Raphael (Raffy's) Adventures - Page 6

Pebbles82 · 04-30-2022, 10:43 AM

I used to do that with the wood trixie wheel but it won't work on the Plaza cage due to the curvy bars at the top. Well it might but the wheel would be quite a long way from the side of the cage and then it might as well be standing on substrate. Also not sure if the roof bars would hold - they might pop out of the side strips.

Raffy is in the habit of enthusiastically climbing in the snooze cube to come out every night now. I weighed him tonight by putting the scales in the playpen with cucumber on top so he sat still long enough on them. I knew he was small but he only weighs 95g! Double checked it - still 95g. I think he needs fattening up a bit.

A tiny bit of progress in the playpen tonight - getting used to my hand. And had a sniff of my fingertips this evening. I then decided to wear a glove so I could do it more confidently without hard nips. Of course he didn't nip when I had the glove on. Anyway he ventured onto my hand with his front paws, so that's progress.

cloudy · 05-01-2022, 11:42 PM

It is so clever the way he has learned to go in the cube when he wants to come out. He picked that up very quickly.

Ria P · 05-02-2022, 12:11 AM

He is a lightweight! You'll soon feed him up.

That's the thing with rescue hamsters, we don't know what happened to them in the past.

If he was a child's pet he was probably woken up and grabbed. Often parents don't even give hamsters time to settle in because they only relate to their child's needs of wanting to play with the new toy soon as it gets home.

He'll just take a little longer to learn to trust and appreciate you but no doubt, he'll get there.

Pebbles82 · 05-02-2022, 04:01 AM

Yes he is definitely a little jumpy about hands. He flinches. If he doesn't see the hand (ie a stroke from the back, he just accepts it). But he did sniff my fingers last night and seemed happy doing so.

It's fairly normal for a young untame syrian to be a bit jumpy though and he hasn't even been here two weeks yet. But I agree, we have no idea what happened before. Although it's interesting that he is so unfazed by being out in his cage with the lights on and looking at people through bars. As if he is used to it.

Ria P · 05-02-2022, 05:23 AM

That's good that he's unfazed by the environment so it's really only hands he needs to get comfortable with.

I think once he realizes that he won't get grabbed hard and that you are gentle with him, he'll be alright with hands.

Like you say, he's only been around for a couple of weeks.

Coco61 · 05-02-2022, 10:36 AM

Snooze cubes are an excellent way of getting a hamster out of a cage. Maestro loved going into his even though he was hand tame. Raffy is showing good sense!
He is on the small side but could well fatten up a bit but he could always be small. That could be down to his genetics. Small parents. It will be something of a change for you Serendipity!

Pebbles82 · 05-02-2022, 12:09 PM

Thank you Coco. I need to buy some more bulldog clips as can’t seem to find any (to clip over the second smaller entrance hole while carrying him in the snooze cube).

Raffy was so enthusiastic to get in the snooze cube the other night he was trying to climb to the roof to get into it (I'd left it on top of the cage). I was a bit late with feeding last night and had been doing something upstairs. When I came down and he heard my voice - his head popped out of his house. He is the first hamster I've had who actually willingly comes out when he hears me! And is more interested in coming out than eating his veg. He is literally trying to get out of the cage door if you open it to put the veg in, so I let him out in the snooze cube straight away (sometimes when he has the veg in his pouches - he either keeps it there or eats it when he gets in the playpen). I'm not sure if he is just dead keen to get out or dead keen to get to the trixie wheel - which he runs better in. Apart from his size, his personality reminds me of Newt a lot - even down to doing the same speedy circuits in the playpen in between jumping in and out of the wheel.

Anyway I thought there was some progress in the playpen (at first!) as he sniffed my non gloved finger tips again and looked positive and walked over my gloved hand. He still lets you stroke him on the back if he can't see your hand, but if he sees it he jerks round as if to nip. He is definitely a chewy hamster. Although I can't get into the playpen with him, the last couple of nights I've sat on a stool next to it so I'm a bit lower and put one leg and foot in. He was very interested in my shoe and climbed all over it and chewed various bits of it, including the laces and walked up as far as my ankle. So I guessed he would just nibble or chew anything!

So I get him out in the snooze cube, but when putting him back I do it in the rat tube. ie wait till he's gone in it then pick it up with my hands over each end).

Last night though he seemed a bit more like he was not happy being in the tube and removed from the playpen and when I put one end of the tube into his cage for him to walk out, instead of just walking out as usual, he turned as he exited the tube and bit my knuckles! Not hard, it was a nip again but it made me jump and I uttered and expletive! Maybe that scared him or upset him because he wasn't running in his wheel last night.

See what today brings. He has at last taken some of the paper bedding so has probably built an actual nest now.

Anyway he seems slightly jekyll and hide. Sometimes he is very sweet and affectionate, other times slightly aggressive. Hopefully this is just him settling in (it will be two weeks on Saturday) and getting tamed and he has maybe had bad experience with hands.

cloudy · 05-04-2022, 01:08 AM

It is so nice he responds to your voice. I think that is really positive. I love reading this updates.

Ria P · 05-05-2022, 01:04 PM

Clive used to do that at first. I could stroke him sometimes but when he saw my hand he'd flick his head round like he was going to snap. I always approach him so he can see me and find that this really helps.
He's still a highly strung hamster and a bit all over the place but has calmed down a lot.

I think Raffy will take a bit longer than the others to feel confident and comfortable with humans. Rodney and Clive were like that. It took them weeks and Clive isn't quite there yet. Like with Raffy, out of cage time is the key.

Makes taming so much easier when we can give them something they want. He'll soon make the connection between you and out of cage time and the rest will fall into place.

Pebbles82 · 05-05-2022, 02:55 PM

I think it will take longer too. He is no show tonight which is the first time. Looks like he's well and truly buried himself in his house with substrate blocking the door and piled in front of it. He's using his wheel less at night as well. So I think he's settling in.

Usually he's been clamouring at the bars by 9 or 10pm. It might be something to do with the fact I had a peak in his house for the first time last night (he wasn't in it, it was while he was in the playpen). But it was literally a peak. I lifted one end of the roof up - there's a dint at the far end where he seems to be sleeping and potty is turned upside down lol. So clearly not being used as a potty. But perhaps he could smell someone had looked in there.

Or maybe he's just having a night off.

He has definitely got more confident (in an independent kind of way) the last couple of nights and objecting to being moved back from the playpen in the tube and a bit grumpy about it. First night he nipped my knuckles on his way out of the tube (as I mentioned). Last night he nearly escaped from it (tried to squeeze past a gap in my hand).

So he is definitely not tame and getting more confident and indepent (but not quite feral either).

Confident as well in that he ignores my hand when in the playpen now and just sits at the other and sits and looks at me as if to say - yeah so what, I'm doing my own thing!

It will be two weeks on Saturday so he'll have had his settling in time and I'll see if I can progress with taming a bit.