Blacky's Thread - The Black Spanish Syrian Hamster

[Pebbles82]

I sometimes think it depends on the time of day/how active they are at certain times, as to how easy they are to pet After 10pm they can be very whizzy!

[AprilPearl]

Really enjoyed those videos of Blacky - and Thor (what a gorgeous dog! And a great name, too).

Seems as though Blacky is very comfortable with you. It's lovely to see him happily being stroked by you, and eating peas with you too. In that last video, he was just being active! Sometimes hamsters have bursts of energy but he definitely wasn't frightened of you or anything. I love watching them when they are in a zippy mood.

With the treats, I find the opposite! The more treats I give Mushu, the longer he sticks around eating and then begging for more. Maybe if you give small treats he won't fill up his pouches so quickly?

[Hamsterita]

Thank you cypher, Skb, BP, Serendipity and AP! To be honest I'm really happy because I couldn't believe that he would improve so much with his confidence


Cypher he runs away but he never comes back for more treats. Maybe he isn't greedy

BP I wouldn't say that he is happy to have me cuddling him... but at least now he doesn't look too worried about it Maybe we'll get there. I hope I pass the exam and go back to Madrid by the end of the month, so Thor will have extra cuddles. I also give him the dried chicken that Blacky didn't want anymore so Thor was very pleased

Serendipity I usually take him out at 12 o'clock and at 8 o'clock, at night he usually is more grumpy and not so active. In the morning he is more hyper. He usually is sleeping and I call for him to wake him up and give him his veggies. He doesn't wake up naturally til 2 o'clock and sometimes he is still awake when I wake up at 8, but not always.

AP I never give him enough treats to fill his pouches, I give him two to five sunflower seeds tops and his fresh veggies that I don't let him pouch

----

I wanted to show you these videos, I think that I shoot them on Wednesday. I really love them, Blacky was very brave and it looks like he loved his time out.

He was in his bed and I felt like he wanted to explore more, because he only wanted to run to the edges, so I put him in the main corridor. At the beginning he wasn't very sure and he run to hide under the radiator (don't worry, I checked that there's no gaps at all there)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR-Cb5JaAGw


After a while he decided to come out, he still was a little bit unsure of roaming around, but he relaxed, and groomed himself, and then he started the rascal party!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W9bM6zk36M


He keept going around for a while, and then he wanted even more, so he started to run obsessively to me, trying to go to new (and forbidden) places
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9d69E4RRfs


So I put him back in his cage, and I thought that he was going to go to his nest, as he usually does, but he surprised me and while I was cleaning his potty he took a walk, he even climbed to his hammock, and there he spent a looooong time chewing his treat stick. I thought that he didn't like it anymore, because it was untouched for a long time (I think that he is a little bit gourmet and he only likes super fresh food/treats)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pk97Y3LoeE

(all the video is the same, I think that the part where he looks even more cute is at min 1:25 and ahead)

I stopped the video because I was tired of holding the phone in an awkward position. When he finished, I thought that he may stay, but no, it was too much already. The little rascal tried to beg for more treats, and after his useless effort he went straight to his nest again!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkw2o6tEFgY

Excuse me for showing you his balls all the time

[Coco61]

Hamsterita I love the fact that you don't let Blackie pouch his fresh veg. I started off holding veg treats for Mocho but gave up when......he discovered that if he worked his way down the veg he would find the point where I was holding it and tug and tug and tug....until I let go! I had to because it was so funny!

[Drago]

Lovely to get to see little blacky again, I love the tiny tears in his ears. I think it gives them character! I love that little carrot wedge dish you have, I want that for my Duncan. It just looks so cute it was so cute when he climbed all about on you!

[cypher]

Aw! Blacky looks so sweet hiding under the radiator bless him He does look a bit nervous in all that space but he's being so brave & beginning to enjoy it, don't they always want to get to the forbidden places lol!
Lovely to see him out in the cage nibbling his treat stick, maybe he worked up an appetite with all that free roaming

[AprilPearl]

Blacky is getting confident, isn't he? I really love watching hamsters free roaming. I think they enjoy it so much! In that last video, it was erm... VERY obvious that he is a boy as he walked away into his house. Reminds me of all the male hams I have ever owned!

[BorisPasha]

Great seeing Blacky out and about enjoying himself. I really enjoyed wathcing his videos. They do like to groom don't they. To be honest though I'm glad they don't need to rely on mirrors to make themselves look good because I doubt we'd get near a mirror to do the basics if they did lol.

He looks happy in the videos exploring but they always want to get the place you are trying to stop them going and the more you pick them up to move them the more they want to get there and that game always seems more interesting than playing with any toys that have been put out for them too

Good to see him enjoying his treat stick too, he looked very happy and cute in it

Originally Posted by Hamsterita

Excuse me for showing you his balls all the time

He's just a very proud man-ham keeping cool in the warm weather

[SKB_Hamsters]

It was wonderful watching Blacky enjoying himself during his playtimes - it was so sweet watching him having a groom! Lovely to also see him chewing on his treat stick before returning to his house! He looks very happy and brave as well as very handsome!

[Thin Lizzy]

An absolute joy watching Blacky, he oozes confidence.
Love him eating his treat stick, so adorable.