I can't believe it's been so long since I posted an update on Cinnamon. I've been SUPER busy with work this year- it's a year in our family for life balance, so I've been less active in general on social media, but also, our routine with Cinnamon is exactly that-
routine. As you may know if you've followed Cinnamon's diary, he's always been a more gentle, reserved hammy. I felt like after we came back from out long trip in June, when neighbors watched him, he was way more hidey even than he had been. He'd taken to burrowing even deeper than usual. So we were not taking him out for free roam time much at all, as he didn't seem to behave in a way that made it seemed like he enjoyed this (which frankly is on par with how he's always been with free roam time).
After 6-8 weeks of this routine, he's slipped into what we consider a pretty friendly routine with us. First, he seems to have gone back to using his above ground potty much more frequently- perhaps even as his only pee space, if I'm hunting through the cage correctly. His former indoor potty seems to just be used as a horde now, and I suspect he's now back to his old sleeping space, which is less deep, though I can't confirm this. What I do know is that he fairly routinely comes out when he hears his food being replaced around 9-10PM. This is in our presence as opposed to waiting until he thinks we're gone or not looking. Since we've stopped taking him out of the cage (almost at all unless it's a deep clean), he seems much more willing to roam around while we're there. If he disappears with food, he readily comes back out again, presumably after depositing the first food helping in his horde. He's always been good with pets, and continues to be, but he just seems way less likely to hide away now, which I am attributing to him feeling more confident that we're not going to remove him from his cage. Which I still find kind of hilarious since some hamsters love the chance to explore a larger and different area.
So we've had many nights recently where we get to bed a little later because he's so interactive (while not being removed from his cage) that we enjoy staying up with him. I've attached a short video I just uploaded and a photo we took (which my daughter added text to).
The one other funny thing about him is that I swear being publicly observed while on his wheel is akin to being naked to him. Seriously! He
never goes on his wheel in front of us (as much as we'd love to see him on it), and he's been like that pretty much his whole life with us. Our interaction is all about foraging in our presence. We know for certain that he does go on the wheel nightly (I've heard him or observed him if he's still on it when I wake up for work), but once, recently, he got on his wheel while I was reading to my daughter in her bed, and we heard it and looked over (from across the room). He noticed immediately that we'd stopped reading and had turned our heads in his direction (or something- I know technically he shouldn't be able to see well several feet away). He froze, watched us for a minute or two, and then we went back to reading, hoping he'd resume running, but he got off and went into his hide- so funny!
then the little sweetie kept nosing at my hands to see what else he could get before going back to his hide. I told him he wasn't going to have much to find that night, thigh he doesn't really need it, as his hoard is quite sizeable.Yes life gets like that sometimes doesn't it?
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