Introducing my calico!

CalHamster · 08-19-2016, 08:25 AM

Hello everyone! I'm here to introduce my female calico syrian hamster. I got her about 2 weeks ago from a pet store in the bay area of California called Redhill Pet Center. Initially, I was looking for a tortoiseshell, but I thought she looked like a great hamster (I thought her color pattern was cool, too).

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She's a white-banded calico, a specific tri-color patterning in which there is a some permutation of three distinct colors in the fur: black, white, and orange. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that means she's a black hamster with the white banded and yellow gene present? She was born on 6/19/16 in Santa Cruz to a Tortoiseshell mother and yellow father, as the breeder told me.

She's two months old today, and still acts pretty skittish. She responds to my scent and voice positively, always running to the bars and sniffing loudly through them until I give her a treat. She lets me pet her, but she has never let me hold her, and any attempts seem to distress her and she instantly jumps out of your hand. Is this normal for a hamster that young? She's my first hamster, so I'm not sure how long it normally takes for them be comfortable being held. Is there anything I can do to make her tame and want to be held?

I'm feeding her a mix of Oxbow hamster food, a seed blend, and sun salad.

I made her cage, simply cutting out the top and a side, then fastening small animal metal fence with nuts and bolts with washers around the edges. See pictures below. I think that's it

-JP

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**Bec** · 08-19-2016, 11:51 AM

Welcome to HC and welcome to little calico.

In terms of taming, one of things which really worked with our rescue ham, Pluto, is having a non scented tissue up your sleeve so it has your scent on then ripping it up and putting inside the cage. We had a very skittish hamster, jumping out of our hands as youve described....and all I can advise is small steps, each hamster goes at their own pace. The 'tissue trick' really worked for us.

There is lots of taming advice on the forum.

Once again, welcome to HC.

Pygmypuff · 08-19-2016, 11:59 AM

Hello and welcome to HC!

Calico is just gorgeous! Looking forward to seeing more pictures

AmityvilleHams · 08-19-2016, 12:24 PM

For food I'd actually recommend Higgins Sunburst instead of Oxbow food.You have to combine it in a 60/40 ratio with Mazuri Rat and Mouse lab blocks for it to be appropriately nutritious,but the end result is as extremely high quality mix that is far better than any single storebought food in the US

Higgins is actually the best in the US,and it can be bought online or you can get it in store from Petco or Petsupermarket.Petsupermarket has the best deal for Higgins though at around $6-7,but for Mazuri the cheapest way to get it is ordering it online.It sounds way more expensive,but it is definitely worth it for the quality as well as how long the food lasts(over 2-3 months).

In terms of taming,2 weeks isn't much time at all so don't give up yet

Don't be surprised if she either never lets you hold her or takes more than a few months to become fully tame,as that is perfectly normal for hamsters.

Gimleyand Meeko · 08-19-2016, 12:45 PM

Hello and welcome to the forum

What hamster wheel do you use

Golden_Syrian_Hammmies · 08-19-2016, 01:01 PM

She's beautiful indeed

!

cypher · 08-19-2016, 09:28 PM

Welcome to HC

Calico is lovely & it sounds as though you've done well with taming, it is quite normal for a young ham to be a bit skittish & not like being held much, they don't really like to sit still for long having way too much energy! As she seems fine with your hands & is taking treats it doesn't sound as though she's that scared so spending some time with her in the bath or a play pen so she can run around on you to begin with would probably help, let her run over your hands until she's comfortable with that & she should come round to being held.

Thin Lizzy · 08-20-2016, 01:16 AM

Hiya & Welcome to HC! Calico is so adorable and I love her colouring.

CalHamster · 08-21-2016, 12:11 AM

Thank you all for the replies!

As for her wheel, she uses the green saucer that can be seen above. I like it because it doesn't cause her back to arch, and she loves running on it. I'll keep up trying to tame her by putting my hand in her cage and petting her every night.

In terms of food, next time I order I was leaning towards transitioning her onto a diet primarily of lab blocks. I was planning on ordering the Teklad 8640 blocks and supplementing with the Higgins Sunburst (thanks to AmityvilleHams for mentioning the mix). Thoughts on this?

Finally, she still does not have a name. My roommate wants to call her "Cali" because she's a calico. Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

cypher · 08-21-2016, 12:20 AM

You would have to calculate your nutrient levels quite carefully I think if you go for mixing lab blocks with the Higgins Sunburst, the blocks are too high in protein so you'd need to balance that out. Not sure of the other nutrient levels without checking.
A lot of people do use lab blocks but personally I don't like the fact that feeding them doesn't encourage natural foraging behaviour, it's a personal choice really though.

I like Cali as a name for her.