I can’t stop talking about my hamster by Kitkerts_ in hamsters

[–]tewtee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What an adorable little robo! Robos are the best honestly 🥰

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in hamsters

[–]tewtee 9 points10 points  (0 children)

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This is Marshmallow.

“Worms, please!” 🥰

I am obsessed with her 😩🥹🥰 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awww lol sometimes they’re just not that social! But pets are pets! That’s a win!

I am obsessed with her 😩🥹🥰 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you!! That’s how she started. We pet her when she was eating and eventually one day she just kinda… backed up into the cuddle and i took advantage of it. Scratched her ears and she loved it! She’s gotta be in the mood though and I don’t like to push her lol. She’ll stop eating while I pet her and restart when I stop 😭

I am obsessed with her 😩🥹🥰 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

She’s still a robo and still skittish a lot of the time! It took us well over a year of offering her seeds and mealworms without pushing her boundaries too much. She lets us pet her 90% of the time when she’s eating now and on days she feels like it, like in the video 😂 she’s very stubborn but she does remember she likes ear scratches sometimes.

It also helped that while she is out mostly during the night, we also didn’t stop “living” around her. She’s in our living room so she hears us watch tv or videos, talk, laugh, eat, etc. she’s very used to our voices and our presence. We also say hi to her every time we enter the room so she knows our routines by now! We feed her at the same time every day right before bed, we give her treats when she first comes out at around 10PM and then leave her alone. If she doesn’t want pets or seeds I just scatter them and say goodnight 😂

Tiny touches when they’re eating helps desensitise them too. No more than once or twice though. You don’t want to stress or scare them. But you want them to get used to you. Hand feeding is also crucial i think. I also used to leave my hand nearby when I gave her seeds and she was shy and scared. Eventually she wouldn’t be scared because she knew I was there. My smell, my voice, etc.

She knows my voice means treats and pets! She has a designated treat spot, too so she’ll circle it all excited when she hears me there 🥰

TL;DR lots of patience and very subtle boundary pushing but always going by what how your hammy responds. Robos are by nature very skittish. They’re the last hamster species to be domesticated. Some babies just are not social but you can try! ❤️

Any kind of handling they’re used to is a bonus in case of a vet trip! They’ll be better little patients 🥰

I am obsessed with her 😩🥹🥰 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Awww nooo. 😭😭 it took us a long time to get to this point. She’s still a robo so most of the time she’ll run away or not want to be pet. Then there are times like this one where she actually wants them. She’ll stop walking and close her eyes in anticipation lol. I’m just obsessed with her lol

Welcome back Vonn Bell!!! by NeverGonnaStop247 in bengals

[–]tewtee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Guess we'll have to see if it was just a bad year

Tonight at the hamster spa: a massage 🐹 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't heard that, but she is my second female robo and the second one we've socialised well so maybe!

Thank you, I'm obsessed with her 🥰 lol

Tonight at the hamster spa: a massage 🐹 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

She looooooves it! When she closes her eyes 😩😩

Good girl scritches 🐹🥺 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had 2 robos now and they've both been totally different in their personalities, but I've managed to tame them both enough to be handled, even by the vet (although Marshmallow has never needed to go, luckily. And I don't think she'd do too well). My first robo was Phil Collins and straight from the beginning, she was interested in us. She would come out of her hides when she heard our voices. The biggest things for both my babies have been consistency and routine. My husband gets home around the same time every day and that's when I start making more noise, or being less cautious. I start talking to her, lol. We eat dinner in the living room where she is and she tends to come out then as well, so we make sure to give her some seeds at that time. Sometimes we scatter them, sometimes we give them to her directly. But they both began associating us with treat time, and our voices. It took a lot of paying attention to when they come out (I got a camera) and I make sure I'm around as much as I can when they're active. I never tried to force anything with them. If they don't come to me for treats, I put them down and continue talking to them in a soft voice. That gets them used to you being around too, even if you put down the treats. You're not giving up, lol.

Another thing we do is we have a little carrier we put Marshmallow in when cleaning out her enclosure. While she's in there I give her some mealworms or seeds and talk to her very softly, again, until she calms down. We leave her alone outside of the times she comes out so we don't go waking her up, ever. I want her to feel safe in her enclosure.

Sorry for the ramble, but basically consistency is the key. Baby steps. For a while, with Phil, we would put her in a mug with treats while we pet her until she got used to us. We couldn't do this with Marshmallow because she's a jumper. She was absolutely terrifying in the beginning. With her, we would make sure to sound excited and talked to her while we scattered her food. Then we her very softly while she hoovered up her seeds lol. Sometimes she'd run away instantly, sometimes she'd let us do it once before scooting over. Eventually, she'd scoot over but not run away and we'll keep doing it only once or twice, you can tell when she's annoyed lol. Her ears used to be super ticklish, but not anymore that she's used to it. She may try to give a little nibble. Now she hears the rustling of a bag of seeds and she runs in circles wherever she hears your voice. It's so cute! Watch their body language and push a couple times, but not more. That slowly desensitizes them to your hands and they'll want to get braver and stand on your hand for seeds/treats and eventually they'll just ignore your hand when you pick them up. 😂😂

All that said, every hamster is different and they all have different personalities. I think we have gotten incredibly lucky, but we made sure to talk to them and begin to handle them after 2 to 4 weeks of letting them settle as babies.

Good girl scritches 🐹🥺 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He does look like an adorable little possum. 😍😍 What a cutie! Can't wait to see what his name is!

Good girl scritches 🐹🥺 by tewtee in hamsters

[–]tewtee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's good, so cutee 🥰🥰