Jas, the hamster formally known as Jasper

They can still keep growing a bit up to 9 months :) But she is probably virtually at her full size/weight now. But may still grow a bit more slowly.
 
We let Jas out for a free roam tonight, thought we had done quite well, but she still manages to get everywhere. She was quite happy interacting with both me and my other half, doesn't come to get picked up, but if she gets to a corner which doesn't have something hiding it, she has no choice and actually just let us pick her up, didn't seem bothered, but happy to leave our hands. I worry about it, as she tries to pull up the carpet and I don't want her to get to the grippers underneath. She was climbing on both of us and seemed quite calm about it. It was quite cute really, she came to me and hid under my arm, looked up at me and then went to the taxi, she was ready to go back. I think she trusts us, but just isn't a hamster that wants to be cuddled.
 
Jas is so adorable, it’s lovely that the trust is there for you to pick her up if needed, she just perhaps has become used to the taxi as her transport from home to playtime and feels more comfortable doing this. We find this with Hams, he’d rather not be handled but has let me on occasions like when his tail was scratched. Will Jas sit on your lap for strokes/cuddles? I keep trying this but he’ll often just hop off.
 
That all sounds great to me. She is still very young and they often don't like to sit still long, but she does seem to trust you as Zara says. The only time I found they actually sit for any length of time for cuddles is when they are half asleep :-) We had a Syrian that used to get dopey between 8pm and 9pm and actually go to sleep on your knee under a blanket. By 10pm he was highly active and off! I'm not aware of female Syrians ever being dopey though ha ha. When they get older and slow down a bit they may be more inclined to sit on your for longer. When I pick them up from the sofa or my knee I tend to place them in the crook of my arm/elbow with my arm across my front. It's a kind of enclosed place to sit and I sometimes find they will sit like that for a stroke for a bit longer. Even Raffy lets me do that :-)
 
That does sound great Jas is doing so well & it really sounds as though she trusts you & is bonding with you.
I can’t speak for Syrians but none of my young hams have wanted cuddles or to be held for more than a moment or two, too much energy & too much to do! Some hams are never cuddly but some are & that tends to come with age.
 
Jas sounds similar to Cinnamon. Cinnamon is probably almost 4 months old and if he notices us before he chooses to come out on his own I either have to work for several minutes to get him to come out with food (he behaves shyly) or, most often, he just chooses to not come out when we're around- he'll poke his head out as noise, look around, and then retreat. If he is already awake and fully out of his chamber, he'll walk into his transport on his own whether there's food or not. Once in the play pen he's very comfortable climbing over us and he will sit quietly in my hands for a cuddle for about 5-10 seconds, but then he's ready to be on the move again. I can get pets in while he's nibbling a treat, but otherwise he's on the move!
 
So, I think Jas enjoyed the free roam too much and now really wants to get out of the play pen. She jumped in my partner's hand earlier and tried to climb up the arm to get out, then later with me she managed to balance on something which I had to help her with and she did the same to me, tried to climb my arm to freedom. She didn't manage it, but I hope she gets used to the play pen again, I just don't think we can hamster proof the room enough.
 
Hmm tricky. Once she has free roamed she probably will want to get out of the playpen. Do you have a wheel in the playpen? That might distract her. When Raffy progressed from the playpen to free roaming, I left the contents of his playpen where they were, on the floor (they were under a coffee table as his playpen was round the coffee table). And although he was off the first few times, he gradually started coming back to the old playpen area and running on his wheel. So he does a bit of wandering but keeps coming back to the wheel.

Is it that she is just too maverick to let her free roam? ie does she try to climb the curtains etc? Or is there another room you can let her free roam in? I have a bedroom that's quite hamstersafe and I don't have to observe quite so much.
 
That's strange I thought I had responded to this, I can't have pressed post, sorry. She manages to get everywhere and I'm worried she will hurt herself or chew something she shouldn't she tries to chew the radiator pipe covers. I'll keep thinking, unfortunately my hall is no good, it's too open to the stairs.
 
I cannot allow free roaming either. My flat is just not safe enough nor is my hall. I know how you feel as it would be so nice to let them free roam.
 
Question about nesting materials, is safebed paper wool by petlife okay to use? It's not fluffy, just like strips of tissue paper? I did try to look at the home page but I couldn't find it
 
I'm not sure actually! When I couldn't find any suitable toilet rolls recently, I looked for bags of paper strips (I used to get those years ago) and came across that but it's a bit vague on the packet what it's actually made of. The description paper wool isn't clear. Although "wood wool" is just aspen finely shredded - not actually wool. One of the reviews says it's plant based and the description says "derived from food grade materials" which sounds like some kind of paper but why not just say it's paper in that case. I wasn't sure myself so didn't get it. Tearing up strips of toilet paper is probably the safest option.
 
I would say no. They also make fluffy bedding that also says says it's pet safe and plant based. It's very deceptive as it makes it sound like paper but it isn't paper.
 
The Amazon reviews show people have used it for hamsters and rabbits. There are a couple of 1 star reviews, one said it had a bad smell - the other said it's deceptive and just the same as fluffy bedding. "Natural" and non toxic doesn't mean it's safe. It would be nice to know exactly what it's made of.
 
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