Tako the Takoyaki

[Maz]

Im so sorry you have a cold and hope it gets better soon. He will be fine for a few days . It’s just a case of washing hands before putting food out and avoiding contact as you say.

It’s great he will actually f do it on your hand now! That is real progress! He looks so cute sitting in his wheel and bowl and he must be happy getting lovely food and treats.

It’s annoying that they pee on their wheels! As it’s a wood and cork wheel - were you able to paint it with anything to waterproof it? We tend to plastikote wood and cork wheels for that reason - but I have used them without plastikote before and just washed the inside in hot soapy water which seems to be fine. I would t do that too often as they like some scent remaining on their wheel and it means the cork can start falling apart - but you can always replace the cork running track - you can buy cork or strips of it

 

[Socks' Mum]

He is so cute! I hope you are feeling better, take care!

 

[ponyo]

Im so sorry you have a cold and hope it gets better soon. He will be fine for a few days . It’s just a case of washing hands before putting food out and avoiding contact as you say.

It’s great he will actually f do it on your hand now! That is real progress! He looks so cute sitting in his wheel and bowl and he must be happy getting lovely food and treats.

It’s annoying that they pee on their wheels! As it’s a wood and cork wheel - were you able to paint it with anything to waterproof it? We tend to plastikote wood and cork wheels for that reason - but I have used them without plastikote before and just washed the inside in hot soapy water which seems to be fine. I would t do that too often as they like some scent remaining on their wheel and it means the cork can start falling apart - but you can always replace the cork running track - you can buy cork or strips of it

Thanks, Maz. Yeah, i hold my cought or sneeze and always wear new clothes, mask and also gloves. My family cant handle him alone, they dont know how to handle him even i already told what should do.

Hahahahaha, he was jump out when i was used mask and gloves. He really love to make a joke.

The inside of the wheel already coated with food grade waterproof. I did modificate a little bit with put a cork sheet on the track with elmer glue. I use a pet safe disinfentant to wash it but the scent also doesnt come off even i used hairdryer to dry the wet part

 

[ponyo]

T

He is so cute! I hope you are feeling better, take care!

Thanks socks mom

 

[Maz]

I'd just use soapy water on it (dishwashing liquid) - it doesn't really need disinfecting, just cleaning. That might rinse the disinfectant aroma off as well!

 

[Hank]

Sorry, you are not well. Hope you feel better soon.
He's such a cute little hamster, he looks very happy

 

[ponyo]

Thanks all, i will keep the diary update later. After this Tako will move into better new cage, hopefully he doesnt feel lonely, i see him plays his wheel from a far.

 

[Doodleham]

Tako is absolutely gorgeous. I love his markings.

 

[ponyo]

Tako is absolutely gorgeous. I love his markings.

Thanks wren

 

[ponyo]

Finally i got better now, so today Tako have a try on to taste the new seedmix. The new seedmix contains a lot of grains than seed, hopefully he like it and yesterday he tried a little piece of broccoli and he like it. Probably i will make a salad once a week for him later.

Tako journey will begin, and he want to said hello to the forum after a long break

 

[Maz]

He’s so cute - he has a little Teddy Bear face . Glad you’re feeling better and can’t wait to hear more about Tako’s journey

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hello Tako, your wheel is such fun! Great to hear your mom is feeling better now!

 

[ponyo]

Update for today, Tako will move to his new enclosure soon in this week after all the product come. After for awhile he really enjoy fresh veggies, however im confused how to keep it left over veggies fresh like brocolli and cucumber. For awhile im filtering the wood shaving and its amaze me how much the dust inside it, i used Ch***i. Still decorate the cage and will moving tako soon!.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Good luck with moving home! He is a lucky hamster I put veg like cucumber, bell pepper and broccoli into a big tupperware in the fridge, but also cook with it as it doesn't keep for long. I am eating much more healthy food thanks to my pets

 

[Maz]

I have been criticised for buying more veg for the hamsters than the humans Things like cucumber and broccoli will keep for a week in the fridge. It's fine to stick to a couple of staple veg and alternate them. Carrots keep for ages if stored in the fridge. If you can get a small parsley plant in a pot you can keep that in the house growing. A parsley leaf once a week is a nice veg alternative and healthy for them.

It's great he's getting his new cage soon. It's quite important to not clean anything out in his old cage before the move, and to move his old bedding over with him (and ideally at least part of his existing nest and hoard) and move over any other items without cleaning them. A cage move, can be quite a stressful process otherwise. So the idea is to keep their familiar scent which helps them settle in quicker. Otherwise they can be quite stressed and hide away for a couple of weeks and it set taming back as well.

So with a bigger cage you will obviously have a lot more bedding in it, so fill it with new bedding. Then when it comes time to move him in, pop him somewhere safe and take all the old bedding out of his old cage and spread it on top of the new, so it smells familiar. If there isn't that much of it then spread it mainly round the house area.

Also it helps to try and keep the layout similar, in terms of house, wheel etc in similar locations as before. So if the house was on the left and the wheel at the back, it helps to try and recreate that layout/familiar route for them. It isn't always possible to have the layout exactly the same but those little things can help a lot.

If you're using a different house/hide, try and save most of his old nesting area/nesting material and put that inside the new house, along with any hoard you save from the old cage. It doesn't matter if it's all smelly - it will be fine for a couple of weeks while he's settling in, and then you can do the odd bit of spot cleaning if needed, or wipe the wheel.

It's really tempting to put everything in new and clean but can freak out the hamster!

Keeping the odd old item from the old cage helps as well, but he will still enjoy checking out new things in the cage too

If possible, I tend to do a "transition day" as find they settle in a couple of days if you do that. By that I mean, letting him have a play in the new cage, the day before moving him. So for that, you have all the new bedding in and maybe some of the new items you'll be using in the new cage, and take one familiar item (a tunnel eg) from his old cage (for the familiar scent).

And let him have a play and explore in the new cage for an hour or so. Some people find the hamster likes it so much they're tempted to leave them in there, but it helps to then move them back to their old cage overnight, then finish setting up and move the bedding etc across next day for the hamster to move in.

I think this helps a lot because it's not a "cold turkey" move. However lovely the new cage is, they feel safe and familiar in the old cage, so by doing a transition day, they are already familiar with the new cage once they move in (and usually keen!) and have already scent marked it a bit, which helps.

The other tip there is, once you've moved him in, take the old cage out of the room - even if it's just to the bathroom - and clean round that area. They can be quite bothered by the scent of their old cage still nearby. I made mistakes with our first hamster and for ages he kept going over to the area where his old cage was and seeming a bit distressed. When I realised that, I moved it and cleaned the area.

And clean out the old cage straight away after the move, to remove any scent.

It's easier than it sounds!

 

[ponyo]

Good luck with moving home! He is a lucky hamster I put veg like cucumber, bell pepper and broccoli into a big tupperware in the fridge, but also cook with it as it doesn't keep for long. I am eating much more healthy food thanks to my pets

Hahaha, i sliced the cucumber into a pieces and place it on tupperware however it doesn't last to long. Maybe around 5 days and gone rotten already and same for broccoli too, i place the broccoli into a bowl and some water to keep it fresh as youtube said Broccoli need some water to keep fresh in the refrigerator, however is just only last for 2 days and the broccoli gone yellow. I just wondering should i frozen it or just put it in the refrigerator

 

[Maz]

I just put the whole broccoli plant in the fridge and the whole cucumber in the fridge and cut or pull bits off when needed It should stay fresher that way.

 

[ponyo]

I have been criticised for buying more veg for the hamsters than the humans Things like cucumber and broccoli will keep for a week in the fridge. It's fine to stick to a couple of staple veg and alternate them. Carrots keep for ages if stored in the fridge. If you can get a small parsley plant in a pot you can keep that in the house growing. A parsley leaf once a week is a nice veg alternative and healthy for them.

It's great he's getting his new cage soon. It's quite important to not clean anything out in his old cage before the move, and to move his old bedding over with him (and ideally at least part of his existing nest and hoard) and move over any other items without cleaning them. A cage move, can be quite a stressful process otherwise. So the idea is to keep their familiar scent which helps them settle in quicker. Otherwise they can be quite stressed and hide away for a couple of weeks and it set taming back as well.

So with a bigger cage you will obviously have a lot more bedding in it, so fill it with new bedding. Then when it comes time to move him in, pop him somewhere safe and take all the old bedding out of his old cage and spread it on top of the new, so it smells familiar. If there isn't that much of it then spread it mainly round the house area.

Also it helps to try and keep the layout similar, in terms of house, wheel etc in similar locations as before. So if the house was on the left and the wheel at the back, it helps to try and recreate that layout/familiar route for them. It isn't always possible to have the layout exactly the same but those little things can help a lot.

If you're using a different house/hide, try and save most of his old nesting area/nesting material and put that inside the new house, along with any hoard you save from the old cage. It doesn't matter if it's all smelly - it will be fine for a couple of weeks while he's settling in, and then you can do the odd bit of spot cleaning if needed, or wipe the wheel.

It's really tempting to put everything in new and clean but can freak out the hamster!

Keeping the odd old item from the old cage helps as well, but he will still enjoy checking out new things in the cage too

If possible, I tend to do a "transition day" as find they settle in a couple of days if you do that. By that I mean, letting him have a play in the new cage, the day before moving him. So for that, you have all the new bedding in and maybe some of the new items you'll be using in the new cage, and take one familiar item (a tunnel eg) from his old cage (for the familiar scent).

And let him have a play and explore in the new cage for an hour or so. Some people find the hamster likes it so much they're tempted to leave them in there, but it helps to then move them back to their old cage overnight, then finish setting up and move the bedding etc across next day for the hamster to move in.

I think this helps a lot because it's not a "cold turkey" move. However lovely the new cage is, they feel safe and familiar in the old cage, so by doing a transition day, they are already familiar with the new cage once they move in (and usually keen!) and have already scent marked it a bit, which helps.

The other tip there is, once you've moved him in, take the old cage out of the room - even if it's just to the bathroom - and clean round that area. They can be quite bothered by the scent of their old cage still nearby. I made mistakes with our first hamster and for ages he kept going over to the area where his old cage was and seeming a bit distressed. When I realised that, I moved it and cleaned the area.

And clean out the old cage straight away after the move, to remove any scent.

It's easier than it sounds!

Me too! The hamster foods take a lot space on my refrigerator and freezer. Such as sprays and wood things goes to freezer and foods goes to refrigerator. Yeah, my family complaining but still keep big space for human food

THANKS A THOUSAND, Maz. I immediately saved the tissue beddings from old cage even its not that much but still have his scent. Even this cage still not complete and continued upgraded because the other things still not arrived yet and for transition day method will be hard. Tako destroyed his emergency cage and found a hole in his cage floor, i change my mind and put him into the new cage. However i moved out the old cage from the room and save some paper beddings from the old cage

 

[ponyo]

So this is Tako Diary for today, he is moving into the new cage earlier because the old cage can't hold him anymore and its like i made a mistake that bought a smelly wood shavings. The smell doesnt that bad, however i worried it would affect him so much and i decided to moved him earlier. The cage will be finished this week, included with sprays, new hides, and a wood branches still incoming. I intend to put an extra paper bedding also to make it higher.

Tako said welcome to my new temporary house!

 

[Maz]

He is so cute His new home is lovely and he looks happy there. It'll be nice to see when you've got the other things added as well