"Pip" Pipsqueak's Diary

Update:We were about to give up on seeing Pip last night (although I had raised the roof of her hideaway once to see if she was awake. She totally was and looked up at me briefly- little stinker- but I didn't want to force here out), when she came out late (after 11PM).

When she saw us, she went into her new ceramic mushroom hide and tried to wait us out! I offered her two snacks with my fingers, and she did come close to sniff but didn't take them. She did come out later and then finally moved around in our presence. I noticed that she took a dried chicken cube I'd left for her and ate it out in the open rather than pouching it. So the next time she went into the mushroom hide, my daughter offered her a chicken cube with her fingers (btw, these are dried bits specifically for hamsters), and she took it! She still didn't come back out right away, but we considered this progress! Unfortunately, I didn't get many new pictures or video (one short one of her foraging flax). Mostly because we had the lights down very low, and to get a good photo or video, I had to turn the phone light now, and I didn't want to bother her too much with the suddenly brightness.

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Oh but she is sooooo adorable I am sure in a few days everything will progress

Little Pip is so sweet

Amy said:

Oh but she is sooooo adorable I am sure in a few days everything will progress

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My daughter says, "Thank you, she is! "

She really is! She looks more confident already and to have grown a bit.

Here are the current updates:
Monday I started work again, so we haven't been able to stay up extra late, and she intentionally stays hidden until 11PM or later. I say 'intentionally' because a couple times I gently lifted the lid of her hideaway in the evening, and she was totally awake, but still shy- ran to another chamber to get away from me.

So Monday, we couldn't lure her out and didn't see her. She won't come to her door when called or offered food yet.
But yesterday she came out right when we were getting ready for bed, and we successfully got her to take food from our fingers again! We gently attempted a finger pet when we offered food, but both my daughter and I could see her start to get "on guard" as soon as a finger moved past her head, so we backed off. I'm hoping that a few more days of offering food, and then maybe this weekend, if she comes out early enough, we can ferry her to the bathtub and see if a safe play area warms her up more.