Ground Rules for Taking Hamsters Out of the Cage to Play

Catherine Spark · 10-29-2009, 07:57 AM

My partner accidentally let Oakie escape today, because he put Oakie on a surface and turned his back for a moment. We got him back in less than a minute but it gave me a big scare. Afterwards he had great trouble admitting he had made a mistake, and then agreeing not to leave him unattended again.

He also does things like putting oakie on a cushion and flicking it so that oakie flies into the air and lands back down on the cushion. I've tried reasoning with him saying 'Fun for you or fun for him?' and he always says 'Fun for both of us'. And that we should assume he enjoys things if we can't tell he's not enjoying them. This logic is flawed - an anasthesia patient who experiences operation awareness can't move or speak and so the surgeons can't tell they're not enjoying the operation, but this doesn't mean they ARE enjoying it! He says he likes oakie, but I'm making too many rules and I'm too protective and he doesn't want to look after oakie or play with him if he has to follow all those rules.

He also said it should be ok for him to run around the floor, even if he gets into a tight corner, we could just wait for him to come out. I said no because he could just go to sleep or get stuck, and he said, "Well, he'd come back next morning or something". Grrrr.

Eventually after much argument we came up with a basic set of ground rules for taking oakie out to play:

1. Be gentle
- No throwing/tossing
- No pushing/shoving
- No dropping (as opposed to him jumping)
- No experimentation on him*

2. Don’t let him out of your sight
- On a raised surface, hard or soft
- In the bath
- On the floor of any room

3. Oakie must always be immediately:
- Visible**
- Retrievable without moving anything

* Example: Building obstacle courses and guiding him through without forcing him is Ok. But pinning him down on his back and watching him struggle to get up is not (he has never done this one, thankfully).

** Except when in clothing or in the bathroom with all doors shut. When not visible, stay completely still until he is visible, to avoid crushing him by accident.

souffle · 10-29-2009, 10:24 AM

I don't think he should be bouncing Oakie in the air like that. He may land badly and fracture a bone. Hamster bones are needle thing and they are easily injured. The can also bruise and get brain haoemorhages is handled badly.
Hamsters are not small people in skins tell him and do not have human emotions so he will not enjoy activities that are not natural to him. Things like climbing, sniffing, digging, investigating things are things he will like to do because that is what he would do naturally and he can assimilate information gained from these experiences where are bouncing and dropping are just plain scarey.
Make sure he is supervised with the hammie and teach him the correct way to handle and play with him or else ban him from playing with him roughly.

Bunsey · 10-29-2009, 10:31 AM

your partner is being very irresponsible. I had to re-read that to check you'd said "partner" and not "son" because he is behaving like a child would with a hamster.

Souffle is right - hamsters don't enjoy activities that are unnatural to them. When would they ever fly in the air in the wild - when they've been caught by a bird of prey?!

It's not safe to let him play on the floor and go into dangerous places. Tell your OH that he could chew through wires (which is true). The thought of the precious TV et al being damaged is usually enough to scare a man

Catherine Spark · 10-29-2009, 11:28 AM

Thanks for supporting Oakie and me in this! Luckily my partner's been more reasonable this evening (evening mellowness?), and we took the food bowl out (with oakie in it) and he stroked oakie's full pouches. I told him what you two said about hamsters enjoying natural things - and that gave me loads of ideas for fun things for us to do together with Oakie, which he would also enjoy. My partner is quite childlike in several ways like that, and he hasn't had a pet before (not that that is an excuse).

Oakie is gutsy even for a hamster, which I suppose can lead to the false impression of him liking human things that are unnatural. We sometimes let him drop off our hands (his own choice - we never push or force him), but only onto a soft landing such as the bed, and not from any great height (normally 30cm or less). He will voluntarily climb up our arms to repeat this process, with quiet clicks all the while. Thanks also for making me laugh, bunsey, with the precious TV comment!

souffle · 10-29-2009, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catherine Spark

He will voluntarily climb up our arms to repeat this process, with quiet clicks all the while.

The clicks are the sound of an upset or angry hamster. You should be very careful if a hamster is clicking at you as this is when they are most likely to bite.

Catherine Spark · 10-29-2009, 12:37 PM

Oh...I thought that was teeth chattering meant upset and angry, and that quiet little clicks meant they were content? He's hasn't bitten yet, and he clicks in his cage when he gets food, and when he's exploring the bathroom or new surroundings, and when he's given titbits through the bars...?

souffle · 10-29-2009, 12:52 PM

Oh I thought you meant the clicks were like teeth clicks. None of ours click in any other way. Sometimes they make a squeaky, high pitched sort of wiff noise when they are calling for a mate

Catherine Spark · 10-29-2009, 01:21 PM

Oakie hasn't squeaked yet, except for when he was burrowing - and that might have been a sneeze...his clicks are a bit like tapping a fingernail very softly against a desk.

danielle · 10-29-2009, 05:13 PM

I'm glad for Oakie's sake that you guys have got some ground rules now! It doesn't fill me with confidence in the male of the species!
As for ham noises- mine make the high pitched type noises you've mentioned Souffle- it's good to know now what they're for

My Syrians also make lots of snorty, snuffly noises across the room to each other. They seem to take it in turns to be noisy/ stop what they're doing, prick up ears and meerkat onto back legs. Fun to watch

Catherine Spark · 10-30-2009, 02:36 AM

Danielle - have you noticed a vocabulary that you can match to different behaviours? I'm still learning hamster-speak, but Oakie is silent, apart from the clicks. As of yesterday, my partner has started to work on changing his ways with Oakie - he even joined here (not sure if he'll get round to posting). And he was gentle and listened to my advice. So hopefully the ground rules have helped him start! We have them pinned up on the wall above Oakie's cage now.