Saffron

She’s so beautiful it’s always lovely to see her. Good to hear she’s coping so well with the meds, do you think they’re helping at all yet? A slight crust around the gland is fairly normal & often disappears with grooming, if it persists then wiping it should help, it could be infected but doesn’t sound like it.
 
elusive said:
She’s so beautiful it’s always lovely to see her. Good to hear she’s coping so well with the meds, do you think they’re helping at all yet? A slight crust around the gland is fairly normal & often disappears with grooming, if it persists then wiping it should help, it could be infected but doesn’t sound like it.
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Thankyou! I think so, she doesn't seem so uncomfortable, she used to scratch a bit when I'd pick her up, now she just grooms herself. There's no hair regrowth but my vet said that it can be 6 weeks until that's noticed, he was mainly relaying info from their exotics specialist but she's still "well" in herself which is something, minus the balding of course.
 
Saffron seemed to want out her cage just now so I let her have a run around on me, a couple of minutes later I hear a horrible crunch and feel a great deal of pain in my thumb, she really meant that one!! Honestly I don't know whether to continue trying to tame her.. she has made her feelings very clear bless her. I dont think she's done much long lasting damage to my thumb.. its still moving fine 🤣 but it hurts like hell and is still bleeding now. It's a shame because between the moments of wanting to bite, shes a lovely girl.

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Aw - do you think she just thinks you're something to eat?! Maybe wear gloves?
 
Given how jumpy she is I think its just lack of confidence maybe? I'm not sure, she very much meant it whatever it is! Maybe she heard something outside that I didn't, I assume they've better hearing than us. I may go back to gloves, just to see. I just feel bad in case I'm unnecessarily scaring her 😔

Its not too bad with the blood cleaned off but my god it hurts 😂

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That looks really painful!
 
Ouch! I hope your thumb gets better soon, I’ve had some good ones in the past & it really does hurt.

Does Saffron have a playpen for when you get her out? I just wondered if having a playpen with lots of things to explore might help (if she doesn’t already) maybe give her some time out of the cage just sitting by her & talking to her for a while then if she gets more confident with that try interacting with her a bit more.
 
I've let her have a couple of runs in the landing with areas blocked off.. she had a bit of a squeak/scream and hid herself in the nearest little hide each time but it may be worth persevering. Bless her she just seems scared of everything. My plan was next time to scatter some of her bedding on the floor so things smell familiar
 
Spreading some familiar smelling substrate around is a good idea, maybe the area was a bit big?
A smaller contained playpen with lots of hides & things to explore might work better than blocking off an area, I think if the playpen is close to the cage too the whole area will smell familiar & that might help.
 
Maybe the area is too big for her? Perhaps getting her used to a smaller area first could help? I used a cardboard box to get my previous hamster used to being out his cage.
 
A cardboard box sounds like a good starting point actually, she may feel safer with the sides, I have a few laying around! Initially I was going to try the bath but it's enamel so even with towels down, it's cold inside and with her hair loss it seemed like not the best idea, plus cardboard is going to be warm :)
 
It is good you have some cardboard boxes laying around. Perhaps adding plenty of tunnels and hides and hiding treats in them for her to find will help her to feel safe. 😊
 
I wouldn’t make it too small, although you don’t want a large space where they feel overexposed they can also feel trapped in a small space & will tend to just run around the edges trying to find a way out. It’s a balance really so a slighter larger space with plenty in it is better than a box that’s too small.
 
I tried madam in a box about 2ft x 1ft and she seemed ok, did a bit of exploring and then hid herself away. Unfortunately while moving her (with gloves! 😅) her belly is even balder so she has an appointment next week to see where we go now. I'd imagine the vet trips are not helping her temperament sadly, but I cant palpate her belly myself. Hopefully she won't be needing surgery, I cant imagine her enjoying the recovery.
 
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