Foster hamsters

[Ria P]

All four hamsters of Bob's litter have been adopted already and Bob is going to get picked up later today. He's going to move in with a hamster loving family who has adopted before.

One of his brothers has moved into this 100x50 tank set up which i wanted to share a photo of. Its a good example of what can be achieved with a tank and i love this set up.

[Ria P]

The adoption centres of local petshops are overrun with Robos. There were five of them in one shop and i watched one poor soul trying to burrow in half an inch of woodchips with only a dirty flying saucer in the small tank. He has spent his whole life in there and was estimated to be 8 mths to a year old. Up for adoption since February and then the lockdown happened.
Guess what, i took him home and set him up in a bin cage. Not the biggest cage i've ever made but it has two wheels, a 6in Carefresh burrowing area, a sand bath and toys.
Plan is to have him adopted to a suitable forever home with all his new belongings plus a matching transport box.
I advertised him but people who wanted to adopt weren't suitable so i took him off that site and tried a more specific site.
Not sure what's happening, maybe i'm starting a Ria's Robo Retreat or maybe i'm just unable to walk past a hamster in need when i have an empty cage at home.
See what pans out but Freddie must be happier here than in the petshop adoption. He loves his wheels, runs like mad for ages then has a one minute rest where he lies on the wheel flat as a pancake with the face almost in the substrate then starts all over again.

[Ria P]

I currently have a young male Syrian foster hamster living in my Samla who is vocal which fascinates me.
He squawked and chattered like a guinea pig while in the car, screeched at me when i had to wake him up and this evening he grunted like a pig while playing in his sand pit.

Yes, Henry squeaked once and makes little noises while dreaming on the rare occasion, Edwina muttered on her first day and Gordon squeaks with annoyance when i don't put him back in his tank quickly enough but never a peep from either Percy or Ozzy.

I had a screeching foster dwarf once when i woke him by mistake but nothing in the same league as Rory's range of vocals.

Will he go quiet eventually or do some hamsters always express themselves vocally?

[Ria P]

The rescue is currently not operating and i saw this boy up for grabs on Gumtree. He lived in a small cage with a tiny wheel and will definitely go up for adoption once he comes out of his 28cm wheel........
That's him on arrival giving me this imploring look and a bit later taking ownership of his big wheel.

[Ria P]

I just set up the donated duna multy with things i already had and a bit of plastikote. It's a basic set up but fine for a dwarf in need of a safe place to stay.

[Ria P]

I got the Duna Multy for a homeless dwarf but wanted a cage for a homeless Syrian as well.
I used Ozzy's p@h xl for that purpose but do not get on with that cage at all because of its small doors.

So found another Gumtree bargain and got a Grosvenor.
I just set it up with things i already had. There's a sand bath/toilet under the corner shelf and a coconut hide plus a heap of toilet paper strips under the platform.

Like the Duna its a basic set up but covers the essentials.

[Ria P]

Just collected an unwanted and apparently hostile hamster who turned out to be a nameless and scared baby.
He looks like a mouse with his huge ears and pointy face so i'm trying to think of a name. I like Rodney and my OH suggested Stanley. Any suggestions?

[Ria P]

I've upgraded Rodney's wheel because the Trixie one is a bit squeaky and this one runs very smoothly. He may prefer the enclosed Trixie wheel though in which case i'd oil it to see if it makes a difference. He's a timid little guy and may feel exposed in the open wheel. We'll see and take it from there. Have also added more enrichment and places to climb on.

When i came home today i found Rodney's fresh food floating in his water bowl. Henry's not the only old boy around the house. My OH didn't see the water and thought it was a food bowl!

[Ria P]

Rodney loves the new wheel and can run even faster on this one. He also uses it like a swing, sits on it and swings from side to side.

He takes food from my fingers now with my hand inside his cage and i can stroke him gently.

It looks like he has a peeing corner near his house but i'll give him the full two weeks before i do any spot cleaning and install a corner toilet. Edwina next door will have to put up with a slightly smelly neighbour for a few more days.

He's only little so the small house is still big enough but i start to wonder if he has enough room in his nest. He must have a hoard in there going by him disappearing into his house with full pouches. He has also carried a whole shrimp cookie, a wooden chew stick and a whimzee into his house.

I so much enjoy watching him behave like a proper hamster doing all the hamstery things he wasn't able to do in his previous, awful cage.

He loves his sand bath under the corner shelf which has a piece of cork in front of it so its like a little sand cave.

I'm really looking forward to watch him grow and will do everything i can to help him become a confident hamster ready to move on to a suitable forever home.

[Ria P]

Gaining Rodney's trust will take a while but we're making progress.
He put his front paws on my hand tonight to get a piece of cucumber. I also took him out of his cage briefly in a mug to let him walk around on my lap. He sniffed me for a bit but kept going back to the safety of the mug so i'm keeping these sessions very short.
He's still quite nervous and jumpy but his natural curiosity definitely works in his favour.
He loves this little corner sandbath. Thinking that i'm doing him a favour, i put a larger one in last night. He sniffed at it but wouldn't go in it so i put the old one back in while he was asleep and there he is, happily chucking sand about again.
I've also exchanged his house for a bigger one which he likes. He even dug a back door tunnel as a short cut to the outside pee corner. He's an organized hamster.
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