May/June Monthly thread - My former Robos

[Maz]

Day 6

A few more pictures of Pip in the playpen









He also decided he liked flying saucers once he found one in his playpen

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Pip was extremely fast all the time! Most robos are bit he just seemed superfast because he was a small robo. He would zoom up and down the ramp in his cage and zoom everywhere in his cage. Which just shows how much Robos enjoy plenty of space

When I first tried tempting him with food in my hand, he scared the life out of me. First of all he sort of went away and hid, then he came out and literally ran at my hand, seeing me off! It made me jump and I also thought, in that split second, that he was going to fly straight out of the cage as he ran at my hand, but at the last second he swerved and ran up the ramp. As if to say - my territory, I'm seeing you off but I'm not so stupid as to not know what I'm doing!

That was in the early days though. He never did get to the point of taking food from my hand. He was too cautious. But latterly he would accept me putting a treat down very near him without running away.

We did have the odd minor taming session in the playpen as well once he was a bit older. I had a smaller box (a shoebox) with bedding in and when he walked into it I'd turn it upright and get him used to gently being handled. But he never did like it and usually managed to get out of the box during the process!

So he was very much a look, don't touch robo. Both my robos were rescues and had had various experiences in life before coming to me so I sometimes wonder if that was part of it. As I've seen other Robos who will eat from your hand. Even if they are never quite handleable. It is possible to tame them but maybe you need to do it from babyhood.

Here's another video of Pip zooming!

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He did actually fall out of the cage once! When zooming from his house to his ramp and I had my hand in the cage putting food out. Clearly he missed the ramp - maybe distracted by my hand. I didn't even know he had fallen out! Out of the corner of my eye I could see what looked like a tissue on the cushion (I always keep a large cushion on the floor in front of cages - just in case!). Closed the cage door, went to pick up what looked like a scrunched up tissue, and it got up and ran off! It was Pip. He ran under the cage stand. He had been lying on his back on the cushion - and it was his white tummy I could see. Thankfully he was surprised as I was at him being out of the cage so he was a bit cautious and walked straight into a tube when I offered it to him. That was a relief as the idea of a robo on the loose was quite scary! After that I had to keep lifting the cage door up when I was putting food out in case he suddenly appeared and zoomed!

Over time he used to let me know when he wanted to come out by standing on his shelf and pressing his tummy against the bars - but he also got to know that the taxi was the way to come out.

Pip was also known for stealing teaspoons! Two or three disappeared. I used to put a bit of scrambled egg or porridge out on a tiny teaspoon (coffee spoon or baby teaspoon) for both him and Raffy. Next day I'd go to collect the teaspoons and Pip's was nowhere to be seen. So I'd put another one out, and that would disappear as well. I lost three at one point!

They were eventually found buried at the bottom of the cage when I came to do a cleanout!

 

[Socks' Mum]

Such a lovely account of living with a Robo. It's fascinating how hamsters work out a system for interacting with people. The flying saucer is funny to watch. He seems to be running to stay on, but the faster he runs the more likely the saucer is to eventually flip him off. Although he goes round and round and even round backwards, he doesn't seem to get dizzy, although he does go off into his house initially. It seems like the game and he is up for the challenge, cheeky little Robo.

 

[Socks' Mum]

I wonder what he thought of the teaspoons. Perhaps if I keep one it will produce more scrambled egg

 

[Maz]

I don't know! Maybe because it still smelled of food he wanted to hoard one? But you have a good point there! He may have thought it was a scrambled egg machine

 

[Coco61]

Heartwarming reminders of little Nugget and Pip.

 

[Maz]

Day 7 - the last day of Robos

As Pip got a bit older I became concerned not to have him climbing any more, in case he fell, so revised his plaza cage set up with some perspex panels and much deeper bedding - effectively making it a low height cage, with no shelves and just a couple of very low platforms (one of which was more of a house on legs and he loved diving into that. He seemed to approve of his new set up and still enjoyed zooming up a ramp but it was a much shallower ramp.

And he did have sprays then! But there aren't many on the photos (you can see the odd millet spray and sorghum - others were probably still in the freezer). Strangely though he was never that interested in sprays. He sniffed at the sorghum but didn't eat any of them - even flax.











A few more of him in his playpen






He lived happily in the new set up until the end of his days. Here he is having a go at a sunflower head

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[Socks' Mum]

There he is, a little bent over, but still very active, doing things the hamster way, going up the side instead of onto the ramp Enjoying his lovely set up.

 

[Maz]

Yes so typical isn't it - trying to do it the hard way instead of using the ramp!