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Pebbles82 · 02-14-2019, 04:50 AM

Is she a baby? They can be quite nervy at first and hide way a lot. It takes a good two weeks for them to fully settle into a cage so best not to clean anything or move anything for the first two weeks.

The other thing is, it's very cold weather and they need to keep warm. Does she have a house big enough for a large nest? They usually build very large nests in winter to keep warm as they do feel the cold. So keep putting extra nesting material out for her. Torn up strips of plain white toilet paper are safest and they like it.

So it's another reason why they sleep more/stay in the house more when it's cold. However they can risk going into torpor if they get too cold (unconscious) so it's important that the room she is in is a reasonable temperature. As hamsters are most active during the night, it can even be an idea to have some heating on for an hour or two during the night in the room the hamster is on. Instead of having the central heating on, I have a little oil filled radiator on a timer.

I noticed also you are spot cleaning her cage every day - it's best to do nothing for a couple of weeks to let her settle in. If she uses a litter tray, just empty that every four or five days. If she just has a toilet area then grit your teeth and only spot clean that once a week until she's had her two week settling in period. I would start the two weeks from now.

It can set back their settling in period if you do any cleaning during that two weeks.

Having said that - adding the odd new thing can be accepted quite well - as long as it doesn't mean moving things around. Does she have plenty of enrichment in the cage? They need that for stimulation. Things like tunnels/tubes and a chew stick and other hidey places. They can hide a bit if they feel too exposed as well (eg a lot of open space). You might get some ideas from the link below - I found a picture of someone with a Tamburino set up - although I think it's for a dwarf hamster but it may give some ideas for enrichment.

cages!

More here

F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura) Review

02-14-2019, 04:50 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Is she a baby? They can be quite nervy at first and hide way a lot. It takes a good two weeks for them to fully settle into a cage so best not to clean anything or move anything for the first two weeks. The other thing is, it's very cold weather and they need to keep warm. Does she have a house big enough for a large nest? They usually build very large nests in winter to keep warm as they do feel the cold. So keep putting extra nesting material out for her. Torn up strips of plain white toilet paper are safest and they like it. So it's another reason why they sleep more/stay in the house more when it's cold. However they can risk going into torpor if they get too cold (unconscious) so it's important that the room she is in is a reasonable temperature. As hamsters are most active during the night, it can even be an idea to have some heating on for an hour or two during the night in the room the hamster is on. Instead of having the central heating on, I have a little oil filled radiator on a timer. I noticed also you are spot cleaning her cage every day - it's best to do nothing for a couple of weeks to let her settle in. If she uses a litter tray, just empty that every four or five days. If she just has a toilet area then grit your teeth and only spot clean that once a week until she's had her two week settling in period. I would start the two weeks from now. It can set back their settling in period if you do any cleaning during that two weeks. Having said that - adding the odd new thing can be accepted quite well - as long as it doesn't mean moving things around. Does she have plenty of enrichment in the cage? They need that for stimulation. Things like tunnels/tubes and a chew stick and other hidey places. They can hide a bit if they feel too exposed as well (eg a lot of open space). You might get some ideas from the link below - I found a picture of someone with a Tamburino set up - although I think it's for a dwarf hamster but it may give some ideas for enrichment. cages! More here F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura) Review Last edited by souffle; 02-15-2019 at 06:19 AM.