

Thin Lizzy · 04-18-2015, 06:07 AM

It's absolutely fine to have double posts.
I recommend the tissue trick, put a tissue up your sleeve for a couple of hours and then place the tissue in the cage, your hammie will sniff it and even better if he tears it up and uses it in his bed area. This let's your hammie know your smell and will help with being around him and the taming itself.