Ups and Downs

Well, this wasn't the best week with Sesame. She was reclusive and preferred to snatch her yogurt treat out of my hands and run back with it to her tube instead of eating it from my hand. Then, when I was preparing dinner I hadan idea. I was preparing corn on the cob and realized that Sesame might like some. I plucked off a few kernels and bought it up to her cage. The first one she nibbled from my fingers so I dropped the remaining kernels into her cage. Instead of eating them she began frantically digging through her bedding (for no real reason) and wound up covering up her kernels. So, I reached my finger in the cage and pointed out the corn and she bit me, hard! That's what I get for trying to give her a treat.

I was really upset but today was cage cleaning day so I didn't hold it against her and washed everything out and gave her new bedding and let her run around in her ball. Things were going really well, in fact, she let me pick her up right out of her cage which has only happened like once before.

Near Miss!

Yesterday was the day to clean out Sesame's cage. I placed her in a small white bin while I cleaned. She's played in this bin before and never was able to or even tried to escape. Just to be careful, I placed the bin up on top of my heater (it wasn't on). I went to the bathroom and was washing out her cage with hot hot water. I came back into my room just in time to see Sesame climb over the top of the bin and start creeping across the ridge of the heater. Now, I know Sesame is clumsy and I've seen her fall many times before just inside her cage and I knew that she if she slipped, as she is prone to do, she would fall all the way to the floor. I dropped her cage, screamed "Sesame, no!", and ran across the room.

Now, I've picked Sesame up several times before but have always been very careful and gentle about it. However, in my fright, I forgot and didn't have time to be as ginger as I usually am and SNATCHED Sesame up as quick as I could. I probably bruised her poor ribs when I grabbed her that hard. Not to mention the fact that my hands were still soaking wet from washing the cage and the water was probably a shock too. She immediatly began making sounds that I had no idea she could make. I didn't even know she could make a sound beside gnawing loudly on a piece of corn. It sounded like she was yelping, "Eeeeeehhhhhh, Oooohhhhh, Ahhhhhhh, Ish, Ish, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" I tossed her back into the bin. She was so traumatized by my brute force that she ran into her cardboard roll and hid. I was extra nice to her afterwards, gave her a yogurt treat and let her run around in her ball for a long time. I'm sure it's gone from her memory by now, but whew....., what a scare.

Solution

I've disocvered a way to keep Sesame's cage cleaner -I only fill up her bowl about half way instead of to the brim. I have to refill it more frequently but she doesnt spread it all over the cage as much. I think she was emptying the whole bowl so she could see what was at the bottom. Now I just let her see the bottom to begin with. I let her run around in her ball a little last night. She sure does like that.

Cleaning Day

I cleaned out Sesame's cage this weekend. I was really excited because my package from PetSmart had arrived and I had all sorts of new things to try out with her. Vegetable hamster waffles were a hit - the vegetable ravioli were not. They are just too big for dwarf hamsters. I had to cut it up for her. The "Chube" was also too big for her! So I cut it in half so I could actually fit it in her dwelling. She seemed to like crawling up on top of it more than crawling into it. The bedding square was a treat for her. She started clawing and scratching it up so much I thought she was having some type of epelictic fit. When I washed out the cage I put her in her too mini critter ball. At first she didn't seem to get it...but then she started rolling around and bumping into everything. It wasn't long before there was a lot of hamster waste rolling around in that ball with her.

When I put her back in her home I hoped she would learn to use her new hamster litter box but instead she had another fit when she discovered the litter and wouldn't stop until she had ferociously dug all the litter out and scattered the litter all over the cage. Since then she has dragged all her bedding inside the box and made it into a bed. Oh well. If it makes her happy. The weird thing is that she has finally discovered her wheel. Maybe it was being in the critter ball that got her used to the sensation of spinning because now she runs in it all time.

The only bad part was when she bit me. Maybe I was a little too excited to pick her up. She does seem to be really responding to my voice though and I swear her fur looks a little frazzled if I don't make it home till late. So her hamster home looked spotless and packed with her new toys. About an hour later it was trashed again.

Funny little creature

Last night I worked on my taming process with Sesame some more. She actually started crawling up and down my arm - which really tickled. But the silly hamster kept sliding off my arm and I had to keep catching her in my hand. Over and over. I just cleaned the cage and it already looks like a disaster again. Are all hamsters this messy???

I'm trying to figure out which corner of the cage she is using as her bathroom so I can train her once her hamster litterbox comes. At one point, I checked in on Sesame and I swear she was sitting on the floor as cross legged as a hamster can sit. She looked like a little old man. Then I watched as she tried to climb up to her food bowl but slid off the step and fell backwards. I've seen her fall a couple of times. I haven't seen her use her wheel but she sure does dig for seeds and burrow.

The Beginning

Today I came home and Sesame's cage was really dirty. I don't see how I could wait the recommended week to clean it. After doing research I have learned that because dwarf hamsters are a new breed, they are not domesticated, like regular animals. I essentialy have a wild hamster on my hands and research shows that if you don't touch and hold them all the time they will grow wild.

SO far, any attempts to hold her have resulted in nips. I employed one of the tips I read and fed her a treat from my hand. As she nibbled it I sang to her and petted her - and she let me! Then I got a toilet paper roll and she climbed into it and I picked it up and slid her into my hands. I held her for a littel bit then I put her in her carrying case and cleaned out her whole cage. Washed it off, put fresh wood shavings all over it.

When I put her back in, she went crazy, running all over the place and diving into the shavings. Then she ate and made a mess again. Then she went to sleep.

How To Spoil A Hamster

Small Animal Raviolos
Mini Rainbow Run-About Ball, 5" diameter
Hamster Outhouse Litter
Hamster Potty
Fluff N' Snuggle Nesting
Small Animal Crispi Waffles
Play Cube, small