How to hand train a dormouse?
I used to have goldfish. Many goldfish.
People say they are supid.
In reality goldfish are quite smart and have a good memory.
African pygmy dormice in comparison probably have bigger brains but are so scared s**tless of everything that they can't show it.
And I'm not talking figuratively here.
They keep dropping their little brown packages whenever something upsets them.
And this includes seeing eachother. Yes they are affraid of eachother.
But nothing that wrong so far. I don't mind cleaning the cage. :)
After about 2 months one of them has mastered to not hide at the merest sight of light.
But if they are both together the other one manages to convince the first one to stay hidden.
I guess it says something like: "Don't go out there. They eat babies... I swear."
At the shop they said that they like sweet things, and it should be possible to lure them with honey.
Truth is that they only eat honey as long as 95% of their body is hidden.
If you give it to them on a 2inch long stick but they are not inside a hole or something
they won't even approach it. No matter if you have been keeping your hand still for 30 minutes and it's starting to hurt.
They have also said in the shop that I should just try picking them up and slowly they will get used to hands.
I stopped trying this after about a week since all it achieved is that they learned they can bite
and it seems to scare them even more.
So for the last couple of weeks I've been just changing their food and water.
And sitting long periods waiting if they atleast dared to show their nose out of their house.
Which happens quite rarely and is generally not worth the wait.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to convince them to atleast stop hiding all the time.
Yes going on the hand would be better, but I don't want to ask too much from the little guys.
I desperately want them to make some progress towars not fearing people.
Because truth be told I have nothing out of feeding them if I can't even see them.
And the concept of the natural foodchain is slowly making it's way into my mind.