Update On Cocoa!

Hi so I’m back with my promised update on my new hammy Cocoa who I adopting a few days ago after being given up by her previous owners. This has been an interesting experience so far and has challenged what I know about hamsters.

Okay so as of right now, Cocoa has been with us for 3 days and so far it has been really interesting! So I have a lot of experience with hamsters, as Cocoa is my 6th one and because of this I’ve learnt to really study how each hamster is different in there own way and have there own personalities and traits. Now with this knowledge, I have only had hamsters from pups so this time around this been a little different in some easy ways and some more difficult ways.

So because I’m used to having hamsters as pups I’m used to the annoyance and difficulty of trying to tame a hamster. This being said, this time around it was easier because Cocoa is already 14 months old and has had a previous home so she instantly seemed pretty settled and comfortable. The staff at the pet shop did warn me off her being a ‘biter’ so I was really cautious and really only today have I felt confident enough to really interact with her. So this has been different but a lot easier because you skip all the trying to tame her.

The one thing I have noticed and have been prepared for is that she was never handled or spent time with, but to my surprise she is tamed and seems to understand humans, how a home works and has never been nervous or scared so far.

So I’ve been feeding her by hand since I got her but yesterday I began interacting with Cocoa and really trying to get her to come to me. I began by given her treats then just putting my hand in the box to see if she would step onto it. She was curious and confident in taking food but so far she will put her paw on my hand but just walk away afterwards. She’s not acting aggressive or scared, just not interested in human interaction. This is different for me and I’m trying to pay attention to her behaviour but I have summed it up to her just not being interested. Now this will happen with hamster who have never truly been handled in there life or never been showed any care or attention, so I’m currently stuck at a hurdle in deciding what to do next as I could leave her and let her do what she wants to do or I could show her some real attention. Cocoa is an adult hamster as of this point and the problem is that they do tend to be stuck there ways and since she has never truly known real attention so far in her life, she’s really confused and doesn’t understand that she can have interactions with humans that are t just to give her food.

So currently this is my main difficulty and a set back I didn’t really think about, but also shows me that the environment you in shapes the person you are applied to animals as well and in this case it’s a hamster.

Cocoa also got put in the ball yesterday which was interesting! (By put in the ball, I mean we laid the ball in her home and let her get in) she seemed really stressed at first as we have learnt that she does not like being trapped in confined spaces. After she was put down though she did seem to enjoy it and it was a great way for her to meet everyone else in the house without all the holding or handling. After about 20 mind I out her back home and she did seem more frustrated after that and had a real want to escape, so today I got out a ton of old hamster toys and things she could be interested with and so far she’s loving it and seems far happier!

The pet shop didn’t tell me what kind of conditions she was in before in her previous home or what care she really got from her owners. So from what I’ve seen she seems to not of had enough care and attention, not really tamed and probably put in a really poor cage setup because I’ve also seen her biting her box and wheel as she would have done when gnawing at cage bars.

So overall she is doing great and has adapted beautifully and is a lovely hamster. She just needs some help along the way in getting some love and attention in her life and not feeling trapped as hamsters can actually get very attached to there owners if spent enough time with with I know I’ve experienced with all of my previous hamsters is that although you get to know them, they are smart and come to understand you.

Okay so this was my little update for Cocoa with the good and the bad so far in taking care of a fully grown hamster! Thank you for reading this and hope your loving my journey so far with Cocoa!