Cinnamon

Well, other than coming out quickly when we first got back from vacation, Cinnamon has continued to be a gentle but shy boy. If we are awake in the room reading, he will wait until the light is fully turned out before coming out- as though he wants no special attention and so is patient to wait until he doesn't need to risk us talking to him or coming close. :ROFLMAO:

However, when he hears me changing his water and food he will come close to the exit of his hideaway to see what I'm up to (what snacks are the humans adding to my home?). He'll take food from our hands or even crawl onto my palm to take food, and every several days we'll use his transport, which he'll willingly go into if he's in the mood, to give him some "playpen time." We set up a photo box with a mini "waffle" snack for hamsters and snapped this pic recently.


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We let Cinnamon be for a few days, but then the past 2 days he seemed happy to come out when offered some food. We had some play pen or play are time but I didn't take many photos or video. I was about to post a short video of him eating part of a sugar snap pea, which came out well, when I decided to experiment with Instagram reels. We linked a few video excerpts together and then my daughter had fun adding text.

On a separate note, I'm wondering about advice for when to do a deeper clean? I cleaned out some smelly bedding in his hideaway 2 nights ago and then went to check on the area again last night while he was having a free roam under supervision. I felt like it was still pretty smelly, but it wasn't too noticeable until I took the top off of his hideaway. I swapped out a lot of bedding again, and I'm going to see if there is an improvement tonight or possibly tomorrow since we've already taken him out twice in the past 2 days. He doesn't dirty the rest of his cage very much at all, so I only periodically update some bedding and check the sandbath daily for any clumps to remove, but now I'm wondering if I may have to do a deeper clean of his hideaway area some time soon.

Hopefully this link to our "reel" works.
 
clacombe said:
We let Cinnamon be for a few days, but then the past 2 days he seemed happy to come out when offered some food. We had some play pen or play are time but I didn't take many photos or video. I was about to post a short video of him eating part of a sugar snap pea, which came out well, when I decided to experiment with Instagram reels. We linked a few video excerpts together and then my daughter had fun adding text.

On a separate note, I'm wondering about advice for when to do a deeper clean? I cleaned out some smelly bedding in his hideaway 2 nights ago and then went to check on the area again last night while he was having a free roam under supervision. I felt like it was still pretty smelly, but it wasn't too noticeable until I took the top off of his hideaway. I swapped out a lot of bedding again, and I'm going to see if there is an improvement tonight or possibly tomorrow since we've already taken him out twice in the past 2 days. He doesn't dirty the rest of his cage very much at all, so I only periodically update some bedding and check the sandbath daily for any clumps to remove, but now I'm wondering if I may have to do a deeper clean of his hideaway area some time soon.

Hopefully this link to our "reel" works.
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Here is Cinnamon in the original sugar snap pea video.
 
Maz said:
Such cute videos - and he's a very cute hamster! He looks to have a lovely, gentle personality as well.
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He is definitely very gentle and very shy. He will choose to stay in his 6-chamber hideout (his horde is underneath in a tunnel he dug) if people are around, except for the occasional appearance if he thinks his food bowl has been replenished and decides to fully emerge to check it out before we turn out the lights (we actually scatter food for him- some in bowls, some in puzzle boxes, some just scattered on the substrate). The full emergence is still pretty rare- he'd rather notice that we've put out food and then wait for complete privacy to fully explore. He does, however, absolutely listen for us, and will poke his head out and hover at the hideaway door if he thinks I'm freshening his food and water. He won't necessarily come out, but he'll watch and then wait. He will almost always take food offered by hand, and sometimes climb into my hand for food, but he will only sometimes fully emerge to enter a transport, which is fine with us.

When we do take him out, he is very gentle if held for a few seconds (before he tries to move somewhere) and enjoys either finding a hide in the play area or crawling under and over our legs. About 15-20 minutes is generally enough before he either stops exploring and hunkers into a hide or, if we are in the pet play pen, he starts climbing the corners as if to say, "I'm done. Take me back now." He never shows signs of asking to come out of his cage, but he doesn't show signs of stress in his cage either, so I guess he's just our sweet "vanilla" hamster. He uses his wheel at night and checks out the places where he knows food might be hidden, and otherwise seems happy with his routine. :LOL:

One of these days I have to get my husband to take a photo of him doing his "half exit" from the hideaway entrance long enough to take food from my hands and then retreating backwards into his hideaway. He would probably do this every time if I didn't try to occasionally coax him into his transport.

P.S. I should add that we haven't tried to coax him out earlier in the evening very much, when he might have different energy. We've been pretty busy with our own dinner, etc., around then, and since he does come out pretty readily a few times a week, we haven't felt pressed to do it, since it's not as though we wouldn't see him otherwise (as was kind of the case with our last hamster).
 
It's been a minute since I posted. Nothing new here, although I do feel like Cinnamon is getting more relaxed with us after about 3.5 months now. Even though he still doesn't get fully active until he knows we've gone to bed, a few nights a week he comes into his transport fairly easily when offered food and we have a play session for about 10-20 minutes.

Attached is a random video of him in the play pen with me. It's not usually so crowded in the playpen, but this time I had put him in his full carrier because I didn't have someone to supervise him while I was checking his hideaway for any dampness (even though he mostly uses the sandbath) so then I took him to the play pen in the carrier and hadn't removed it yet. You'll also see a random charger cord at the end- again- not usually something in the playpen, but it was connecting a power source for a light, and I hadn't cleared it out of the way yet since it was a somewhat impromptu play session.

I feel like he comes out slightly more readily now than a even a month ago, and sits for longer in my hands- even if it's only 5-10 seconds! He doesn't get frantic after that- more like, "I'm bored; can I go now?"



If you don't have Instagram, it's just a jazzed up photo- I'll add it in photo form in a few!
 
clacombe said:
It's been a minute since I posted. Nothing new here, although I do feel like Cinnamon is getting more relaxed with us after about 3.5 months now. Even though he still doesn't get fully active until he knows we've gone to bed, a few nights a week he comes into his transport fairly easily when offered food and we have a play session for about 10-20 minutes.

Attached is a random video of him in the play pen with me. It's not usually so crowded in the playpen, but this time I had put him in his full carrier because I didn't have someone to supervise him while I was checking his hideaway for any dampness (even though he mostly uses the sandbath) so then I took him to the play pen in the carrier and hadn't removed it yet. You'll also see a random charger cord at the end- again- not usually something in the playpen, but it was connecting a power source for a light, and I hadn't cleared it out of the way yet since it was a somewhat impromptu play session.

I feel like he comes out slightly more readily now than a even a month ago, and sits for longer in my hands- even if it's only 5-10 seconds! He doesn't get frantic after that- more like, "I'm bored; can I go now?"



If you don't have Instagram, it's just a jazzed up photo- I'll add it in photo form in a few!
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Photo: Cinnamon like: why hadn't this bowl been refilled? It's a new day.

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Beryl said:
That photo is so cute! I hope you didn't keep him waiting. Cinnamon is so handsome.
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I didn't! Usually I refill his bowls before I take him out, but since our routine was a little off, I had taken him out and brought him back before refilling. When I saw how inquisitive he was being I grabbed my phone to take pictures, but of course I had to quickly comply with his sweet inquiry. 😍
 
Finally tried cucumber. We got this cute video of him eating a wedge (I'd take a slice of cucumber and cut it into smaller pieces). He ate for awhile and then played. When we put him back, I put the cucumber pieces he hadn't nibbled at while he was in the playpen in a dish for him in his cage.Honestly, based on past veggies, I though he'd pick at a couple or take them and then leave the rest, but they were all gone in the morning! (of course I'll have to check his hoard tonight or tomorrow to make sure they're not languishing). So I guess that's a new favorite!

 
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