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Old 01-25-2020, 04:41 PM   #1
VOESSY
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Post Mocha's thread

A proper introduction of my boy and where I will update on our progress in the future.


This is Mocha.

I believe he was born beginning of December 2019 which would make him about 2 months old. He is my first hamster and I decided to start to learn more about them as I recently lost my two beloved cats very closely together, both to car accidents. I am a massive animal lover and I don't feel right without them close to me. So to avoid murder road I thought, hamster.

I dove into researching everything from species, behaviors, needs and wants and anything else related. I renovated a bureau to suit his initial needs as a 'baby enclosure', and built most of his housing/nests, tunnels and the wheel myself as I thought the shops lacked in quality on most items.

I looked into rescues and other facilities to adopt in my area but had trouble making a good connection. I was in a local pet shop (which I felt I wanted to avoid to get the hamster from) looking at supplies and inspiration and I noticed a little, terrified curled up hamster in one of the cages. I could not stand it and asked how long he'd been in the shop, which was two weeks. I decided he was coming home with me.

Today we've spent a week together and I believe he's doing very well. I've mostly left him to settle in in peace, only talking to him and watching his explorations. I have occasionally offered him little treats and he isn't too shy about taking them off me and sniffing my hand. He did nip my knuckle once, but it was likely because I smelled like food, definitely not a vicious bite. His ears tend to perk up as soon as he hears my voice, but not hiding.

He seems to be quite cheeky and curious. He loves his 28 cm wheel and runs in it more or less all night. He does have a habit of dropping little poops or dropping a piece of food in there and it makes a rattling which has become a bit of a routine of me waking up to wait for him to get off so I can poke it out. (unless he runs fast and long enough for it to fly out on its own ).

He is an excellent burrower and at first, he decided to make his primary sleeping quarters in the very front of the enclosure in the tunnel, making one of the sections his bed and the other food storage/toilet which was very amusing, but I was hoping he would later settle in the multi-chamber house, and luckily he has after shoving his cheeks full of bedding and hay to move in properly.
He is also a bit of a food hoarder so I'm keeping careful track of amounts in his enclosure. I do spread it out to encourage foraging, except for special treats which I put on his little birch platform. (he knows to look there as soon as he's out and about for the night which is amusing to watch).

I am currently building his bigger enclosure which will be his permanent home and contain everything he could need and want for. I look forward to setting it all up and enjoying spending time with him and get to know him further. I'll take it slow with taming but will later on free roam him in my hamster safe room.

I love him to bits.

Onwards!

First night in his forever home.


Mocha mugshot.


Baby quarters.




VIDEOS

Attacking millet
https://i.imgur.com/q8mafdv.mp4

Finding cornflake
https://i.imgur.com/YvSI0Vb.mp4

Attacking alfalfa
https://i.imgur.com/HAz79MX.mp4

Making his home
https://i.imgur.com/n979R6J.mp4
Music: Royalty Free Music by Bensound | Stock Music
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Old 01-25-2020, 04:55 PM   #2
Corbeens
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Default Re: Mocha's thread

Not to sound dramatic but i audibly gasped when I saw that enclosure i'm so jealous right now :P. In the far future I'd love to actually make an enclosure from scratch but a bin cage is going to have to be my first step! I can tell Mocha is going to have a spoiled life <3
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Old 01-25-2020, 05:04 PM   #3
VOESSY
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Default Re: Mocha's thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Corbeens View Post
Not to sound dramatic but i audibly gasped when I saw that enclosure i'm so jealous right now :P. In the far future I'd love to actually make an enclosure from scratch but a bin cage is going to have to be my first step! I can tell Mocha is going to have a spoiled life <3
Haha!
Thank you, I had a lot of fun making it and what is in it. I tend to go all in.
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Old 01-27-2020, 08:48 AM   #4
TinyBubbles
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Default Re: Mocha's thread

Oh that face!!! I might be in love with Mocha as well!
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Old 01-27-2020, 09:36 AM   #5
VOESSY
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Originally Posted by TinyBubbles View Post
Oh that face!!! I might be in love with Mocha as well!
Oh, it's the favorite part of my evening when he pokes that mug out of his house all sleepy-eyed.
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Old 02-02-2020, 02:27 PM   #6
VOESSY
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So some time has passed with Mocha and we're getting somewhere.
Compared to his previous behavior he has come very far. He used to curl up in a corner, hissing and biting out of fear from being handled badly in his former place of stay.

He came home with me 2 weeks ago today and so far I've mainly spoken to him daily, watched him in his enclosure and offered him treats. He's still super cautious but accepts treats from my fingers and open hand sometimes. He seems comfortable with the general presence of me which is a win. I usually see him around 10 or 11 PM through most of the night, sometimes he'll be around 'getting ready for bed' as I wake up between 7 and 8 AM, which is super nice. I look forward to some more trust, hopefully happily munching away in my palm soon.

I found a beautiful woven grass basket in a second-hand shop and decided to upgrade his sandbath.


Sandbath with DIY bendy bridges.


In his enclosure together with a new coconut hideout.
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Old 02-02-2020, 03:12 PM   #7
Vierville
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Default Re: Mocha's thread

Mocha has a really nice house! You've done a great job! And that picture of him asleep is just so sweet!
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Old 02-02-2020, 03:23 PM   #8
VOESSY
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Originally Posted by Vierville View Post
Mocha has a really nice house! You've done a great job! And that picture of him asleep is just so sweet!
Thank you, I appreciate that!
He was a tiny little thing then, I feel like he grew like crazy already.
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Old 02-02-2020, 07:57 PM   #9
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Default Re: Mocha's thread

What kind of wheel do you have? I've never seen one like it. And that sand bath is so cute.
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Old 02-03-2020, 12:58 AM   #10
VOESSY
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Originally Posted by sushi_78 View Post
What kind of wheel do you have? I've never seen one like it. And that sand bath is so cute.
Thank you.
The wheel is a DIY and my own design. I initially had a plastic silent runner but I didn't like it much, so I decided to build my own in elm and hazelnut wood. It's quite massive as it is 28 cm and takes up a lot of space in this enclosure (but will fit perfectly in his bigger one), I figured, go big or don't go since Mocha will never outgrow it. It runs totally silent apart from his little paws in it, it's my favorite noise.
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Last edited by VOESSY; 02-03-2020 at 01:07 AM.
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hamster, enclosure, food, home, making, decided, night, long, thought, settle, avoid, dropping, shop, quarters, baby, runs, wheel, amusing, treats, attacking, make, bit, mocha, house, storage/toilet

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