I decide I should wait to get in my ball because that is protection from the scary dog and cat. Katelyn walks in the room and I run up to the cage. She sets the ball down and I try to get to it. She says "do you want to get in your ball?" I don't understand any word so I just look at her. She picks up the ball and opens the cage, I happily crawl into it. She shuts it and places me in the kitchen. I am just really starting to run when "boom!" I crash into something gray and it moves. Wait, it moves? I am then staring into two brown eyes and I instantly back away from the dog. She follows me. I turn and yell at her "Hey, I'm not a toy!" but of course she hears squeak squeak squeak. She rolls me with her nose and I spin out of control, I feel like I am being dropped and then I look around. I am surrounded by grass, and I hear the caw of a bird. I am outside!
I chew on my cage, I run on my wheel, I eat some food, I chew on a toy, I play with a toilet paper tube, and I watch what my owner Kate is doing, I think "Wow! There is nothing to do!" I have to find a way to have some fun. I chew on my cage some more and I find a wide opening that I know I can slip out of. I also hear the sound of my owner approaching, she has just finished washing my ball... what will I do next? That was the first part and you vote for the next! So you decide what Rocky's adventure will be. Luigi was an awesome hamster, he was brave, daring, and really silly. He never hesitated to charge right up to the dog, in his ball that is. He climbed to great heights on his hamster cage, and he was never serious. I still love and miss him so here is a tribute to him!
I am leaving for a four hour drive with Rocky today so here are some tips for a hamster carride:
- Place a towel over the cage - Don't blow air directly on them, but make sure they get air - Place an ice pack under the cage where they sleep - Give them fresh water and fresh foods so they don't get dehydrated - Clean their cage - Do not disturb them - Remove towel if they wake up so they can see what is going on - Use a travel cage to save space but pack the real one - You can give them some medicines, but check with your vet, to calm them down - If you are traveling at night, make sure they have things to do. Well, I had to clean a Rocky's cage, sorry I couldn't get a video up. Anyways, I got Rocky a green hamster ball at my local pet store and I really was curious to see how he reacted. At first he kind of sat there, then I placed his chew toy in front of him and he leaned over to get it so he moved the ball. Once he realized he could move he did it more. He is still messing around with it but I think he will figure it out.
Last night, I build Rocky an awesome secret hideout! It can also be used as a underground tunnel too. So here is what I did and what you can do to make your hamster a secret hideout.
1. Get two toilet paper tubes 2. Remove bedding the length of the two tubes and the width of the tubes. 3. connect the tubes in the empty hole 4. Cover with bedding 5. Place a treat in there so they can eat it then pop out the other side. Try this out for your hamster! I use Carefresh complete menu for Rocky because hamsters need these percentages in food:Protein: 17-22%
Fiber: 8-10% Fat: 4-6% and Carefresh has these percentages: Crude Protein (min) 17% Crude Fat (min) 3.5% Crude Fiber (min) 5%. /Crude Fiber (max) 10% I add sunflower seeds to this food for a little extra fat. Some foods are way to fattening and don't have good nutrition. Please read the back of your hamster food label. I use Carefresh bedding because it really doesn't smell and it seems healthier than wood chips. My hamsters are more happy this way. Check this out: http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/topic/71864-master-food-list/ Before I say anything else I do want to say I did NOT give Rocky a bath and that you should NEVER bathe your hamster unless a vet tells you to. What I did do is I lined the bottom of the bath tub with towels to get out my hamster for some time to get to know him. I learned he does not liked being cupped but he tolerates being lifted and let crawl around my arms. Although within 2 or three minutes he decides to go to the bathroom, a LOT, and for a long time. Since I only like to take hamsters out of their cage for around ten minutes except for cleaning I spent half of the "play time" laughing as my hamster made a face while doing his "business". On the bright side I think he is getting used to me and being picked up although he doesn't enjoy it ,well the picked-up part. I wish I had a picture of his face but I will get one since there will be more play times and that unfortunately equals "Katelyn picking up Rocky poop in the bathtub". Hope you guys might try this playing technique for your hamsters but all credit goes to Chocolate Colors 26 on YouTube.
Rocky actually slept in his tiki hut today! Yeah! So I was thinking I would do a cage cleaning tutorial in a few days once I get a Hamster Ball and the cage needs cleaning. I thought I might as well write out the steps so here:
1. Remove all old bedding from the cage. 2. Wash cage with hot soapy water 3. Wash wheel, food bowl, and other things 4. Let all items soak 5. Dry all items 6. Fill the cage with bedding 7. Replace items 8. Add fresh food and water and a treat 9. Let hamster back in cage Video coming soon! For the second time I have a hamster who doesn't use his Tiki hut, well, he uses it, but for hiding his food behind it then sleeping on top of his food. Rocky is a Roan, Dove fur colored hamster. He figured out how to use his wheel though! My dog and cat are freaking out about him. In the video I made yesterday you might have not been able to see the products so here is a list:
food: Carefresh Complete Menu wheel: Silent Spinner bedding: Carefresh (blue) yogurt treat: Yogurt Drops pretzel: Ecotrition Baked Pretzels honey chew: Ecotrition Honey Flavored wood chews: All Living Things Wood Chews Another strange thing is that he hasn't eaten any treats. I have tried to give him: yogurt drops pretzels carrot slice egg piece He has eaten his food but not any treats. I hope he develops a taste for them so I can tame him. He is friendly but a little scared of humans. Any tips? |