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Post by pinky on Apr 9, 2009 1:36:46 GMT -4
Here is what I just wrote to Jayde's rescue mommy, Stacey.
**********
I should be going to bed, but I'm a little frustrated and need to share. . .
I'm worried about my Jaydee Girl. Something just doesn't seem right.
(1) As far as nipping/biting, I thought we were doing well there, but lately things have not been so good. I had to put her down in the middle of playing tonight to go put a bandaid on because she broke the skin. And then she just kept on being nippy, so we quit. I still take her out by having her crawl into the toilet paper tube--I don't try to pick her up with my hands.
She nips when she runs to the edge of the sheet and onto the rug and I scoop her up. For days she went without giving so much as a nip, but tonight was bad. I can understand that she wants to keep running, but hey, I pick her up and put her down again, and she CAN keep running. She should be used to the routine by now.
(2) She has taken to spending large amounts of time chewing the metal stand of the Silent Spinner. If she does it overnight she wakes me up. I give her a Veggie Puff to chew on, but soon she ditches that and goes back to the metal. She chews the stand much more than I ever see her run on the wheel. The wheel is basically her potty, and I'm not sure how much she actually runs. I have never had a hamster that was a big chewer, but she is stripping the paint off of the thing very nicely. Good thing it's non-toxic paint.
(3) Did she ever make noise when you had her? In the last month or so she's started being noisy. Recall that I was calling her Lady Chatterlee because she was chattering sometimes. Well, now she chatters and rumbles and squeaks when she's out, and tonight she was doing it a LOT. It started out being cute, but now it's worrisome and I'm wishing she could just talk and tell me what's up. She doesn't seem hurt or in pain. She runs smoothly and darn fast when she feels like it.
I don't know what to do. She seems very unsettled, and it's disconcerting.
She eats, drinks, pees, and poops just fine.
Any thoughts? Bigger cage? Different wheel? Stop taking her out for a while?
I just want her to be happy. . .
*****
Any thoughts from members? Thanks.
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Post by Dezzi on Apr 10, 2009 15:03:23 GMT -4
That hamster sounds stressed. I would say a bigger cage and more mental stimulation. Changing the wheel *might* help... That hamsters sounds a lot like my Meeks. He still nips when I take him out (and I still can't pick him up, it has to be the "crawl-into-container" method) but he also went through a phase of just plain grouchiness. I ended up having him in a few different cages, but now he's in two Living World Playgrounds that have been tubed together, and they're also attached to a bin. He's got more space, more things to run into and bury himself under... he seems to be having fun.
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Post by Hamsters82 on Apr 10, 2009 18:29:03 GMT -4
If you told us, I'm sorry but what's her back story again Robin? Maybe that's why it's taking Jayde some time before feeling comfortable with you although you're giving her lots of TLC. Maybe she gets stressed easily. And the biting seems fine to me. My hamsters were bitters throughout the night on their cage bars, tubes, etc. Trying to get used to that was hard, but it soon became easy. I think Jayde is fine in that department. I hope she and you are okay.  *hugs* |
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Apr 10, 2009 20:02:50 GMT -4
Why don't you just leave her totally alone for at least a week? Normal hamster wake up times and plenty of darkness during them. Big hideaway house.
And then gradually get to know her better, slowly.
>> what's her back story again <<
Good question. Sometimes personalities therefore do not always become what we want, but it does not mean I'd love one less if not as demonstrable to me as I'd prefer. In fact, a little trust from a critter with a bad past is often better than loads of it from one who always had it great.
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Post by pinky on Apr 14, 2009 0:32:08 GMT -4
Back story: rescued in October from a horrible situation at a kennel in PA (something like 1000 animals removed by SPCA). Was with Stacey for 4 months. Stacey said she was the sweetest dwarf ever. Agreed, DF, about the little bit of trust from a critter with a bad past being better. I can't know how bad Mal and Jayde's pasts were, but they've both been much easier to handle than they could have been. Even Jayde with her nipping--it's not like she can't be handled at all. If I never let her run around she wouldn't nip. Maybe that's why Stacey never had this problem--I don't think Jayde had as much freedom then, and once she got a taste of it she wanted more and more. She has been a bit better these last few days. I traded Silent Spinners, thinking that maybe she had something against that one, and she does seem to be chewing the stand less. Less chattering too, and maybe a little less nippy. There are no new smells, no temperature changes, no changes in light/darkness of late, only what is gradually happening naturally. Some photos of my beautiful--if petulant--little girl.       |
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Apr 14, 2009 13:28:11 GMT -4
Oh. Those are paw prints on the outside of the glass! Thought a giant critter was walking around in there.  She is very pretty. And she makes me wish I had some dwarfs. But rescues have not come my way in several years, and I rarely see them anyway. Very good photos. |
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Post by Hamsters82 on Apr 14, 2009 16:17:30 GMT -4
Those pictures of Jayde are so adorable, I like the 2, 4, & 5 the best. Can Jayde have some more free time out in an exercise ball or one of those playpens?
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Post by pinky on May 29, 2009 23:21:14 GMT -4
The pawprints. . . . that tank was decorated for me back in 1998 when I acquired Critter, decorated by the 12 year-old artist-in-residence I was living with at the time (and with her mother). The paint is wearing off, but I don't have the heart to clean it all off. She painted CRITER (sic) on the front--it's still there.
So. . . . Jaydee Girl is back to being a delight again! I made a few changes.
(1) Playtime is now running all over me, not running on a sheet on the ground. I put her on my outstretched legs; she runs up to my shoulder. She's happy doing that endlessly, but she usually breaks it up a bit by exploring my feet or my arms or going down my shirt. (ha! Haven't had a hamster interested in that since Critter--she LIVED in my sweatshirt while I sat and worked.) Alas, she has peed on me twice while on the inside of my clothing. She had never peed on me before! Oh, well--I shower before bed all the time anyway. She almost never nips now. And she is soundless.
(2) I bought a huge plastic bin and outfitted it with stuff to play in/on. (Note: a McDonald's molded paper cup holder makes a great dwarfie jungle gym!) In she goes whenever she and I are both awake. She actually sleeps a lot there, under a pile of shredded brown paper, but she runs on the wheel, scurries and climbs, chews on her Milk-Bone, etc. too. And she is soundless!
As for the chewing: I bought some bitter apple gel and put that on the SS stand any time I caught her chewing. . . . it kept her away for a while, but she'd go back. But what was curious was that she stopped eating her seed mix. . . and she was losing weight. . . . I concluded that she was consuming enough bitter apple to upset her stomach and kill her appetite. Stopping the gel applications caused her to chew again with a vengeance, but her appetite came back, and her weight (which needed to drop a bit anyway) seems stable.
So the bottom line is: she's well! And neurotic but happy! And healthy! Her (somewhat arbitrarily chosen) birthday is in 19 days--yay! I just love her to death--she is really just so beautifully colored, and though she will still rip my hand apart if I try to pick her up from the cage or bin she is a total sweetie when being held or played with. I can scruff her, turn her over, and move her lips around to look at her teeth, and she does not care! Something I love about her is that she is voice-activated! I can do things in the room and she won't be disturbed, but if I lean toward the cage and whisper "Jaydee!" she flies out of the igloo like a shot!
Oh--she stakes her claim to that bin on a regular basis by rolling in the corners. "Mine, mommy! Mine!"
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Post by Die Fledermaus on May 30, 2009 0:21:46 GMT -4
>> I don't have the heart to clean it all off. << Neither would I. And I might touch it up! >> she LIVED in my sweatshirt while I sat and worked. << Cute. Tell us more about Critter, or did I forget something? >> he has peed on me twice while on the inside of my clothing << According to Warren Eckstein, that means they like you and want to help maintain connections and communication between the two of you. >> I bought a huge plastic bin and outfitted it with stuff to play in/on << Photo? Now that the busy time of Spring is mostly over (less a few rose garden visits) I will be doing more with the critters here. >> I concluded that she was consuming enough bitter apple to upset her stomach and kill her appetite <<  Never thought of that. Small creature, though. >> though she will still rip my hand apart if I try to pick her up from the cage or bin << Caerbannog was among those who hated anyone reaching for her in her cage (home). Although it turned out to be bluff, and the rabbit was fine outside. I miss her too. I should be getting two bonded sisters this week. >> I love about her is that she is voice-activated! I can do things in the room and she won't be disturbed, but if I lean toward the cage and whisper "Jaydee!" she flies out of the igloo like a shot! <<  >> Oh--she stakes her claim to that bin on a regular basis by rolling in the corners. "Mine, mommy! Mine! << You recall Clare. Rabbit forum. She has dwarfs, and she asked my advice as to trimming nails. She got it, and good advice I think. Care to add any words of wisdom on this matter? |
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Post by pinky on May 31, 2009 11:56:51 GMT -4
>> I don't have the heart to clean it all off. << Neither would I. And I might touch it up! >> she LIVED in my sweatshirt while I sat and worked. << Cute. Tell us more about Critter, or did I forget something? >> he has peed on me twice while on the inside of my clothing << According to Warren Eckstein, that means they like you and want to help maintain connections and communication between the two of you. >> I bought a huge plastic bin and outfitted it with stuff to play in/on << Photo? You recall Clare. Rabbit forum. She has dwarfs, and she asked my advice as to trimming nails. She got it, and good advice I think. Care to add any words of wisdom on this matter?I've thought about touching it up, but I'm no artist! Critter: my first hamster. Acquired as follows: I was seeing a fellow whose son kept several Chinese hamsters at his mom's house. She went on a business trip, and he took the son and the hamsters. One escaped and was not found before everyone had to go back home. This hamster was later found, but before it could be returned the fellow had to go on a trip, so he asked me to keep the hamster, which was in a bucket. I did that, and I was able to acclimate the hamster to me a bit. So eventually the hamster made it back "home," and when the fellow put it back with the others a big fight ensued. He grabbed one of the fighters and put (her) back in the bucket, then came back to me and asked if I would keep her. I said sure. The people I lived with had a hamster, so they set me up with a tank, etc. (the painted tank). It turned out that this hamster was probably not the first one, since I had to start all over with getting her used to me. But she came around quickly, and I became very fond of her. She escaped once, and then kept escaping out of the book-staircase-cardboard box trap I set (  ), but a couple days after escaping she wandered out of my closet and toward me, and so all was well. She was fond of crawling into a small towel and dozing; she never went over the edge of a table, so I could leave her in the towel and go about my business in the room. She loved my clothes, as noted above; she got a diet of straight sunflower seeds and fresh food because I was uninformed then. From a poor photo online I pegged her as a "him," and so she was "he" for the duration of her life (had no idea then that male Chinese were unmistakably male in the hindquarters). She tolerated my hot-as-hell apartment in the summers. When about 3.5 years old she had what was probably a stroke, and she lost function in her back legs. Not too long after, she passed in the purple pumpkin--I was taking her to work because it seemed that she was on her way out. (She had actually spent a lot of time with me at work--she liked to crawl under my monitor where it was warm and hang out, and I had brought her into two classes.) She was donated to science--as far as I know, her skull is part of a collection of animal skulls used for education purposes, though the person who was to handle her body never affirmed that he did that, so. . . I will have to get my boyfriend to scan a photo of her. Onward. . . . well, then, I guess I should be flattered by the pee. Critter once peed down my back! Photo eventually. I couldn't find what you were referring to with regard to Clare and dwarfie nails. Please direct me and I will comment. Thanks. |
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Post by Die Fledermaus on May 31, 2009 17:53:55 GMT -4
>> She was donated to science--as far as I know, her skull is part of a collection of animal skulls used for education purposes << First time I ever heard of that! Clearly, she had de-clanned from the rest during the separation. Pee. Other than when scared, they want to be able to find you and vice versa for future use. They find by smell, of course. Clare asked me that on rabbitsonline.net. She knew me from Poppy. She wanted to know the best way to trim a dwarf's nails. I gave her my opinion. If you have any words of wisdom on that matter post them here and I will forward them - unless you wish to join the rabbit forum! My key point was a tight dead center scruff. |
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Post by gerbilgal on Jun 19, 2009 11:39:21 GMT -4
She is a cutie also.
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Post by pinky on Jun 19, 2009 21:20:49 GMT -4
Clare asked me that on rabbitsonline.net. She knew me from Poppy. She wanted to know the best way to trim a dwarf's nails. I gave her my opinion. If you have any words of wisdom on that matter post them here and I will forward them - unless you wish to join the rabbit forum! My key point was a tight dead center scruff. I did cut a few of Mal's nails. Scruffing was impossible--she flailed and flailed and would try to bite. I just kept repositioning her in my hand and hoping she'd be still long enough to get the clippers in position, not a trivial task since unlike Chinese ham paws dwarfie paws are furry (genus Phodopus--"hairy feet"). I kind of succeeded--I nipped off the very long ones. Jayde--I could scruff her for sure, but with her light fur finding the nail would be even more of a challenge. |
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*hugs* 
Never thought of that. Small creature, though.
), but a couple days after escaping she wandered out of my closet and toward me, and so all was well. She was fond of crawling into a small towel and dozing; she never went over the edge of a table, so I could leave her in the towel and go about my business in the room. She loved my clothes, as noted above; she got a diet of straight sunflower seeds and fresh food because I was uninformed then. From a poor photo online I pegged her as a "him," and so she was "he" for the duration of her life (had no idea then that male Chinese were unmistakably male in the hindquarters). She tolerated my hot-as-hell apartment in the summers. 
