New addition to the hamily!

DanniDorrito · 12-23-2014, 06:35 PM

So I like to visit the pet store every time I'm out food shopping (Maybe once a month, if that).
I thought I had enough willpower just to look at the adorable little fluffs and maybe pick up something for my little guy back home, I was SO wrong!

I came across this little girl alone in her tank, the store had labelled her a Calico female but immediately I saw her white band, and calico usually means tortoiseshell. I fell in love with her.

She is absolutely tiny! I think shes only about 8 weeks old, Marbles was 3 months when I got him and he was definitely a lot bigger than what she is now.

Shes currently settling in, we'll leave her alone for the next 24hrs to help her adjust. Shes had a big day today! Sadly shes in the smaller cage for now, my boyfriend is planning to build a stack of cages for the two we have and the planned third we want to get next year. So hopefully she will be out and in her larger home sometime in January.

No name for her just yet, still need to figure out something which suites her

4Taylor20 · 12-23-2014, 06:39 PM

very cute!! i want another soo badly, but i need to control myself lol.. not very easy when i have 75$ petsmart gift card burning a hole in my pocket.. i wanna rescue all the hams!! i cant even stop at the pet store anymore because i get so sad not leaving with a ham! i have to get my hams food from fleet farm (farm stuff version of walmart) so im not tempted!

pixiehollow · 12-23-2014, 07:27 PM

She is beautiful! I couldn't leave without one today either x

Nancy's Hamsters · 12-23-2014, 09:50 PM

Calico means three colors which she has. She is a Black Tortoiseshell banded. Good luck with her Danni

DanniDorrito · 12-23-2014, 11:48 PM

Thanks all,

Shes settling in nicely, very hyper and inquisitive haha. Shes still a little skittish and gets startled which is to be expected, we're leaving her to settle down and get used to her surroundings.

She loves her wheel, shes rarely off it now she has figured it out! Shes also going to the toilet straight in the sandbath which was a nice surprise.

Shes certainly a lot feistier than Marbles, can't wait to get to know her more.

Still no name yet, thinking maybe Pebbles, still unsure though!

cypher · 12-24-2014, 12:21 AM

She's really adorable! Congrats!

Willow Wisp · 12-24-2014, 01:41 AM

I'm not surprised you couldn't resist her, she's gorgeous, your very lucky, it's my dream to have a little female tortoishell

Pygmypuff · 12-24-2014, 03:47 AM

She is just gorgeous! Wow! Congratulations on your new addition

Thin Lizzy · 12-24-2014, 07:32 AM

So cute and adorable!
A tortoiseshell hamster is something I haven't seen in a while.
You were meant to get her!

DanniDorrito · 12-24-2014, 03:07 PM

Hey everyone,

The little girl is doing fine, shes had a good nights sleep and has decided the TV is a better fit than the house to sleep in. Shes small enough to fit herself, a little bedding/substrate and food/treats into the TV for now.

She happily takes sunflower seeds from me and will climb up onto her bridge and meerkat for more. She doesn't pay much attention to the hand if its in the cage, definitely not scared by it which is good. When I first put it in she does like to come over and nibble it, I think to check it out and taste it to check if its food. Doesn't hurt and its not often she does it so I don't think its a warning.

Shes ok with being touched if you go slowly and gently, I'm trying not to push my luck though, shes still getting used to her surroundings and the new smells/noises. I've tried scooping her up with 2 hands while still in the cage and letting her climb off, she was fine with that if I am gentle and slow, so I think I'll be doing that a few times each day to get her used to me.

Digging around in the sawdust for scattered food.

*Sniff, sniff, sniff* She has a very cute marking on her chin. Her underbelly is completely white.

Shes a little brave, came to check out the camera.

Getting comfy in her current 'nest', its smaller than the house so she must feel more secure inside of it.

Substrate/Bedding - Food/Treat - Hamster - and plenty of space for more!

Marbles would have been lucky if he could get his giant nuts into this TV anymore.
He was very hyper last night when he heard all of the commotion, he would freeze every time he heard her making noise.
Don't think he's overly keen to be sharing his time now haha.

We let him sniff the travel carrier we brought her in but we didnt want to stress either one of them out by meeting or anything.
Marbles was definitely eager to meet her, he eventually calmed down, we had him out of his cage for a good 2-3 hours (Plenty of breaks inbetween)

We are definitely not planning on breeding or anything of the sort, sorry Marbles.

We plan to head to Ikea after Christmas and find a large shelving unit we can convert into multiple hamster homes, it'll be the hamster hotel or hamster apartment block haha!
Will need lots of plexiglass/some grills for ventilation and will be looking up a ton of other peoples DIY cages to make sure we get it right.
We will need at least 3 homes for our current two and hopefully a third addition in the new year

We hope to have the setup ready by January!

Still no name for the girl yet, I like Pebbles but my boyfriend isn't so keen. We'll keep discussing to find something we both like.