Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
First cleaning
While Mochi is sleeping this morning, I sealed off the travel pod and cleaned the rest of the cage for the first time. I'll have to clean the travel pod once Mochi is up and active.
The ovo maze and pad came and they're pretty big! As big as the main habitat in the dwarf kit. In fact, the default maze that came in the set might be too big for dwarfs. I think the tree design would be the best bet. Maybe the doll house would work too. For now, I hacked the maze a little, adding a tee joint and elbow joint in each of the second story holes. Hopefully, the entrance will be low enough for Mochi to be able to climb up.
I only hooked up the maze in addition to last time since we'll have to travel to grandma's for Christmas tomorrow. I'll have to disconnect the maze again tomorrow morning.
Since Mochi seems to like seeds so much, I left healthy pellets in the bowl for easy food and some seeds in the maze for reward food. We'll see later tonight just how far he will go for the more delicious seeds.
The ovo maze and pad came and they're pretty big! As big as the main habitat in the dwarf kit. In fact, the default maze that came in the set might be too big for dwarfs. I think the tree design would be the best bet. Maybe the doll house would work too. For now, I hacked the maze a little, adding a tee joint and elbow joint in each of the second story holes. Hopefully, the entrance will be low enough for Mochi to be able to climb up.
I only hooked up the maze in addition to last time since we'll have to travel to grandma's for Christmas tomorrow. I'll have to disconnect the maze again tomorrow morning.
Since Mochi seems to like seeds so much, I left healthy pellets in the bowl for easy food and some seeds in the maze for reward food. We'll see later tonight just how far he will go for the more delicious seeds.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Continuing onward
Bathtub taming is progressing slowly but Mochi seemed less panicked this second time. I think I'm gonna do the bathtub taming every other day so he gets a bit of rest.
He's being a picky eater, ignoring the pellets and only eating the yummy seeds. :p
It's easy to tempt him with sunflower seeds. :)
He's being a picky eater, ignoring the pellets and only eating the yummy seeds. :p
It's easy to tempt him with sunflower seeds. :)
He seems to be adjusting pretty well. He hasn't used the potty as far as I know but he did start sleeping in his room (travel pod).
Friday, December 21, 2012
Starting taming
Today, Mochi and I spent some time in the bathtub to hopefully get him tame. After the bathtub run, Mochi must've felt very tired. He went into the chew log and fell asleep in front of the porthole. It's becoming his favorite spot which is fun for me too.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Minor expansion
Amazon stuff has started to arrive! The habitrail ovo club trainer wheel and dwarf habitat kit arrived today. The trainer wheel really isn't suited for dwarfs. I had hoped when I saw the pic, that it would be pretty solid inside but it has the same slit that the other habitrail wheels have. (Even the one in the dwarf habitat kit had a slit! *sigh*)
Even if the rubber band is supposed to seal the slit, it still is pretty deep for little dwarf feet.
As for the habitat kit, I'm holding off on adding too much space and tubes until he gets really settled and tamed. For now, I just added the pod to one end for the bathroom and the carrier to the other for the bedroom. Though I turned the chew toy/cover over to the clear wall instead of the air above so it would feel more secure but I can still see and Mochi loves it in there now. I think it looks kinda like a hobbit door.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
I am a hamster n00b
I looked into Mochi's cage tonight and couldn't find him anywhere. Panicked, I opened the hatch and dug around the bedding but still nothing! I was about to give up hope when I lifted the food bowl and there he was! He had dug a small circular space beneath the food bowl. He was annoyed that I had woken him and proceeded to the wheel as soon as he became fully awake. I refilled his food bowl, adding a few pieces of fresh carrots this time, and let him be.
He seems to really enjoy the deep bedding and burrowing!
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Introduction| Let's begin
20121217
Let me begin by saying I have a bad track record with animals. Not something I'm proud of; something I wish to change. When I was young, I "loved" animals. Under extreme persuasion and whining, I would coerce my mother into getting me a chihuahua and a bunny. Unfortunately, I'm very much of a "novelty-chaser" and as the novelty of pet ownership wore off, I neglected the poor things and when mother, being a single mother, felt overwhelmed, we found new homes for them through friends and church-members.
When my little brother became old enough to also start on our mother for a puppy, we obtained Gir, an adorable pomeranian. Unfortunately her life with us was not the most pleasant. She was kennelled in the bathroom, only allowed out during play time (which was never enough) and walks. We have had her for almost 6 years but when we moved to an even smaller apartment this year, I knew it just wasn't fair to her to live with us the way we made her. Luckily I found her a home at a friend's family where she has more free roam of a house.
I made a vow never to own a pet I could not support ever again.
So why is this an introduction, a beginning, instead of an end?
I've learned that the average life span of a dwarf hamster is about 2 years. 2! I felt confident I could manage at least 2 years of commitment. Even if it lives longer to 4, it is a much less daunting number than 15. The little critters didn't take up as much room, are contained, and goshdarnit, I wanted to try. Especially, to do things right this time.
After a few hours of research online, not only did I feel like it was managable, I felt like it would be a good fit. Their nocturnal nature would be great since I work during the day. Cleaning the entire cage would only be a hour or two task once every 1-2 weeks. Yes, this might work out. And to further motivate me, I'll be keeping this log.
I decided to look through craigslist first. The only listing I found for one was a lady offering a dwarf hamster with cage and leftover supplies because she bought it for her child who was too young and was rough with him. When I met with the lady, she came out with the hamster in the cage, a ball, and some supplies. She explained that the cage was a bit broken so they had to glue it and to clean it, to use the vacuum attachment or just manually with gloves. Fine, whatever. I was going to give a complete cleaning anyway. It was dark, night, so I thanked her and drove home.
When I arrived home and set the cage down, I saw the hamster in the observation tower portion of the cage. He was so cute and round and I decided then to name him Mochi. He looked like a mochi with some cinnamon dusted on top. He stayed there for a while so I got a better look at the cage.
It was filthy.
Because certain parts of the cage were glued, there was no way to clean it. The observation tower had droppings on it and the wheel axel was crusted with dust but there was no way to clean them unless you submerged the entire cage. Not only was the cage filthy, the bedding looked off. I looked at the supplies the lady gave me and... yep. Pine shavings and guinea pig food. I decided I would buy a new cage and supplies as soon as I could. "Just hold out for one more day, Mochi." I told him.
Mochi had wandered down the floor level so I decided to let him get accustomed to me by sticking my hand in. He immediately retreated back to the observation room quaking with fear. Maybe it was because I was a stranger or maybe either the vaccuum or the little child (or both) had scarred him. Poor thing. I would have to be patient.
Whenever Mochi came down, I slowly stuck my hand in, no sudden movements, just for Mochi to get acclimated to my presence. He would scurry on the wheel (which wouldn't spin sometimes) or run to the observation room. I did this for about 5 minutes at a time on and off for about an hour or so then decided to call it a night.
20121218
After getting ready for work, I checked on Mochi. He seemed to have settled down a bit. I stuck my hand in again and slowly wiggled my fingers. While still skittish, he didn't retreat to the observatory or run on the wheel as much as half-circle my hand. He even rubbed his side against it, if briefly. I tried to pet him with my index finger just softly and he gave a little nip. Nothing hard or ouch-worthy. Just a reminder that I was to be patient. Still, the non-retreat seemed like a good sign! I hope he will realize there will be no terrorizing child in his future.
Now I'm at work, on my lunch break.
Since I need a cage and supplies as soon as possible, I'll have to stop by petco after work. While controversial, I have decided to get a habitrail plastic cage, if I can. The modular design is very appealing to me and changing the designs everytime the cage is cleaned would make a fun activity for both Mochi and me. I know a single kit is not enough space for Mochi but I figure it would be ok for now. I have ordered a habitrail cristal and an ovo club trainer for expansion through amazon and I think that should be ok. Of course, it depends on what I can get at the store. (I'm hoping a habitrail twist is available.)
My shopping list:
Let me begin by saying I have a bad track record with animals. Not something I'm proud of; something I wish to change. When I was young, I "loved" animals. Under extreme persuasion and whining, I would coerce my mother into getting me a chihuahua and a bunny. Unfortunately, I'm very much of a "novelty-chaser" and as the novelty of pet ownership wore off, I neglected the poor things and when mother, being a single mother, felt overwhelmed, we found new homes for them through friends and church-members.
When my little brother became old enough to also start on our mother for a puppy, we obtained Gir, an adorable pomeranian. Unfortunately her life with us was not the most pleasant. She was kennelled in the bathroom, only allowed out during play time (which was never enough) and walks. We have had her for almost 6 years but when we moved to an even smaller apartment this year, I knew it just wasn't fair to her to live with us the way we made her. Luckily I found her a home at a friend's family where she has more free roam of a house.
I made a vow never to own a pet I could not support ever again.
So why is this an introduction, a beginning, instead of an end?
I've learned that the average life span of a dwarf hamster is about 2 years. 2! I felt confident I could manage at least 2 years of commitment. Even if it lives longer to 4, it is a much less daunting number than 15. The little critters didn't take up as much room, are contained, and goshdarnit, I wanted to try. Especially, to do things right this time.
After a few hours of research online, not only did I feel like it was managable, I felt like it would be a good fit. Their nocturnal nature would be great since I work during the day. Cleaning the entire cage would only be a hour or two task once every 1-2 weeks. Yes, this might work out. And to further motivate me, I'll be keeping this log.
I decided to look through craigslist first. The only listing I found for one was a lady offering a dwarf hamster with cage and leftover supplies because she bought it for her child who was too young and was rough with him. When I met with the lady, she came out with the hamster in the cage, a ball, and some supplies. She explained that the cage was a bit broken so they had to glue it and to clean it, to use the vacuum attachment or just manually with gloves. Fine, whatever. I was going to give a complete cleaning anyway. It was dark, night, so I thanked her and drove home.
When I arrived home and set the cage down, I saw the hamster in the observation tower portion of the cage. He was so cute and round and I decided then to name him Mochi. He looked like a mochi with some cinnamon dusted on top. He stayed there for a while so I got a better look at the cage.
It was filthy.
Because certain parts of the cage were glued, there was no way to clean it. The observation tower had droppings on it and the wheel axel was crusted with dust but there was no way to clean them unless you submerged the entire cage. Not only was the cage filthy, the bedding looked off. I looked at the supplies the lady gave me and... yep. Pine shavings and guinea pig food. I decided I would buy a new cage and supplies as soon as I could. "Just hold out for one more day, Mochi." I told him.
Mochi had wandered down the floor level so I decided to let him get accustomed to me by sticking my hand in. He immediately retreated back to the observation room quaking with fear. Maybe it was because I was a stranger or maybe either the vaccuum or the little child (or both) had scarred him. Poor thing. I would have to be patient.
Whenever Mochi came down, I slowly stuck my hand in, no sudden movements, just for Mochi to get acclimated to my presence. He would scurry on the wheel (which wouldn't spin sometimes) or run to the observation room. I did this for about 5 minutes at a time on and off for about an hour or so then decided to call it a night.
20121218
After getting ready for work, I checked on Mochi. He seemed to have settled down a bit. I stuck my hand in again and slowly wiggled my fingers. While still skittish, he didn't retreat to the observatory or run on the wheel as much as half-circle my hand. He even rubbed his side against it, if briefly. I tried to pet him with my index finger just softly and he gave a little nip. Nothing hard or ouch-worthy. Just a reminder that I was to be patient. Still, the non-retreat seemed like a good sign! I hope he will realize there will be no terrorizing child in his future.
Now I'm at work, on my lunch break.
Since I need a cage and supplies as soon as possible, I'll have to stop by petco after work. While controversial, I have decided to get a habitrail plastic cage, if I can. The modular design is very appealing to me and changing the designs everytime the cage is cleaned would make a fun activity for both Mochi and me. I know a single kit is not enough space for Mochi but I figure it would be ok for now. I have ordered a habitrail cristal and an ovo club trainer for expansion through amazon and I think that should be ok. Of course, it depends on what I can get at the store. (I'm hoping a habitrail twist is available.)
My shopping list:
- Cage
- Food (natural, if possible)
- Treats (natural, yogurt, & sunflower seeds)
- Bedding (carefree natural)
- Nesting fluff
- Chews
- Proper hideaway (if not included with cage)
- Potty training kit
- Cleaning supplies (nature's miracle, cleaning wipes)
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