New member, not new to hamsters!
Greetings.
Long time ago I used to be on the Hamster Hideout forum. After many years with out hamsters, I have found myself back in to it! A few weeks ago I adopted a special hybrid WW/RC dwarf hamster from PetSmart. They named him TJ which stands for Tilty Junior 😂. TJ had some sort of infection in his ear that caused him to be slightly, well, tilty.
By some coincidence, I work at the vet clinic TJ was treated at for his ear issues. I did not know we had even seen this hamster, however the clinic sees sick/injured critters from a few pet stores where I live. I was preparing for a couple of robo hamsters, but TJ has taken up home in the set up I made!
I’ve noticed since having him that I am certain he is completely deaf. This isn’t surprising due to his ear issues and head tilt. Due to this he is often unbalanced and so I’ve made a few adjustments to the set up to ensure he’s safe to move about if he tumbles lol. He also has no interest in a wheel, and I’m scared to use a ball. Any suggestions for exercise?
The set up is in my basement, and we run the air conditioning in the heat of the summer. I use a red reptile night lamp 12 hours per day to keep his enclosure 20-22 degrees. Is that sufficient?
There’s no knowing how long TJ has to live, as I’m certain it’s likely not going to be that of a usual dwarf hamster. He’s a very friendly and curious little dude, and he’s a very nice reintro into hamster ownership!
PS: sorry about the strange photos, the forum made me change the sizes drastically haha
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