little dove-grey mouse ham

[mistressindi]

Meet... somebody! I don't know who he is, just yet. I picked him up at a pet shop today, after poking around in the Vat O' Hams. I told the woman helping me that I was interested in two things: male (no surprise babies, thanks) and calm; I wasn't fussed much about color. After some investigation of various candidates, this little guy let me hold

Comments

[typicalfemale]

He's a sable, and he's beautiful.

I went back a few entries and read that your last ham was adopted so I don't know if this is your first very young hamster but some advice if it is: Keep an eye on his poop for the first week or so - regardless of whether the pet store is in good condition, they can get wet tail when brought home because they're in a new environment with new smells & away from their family for the first time. If his bottom starts to look wet or he sleeps a lot take him to the vet ASAP. I don't wanna scare you but I just had a baby ham with wet tail, he lived and he's fine now but many of them die. Not saying it will happen or trying to bum you out but just a warning cause I don't want anybody else to go through that if they don't have to!! So keep an eye on him, you sound like a great owner so I'm sure you will. :) Congratulations on your handsome new little dude!

[mistressindi]

Thank you! I appreciate the warning! This guy - it turns out his name is Myshka - is the youngest ham I've had in... ever. They approximated his age, at the shop, at about two months. I made sure to ask what they were fed at the shop, and luckily they use Mazuri blocks there too, so there's no change of diet trouble here, I hope. (They had small-animal. I have specific-for-hamsters. Close enough, I hope.)

Other than keeping from stressing the little bug out, is there anything else I should avoid? Certain treats, seeds, yogurt drops? Wet food like veggies is a no-no for a while, right? I've been lucky with hams, haven't had to fight a case of wet tail -- downside to that is, I'm not up to speed on prevention.

Things are moving along quicker than I'd expected; he's already accepting food from my hands, though he still is hand-shy and flinches at sudden movements. I'll post an update sometime soon :)

[typicalfemale]

Aww, the name Myshka is cute! Out of curiosity I googled it and it looks like it means furry little bear in Russian? That's awesome and very appropriate

[mistressindi]

As I understand it (I'm not fluent in Russian) Myshka means little mouse (mysh plus the -ka suffix) and then mishka means little bear. More of an eeh than an ih sound, if that makes sense. My pronunciation probably mixes the two into "little bearmouse." Which fits, I think

[sugar_for_sugar]

Just for some name ideas, as long as we're sticking with the idea of "Mouse" (which is a cute name too), here's "Mouse" in several other languages!
Japanese: Nezumi
German: Maus
French: Souris
Italian: Topo

Or you could think up some other gray things, if you wanted to stick with the color, and call him Cloudy or Soot or Dusty or Charcoal or Ash.

Or you could just call him "D'AWWWW SO CUTE" :D