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RJS · 10-04-2018, 06:51 AM

So I've had Theodore for three months now and I'd say all has been pretty good. I'm learning the ropes and he appears to be content with the routine we've settled into. Each night I'll wait for him to wake (around 10pm) and then take him downstairs to his playbox I call Theordoreville ... here he runs around for a couple of hours before its time for me to go to bed. Last Thursday though, I noticed that he seemed a little "off" but he still had a good time in his box so I thought nothing of it after I'd taken him back to his home

I always look in when I get up in the morning and he's usually already asleep (5:30am) but on this day he was awake and working on a "project". He had built himself a fort and for the first time, was not sleeping in his house. This didn't concern me much but what did, was that he'd peed all over his treats shelf and his treats! This he'd never done before .. so before leaving for work I cleaned the shelf and left a new treat.

On Friday night, he still seemed grumpy so I decided to leave him alone for the night. On Saturday morning he'd moved his fort to a different spot in his cage and sprayed substrate everywhere .. and once again he'd peed on his treat shelf. Cleaned it but left no treat.

Saturday night - same thing but much bigger fort! He'd pulled substrate from every corner of his cage. It was impressive ... but the good thing was no pee on the shelf ...

Sunday night I decided to give him a third night alone ... he was still ignoring me so I figured it was best to no push it. Since he hadn't soiled his treat shelf I left a treat ...

Well on Monday Morning the massive fort was gone and for the first time in four nights he was back sleeping in his house. Substrate had been replaced and his cage looked like it had been raked level! Once again - impressive. Since Monday, he's been his old self .. comes to see me when I approach the cage and climbs out onto my hand when I open the door. He's back to enjoying Theodoreville and its like it never happened

I'm scratching my head ... no cleaning was done, no changes were made, no new food or routines ... but something set him off.

Anyway, I don't expect to ever know at this point and I guess all this was to say - what amazing, complex little animals - little bodies big personalities! I can see why having a hamster can be so addictive!

And so it goes ...

10-04-2018, 06:51 AM
RJS Hamster Pup Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 96	Grumpy Hamster So I've had Theodore for three months now and I'd say all has been pretty good. I'm learning the ropes and he appears to be content with the routine we've settled into. Each night I'll wait for him to wake (around 10pm) and then take him downstairs to his playbox I call Theordoreville ... here he runs around for a couple of hours before its time for me to go to bed. Last Thursday though, I noticed that he seemed a little "off" but he still had a good time in his box so I thought nothing of it after I'd taken him back to his home I always look in when I get up in the morning and he's usually already asleep (5:30am) but on this day he was awake and working on a "project". He had built himself a fort and for the first time, was not sleeping in his house. This didn't concern me much but what did, was that he'd peed all over his treats shelf and his treats! This he'd never done before .. so before leaving for work I cleaned the shelf and left a new treat. On Friday night, he still seemed grumpy so I decided to leave him alone for the night. On Saturday morning he'd moved his fort to a different spot in his cage and sprayed substrate everywhere .. and once again he'd peed on his treat shelf. Cleaned it but left no treat. Saturday night - same thing but much bigger fort! He'd pulled substrate from every corner of his cage. It was impressive ... but the good thing was no pee on the shelf ... Sunday night I decided to give him a third night alone ... he was still ignoring me so I figured it was best to no push it. Since he hadn't soiled his treat shelf I left a treat ... Well on Monday Morning the massive fort was gone and for the first time in four nights he was back sleeping in his house. Substrate had been replaced and his cage looked like it had been raked level! Once again - impressive. Since Monday, he's been his old self .. comes to see me when I approach the cage and climbs out onto my hand when I open the door. He's back to enjoying Theodoreville and its like it never happened I'm scratching my head ... no cleaning was done, no changes were made, no new food or routines ... but something set him off. Anyway, I don't expect to ever know at this point and I guess all this was to say - what amazing, complex little animals - little bodies big personalities! I can see why having a hamster can be so addictive! And so it goes ...