Meet Ares - Page 7

Ria P · 07-20-2022, 08:53 AM

That looks ever so natural! Love it. Is that the dried grass you're using on top of the substrate? Looks too fine to be hay.

Stanza · 07-20-2022, 10:43 AM

Looks fabulous, what a wonderful home, full of places to dig and explore

Engel · 07-20-2022, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ria P

That looks ever so natural! Love it. Is that the dried grass you're using on top of the substrate? Looks too fine to be hay.

I got inspiration from the Steppes in Asia which is where robos are found. It is actually meadow hay and the finest I've found. Having the pigs means I have sampled many types and brands. I've found nicer hay in bigger bales. The small bags you can get have stalker hay normally. This is 'vale bale' which is marketed for horses and comes in 12kg bales. Hay box do a 2.5kg box of hay and both their meadow and soft Timothy are suitable for hamsters in my opinion. No sharp pointy bits. I used the soft Timothy when Cyril (pig) was recovering from surgery as he can't have meadow hay as it irritates him but the normal Timothy blend was too stalky, but that was before I found vale and he seems ok on small amounts mixed in with his Timothy. Oxbows orchard hay is quite soft too and they do that in small bags too albeit expensive. P@h have a meadow hay which is soft and could be used. I think it was the 1kg bag that's £5 or something like that. Honestly if anyone wants a list of soft hay and where to get it from I can happily make one.

Engel · 08-05-2022, 02:37 PM

Small steps. Ares has taken his first treat from my hand; so proud of him taking that step. He's been on the verge for a while now, coming over and sniffing what I have, but not eating it until I've put it down. It goes to show that we shouldn't/can't compare hamsters owned by one another as no two are the same. Niko was taking food in his first week with me, Ares has taken 6 weeks to get to the same point. Does this mean he didn't like me? No. Does this mean I've done something wrong or something is wrong with him? Also no. Each hamster is individual.

(Pictures to follow)

Ria P · 08-05-2022, 03:18 PM

And don't we have to move ever so slowly. Our hands i mean. It's like slowing down to somewhere between slow motion and standstill when approaching a Robo.

cloudy · 08-06-2022, 12:18 AM

This is wonderful news! It is so lovely Ares trusts you.

LunaTheHamster1 · 08-07-2022, 03:49 AM

Awesome, I think it took about a year with Comet.

Engel · 09-30-2022, 04:55 PM

I've been so busy I haven't had chance to update this thread. Little Ares is doing well and is finally 30g. He is a very curious and will follow me around the cage while I'm spot cleaning or moving things about. Probably supervising to make sure I don't break anything.

We have a routine now; if he's awake when I open the cage, he'll stand on top of his reptile cave and wait for a treat. He's still no quite there with being picked up by hand but will happily go into a container and be lifted that way.

He has fallen in love with whimzee chews and seems a very happy chap. It may sound odd, but I think he knows his name. He doesn't react when I'm talking but as soon as I say his name he stops and turns around and you can see his ears moving and listening.

He really likes foraging but hasn't shown much interest in the sprays. He'd much rather attack the whimzee.

cloudy · 10-01-2022, 01:33 AM

Aww such gorgeous pictures. It is lovely to hear how happy he is.

Ria P · 10-01-2022, 02:13 AM

Lovely to get an update on Ares. It's not odd that he knows his name. Impressive progress considering he's a Robo.