Heeere's Kage - with a K

[Maz]

It looks like he is really enjoying digging There might be a hoard under that messy area. The funny bit is when they look at you as if to say - you knocked over my bendy bridge! They don't realise their digging has done that.

So I think it's high time he had some out of cage time and playpen time to get to know you more and get socialised and handled a bit. Is there a time he comes out when you can offer him a tube with a bit of cucumber at the far end?

 

[Kage]

Kage doesn't climb the bars except when he's up against the back of the wheel. He will put his front paws up in other parts of the enclosure, but seems content to sniff around. I have never seen him bite the bars, and I do watch carefully. Chewing - chew toys, cardboard doesn't seem to interest him. I can only hope he keeps his teeth in trim biting on his food, nuts, etc. He did sink his teeth into me one time he was wedged behind the wheel. I couldn't help but tickle him and when I wasn't looking he took a bite on my finger. "Gotcha back!" I can imagine he was thinking . Served me right, I know

 

[Kage]

He surfaces at different times. Sometimes it's before three am, sometimes after. The only way I can be sure of being there when he surfaces might mean staying up all night. I did put a large jar in one time with banana pieces going from the lip to the rear. But I didn't see him go inside.

 

[Maz]

What time do you feed him? ie put his food and piece of veg out?

 

[Kage]

9pm. I've seen it said the smell of fruit and veg brings them out, but not my lad.

 

[Kage]

It's amazing how different each hamster is. Yes, the camera will reveal some interesting goings on . If I didnt sleep next to Socks' cage, I would only see him during his weekly cage clean and when he comes out to pouch his veggies in the evening. Pouch full, he heads back to bed. It may mean Kage is rather contented in his cage. When Socks was young, he got up at about ten and spent a few hours bar climbing and bar biting. I had a stock of cardboard at hand to replace what he had shredded to save his teeth. Eventually I put up acryllic sheets and they stopped him from chewing the bars

Hasn't Socks ever come out of his enclosure? How old is he?

 

[Socks' Mum]

Yes, Socks gets up at 3am or so and runs on his wheel. I hear him and open the cage door and he hurries over to catch a ride in his taxi tube to the playpen. Then I sit and keep him company while he races around the playpen and runs on his playpen wheel. I can't give him a free run because I'd have to switch on the light, which would confuse him. Mom gets a bit sleep deprived, but Socks has some exercise and fun

 

[Lovelyness]

9pm. I've seen it said the smell of fruit and veg brings them out, but not my lad.

I used to feed Blossom between 5-6pm and from very early on, she learned to come out for food then. In fact, many evenings, she would come out before I had put food out and squeak at me cos I was late with her tea lol

 

[Maz]

Agree. If you have a feeding routine say mid evening (whether 6pm, 7pm, 8pm or whatever) the hamster will get used to getting up at feeding time and especially for the veg (I put that further away from the sleeping area so they cross the cage to get it). We do it about 10pm here which is a bit late, but ties in with out of cage time quite well sometimes.

The other thing though is - if you're still sitting up at night, he won't come out Suggest a routine of feeding mid evening and lights out and going to bed (ie a different room) by 11pm or midnight. The hamster usually comes out as soon as you've left the room and the lights are out. They know!

The feeding time earlier can be a good time to get them to walk into a tube though. But until he has his own night time routine, he might not get into a feeding time routine.

They kind of need that good 8 hours of night time routine, wheeling and foraging etc.

You could always watch the live webcam footage on your phone while in bed, and sometimes going down during the night is accepted - but other times they will disappear when they hear you coming. They seem to have a different personality in the middle of the night and go into wild hamster mode!

Personally I think 9pm is a good time for feeding if you want the hamster to have some out of cage time

 

[Lovelyness]

Yes, Blossom, regular as clockwork, would come out at night just as I turned out the light and headed upstairs. She did use to potter about during the evening too, but when I headed upstairs to bed would be her cue to come out and jump in her wheel!

 

[Kage]

I honestly feel I'm in no man's land.
I feed him at a suitable time.
I ought to give him some out of cage time, and socialising time, BUT...
I stay with him, he doesn't come out.
I go to bed, out he comes.
I can't do both.
I come back downstairs, he may disappear.
Back to square one.

I have said before staying up later and later could eat into Kage's time, and I really don't want to do that. I want Kage to be free to enjoy his life, to do what he wants to do - given his circumstances living in the enclosure he has.
I'd love to spend some quality time with him, but there's always those buts, ifs and maybes.
It's obvious there is no black and white to owning a hamster.
Some will do "this", some won't, some will do "that", some won't. Some... etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
I looked into owning hamster a lot before deciding, but I didn't see the challenges it has brought up.

I listen to the advice I'm given. I do what I hope is best for Kage. I thought he was the perfect companion for me - two peas in a pod. I hear how well other owners get on with their loved one(s), and I wonder... I'm loathe to say this, but maybe (there you go, another maybe) I made the wrong choice. BUT (another but), here's here, I have him, and I WILL give him the best care I can possibly give him.

I love having Kage with me, and I love taking care of him, and I always will, even if I don't see him in the fur. A camera could be the only way of seeing him, so I'll be getting one in the very near future

 

[Socks' Mum]

I still envy you your little Kage. Socks, despite his mild name, was always, and still is, a restless, slightly ratty hamster who could never accept being behind bars. If you have a multi chamber house, at about 11pm, I would take the lid off and see if he's in there. He might poke his nose out, might take a favourite snack, or he might go back to sleep, but at least you will have make contact. If you can't access him via the lid it will be much more difficult to make contact with him. You might be able to locate his sleeping spot with the help of the camera. Socks sleeps in a shoe box hide and on cage cleaning, he is really easy to find as I just take off the lid and he's in his nest ❤

 

[Kage]

I do have such a house, but he doesn't sleep in there. He sleeps under the bedding, on the bottom. He used to sleep underground near that house, but he moved to the opposite end of his enclosure near his wheel, but I have an idea he's moved again, but I can't be sure. I stayed up till what would have been 3am this morning, I heard a little shuffle but that was all. I'll probably be in bed by midnight tonight, leave him to his own devices.

Not knowing exactly where he is does make cleaning a bit of a challenge, not wanting to disturb him or stress him, but I do what I can.

I have to admit being disappointed and a little sad at the prospect of not seeing Kage "in the fur", but I will respect his need for solitude. I can hardly criticise him when I enjoy my own solitude, can !? And the camera has been purchased. It will arrive sometime tomorrow. It might take me a few months to fathom out how to work it , but it will be better than nothing. Bless him

I'll never give up hope of making that connection, however slim that chance may be

 

[Socks' Mum]

I can feel where Socks' tunnel is by putting my hand under the base of the cage and feeling for the warm spot I think Socks' upbringing in a rodent mill and cage sharing with brothers might have made him rebellious. If Kage had a gentler puphood, he may be more calm and content I have two guinea pigs as well as Socks, and they are far more accessible. They were nervous when I got them, but they are very friendly now. There are always piggies needing homes. They are a lot of cleaning though, and the opposite of Kage, very demanding

 

[Lovelyness]

I always underestimate the mind gymnastics required for pets! However prepared you feel, they somehow always manage to throw you a curveball, and continue to do so throughout their lives! I hope that you and Kage manage to come to some agreement on a mutually acceptable schedule It is still relatively early days, so there’s plenty of time. You may find that the change of clocks alters his rhythm. I know it used to affect both my dog and Blossom

 

[Kage]

Kage came from a reputable breeder not too far from where I live, who obviously cares for her hamsters. She hand tamed all the pups before letting them go. Now he won't even come to me

I do believe we are coming to a mutually accepted agreement, rather than schedule. It's my own fault. I should have called him Hammy, the first name I thought of, and called him mate. But no, not me. I have to put him on a pedestal and call him His Fluffiness, Kage I, Ruler of Kage's Kingdom. I turned him into a snob! He won't socialise with the likes of me, his steward!

But I ain't gonna stop hoping and trying...

 

[Socks' Mum]

Yes, you can see from his that he is beautiful happy, gentle little hamster and has been brought up in a nice home. He is lucky he has such a good owner.

 

[Lovelyness]

He is obviously very well cared for. It takes time to build a relationship. I’m sure you’ll both get there

 

[Maz]

My experience with breeder hamsters is they are sometimes harder to be tame with you. They may have been "tamed" by the breeder already, as babies, but that doesn't continue IME - they then have a massive change - new person, new environment. They are only tame with the person who tamed them. I have found that time and time again, whatever a breeder says. Whereas a hamster from a pet shop or rescue can often be used to being handled by multiple different people and have had wider "life experience".

I also think now is the time because otherwise he will just stay reclusive. I don't know if you've seen Tino's thread but he was just like this - for a long time - I actually ended up reducing his bedding at one point. He then used the multiroom house and would come to the cage door to come out. Time did help - he was older and had more confidence - but also the change.

However Kage has a lovely set up and he's happy and enjoying it. But until he's out regularly he won't get used to interaction. So you need to find a routine really and also find a way to get him out once or twice a week so he gets used to it - and then they want to come out for more.