Attention Seeking!

[starbug]

Lucy has been with us nearly two weeks. She is seven weeks old and extremely tame. However, she's also completely manic!

Every night, she trashes her cage - turns her sand bath upside down, moves her wheel, even pushes the bottle out of it's holder onto the floor. I've had to secure it from the roof of the cage with an elastic band.

I've never had a female ham before. I've read on here that boys are more laid back, but I never expected anything like this - is it normal for girls to be this boisterous?

Also, how much time should I give her outside the cage? However long she stays out, as soon as I out her back she begs to come out again and chews the bars to get attention.

Her sand bath is a plastic Chinese takeaway carton. Should ai give her something heavier?. She 's scattered sand all around the cage, none of our boys ever created such a mess!

Any advice would be greatfully received!

[Esmy]

LOL Tornado Lucy! I don't know the answer to this but I have a female Syrian about the same age. She doesn't move stuff around. She's either running on her wheel, eating/drinking or sleeping in her nest even though she has a lot of stuff to do. When I take her out, she stays in this huge glass shell I filled with Carefresh and will stay in there for over an hour grooming, eating and sleeping on my desk. When I do put her back, she jumps and scratches in the corner of her bin to let me know she wants back out.

[KoPi]

Originally Posted by starbug

Lucy has been with us nearly two weeks. She is seven weeks old and extremely tame. However, she's also completely manic!

Every night, she trashes her cage - turns her sand bath upside down, moves her wheel, even pushes the bottle out of it's holder onto the floor. I've had to secure it from the roof of the cage with an elastic band.

I've never had a female ham before. I've read on here that boys are more laid back, but I never expected anything like this - is it normal for girls to be this boisterous?

Also, how much time should I give her outside the cage? However long she stays out, as soon as I out her back she begs to come out again and chews the bars to get attention.

Her sand bath is a plastic Chinese takeaway carton. Should ai give her something heavier?. She 's scattered sand all around the cage, none of our boys ever created such a mess!

Any advice would be greatfully received!

Hamsters chew on the bars of their cage when they are bored. Boredom is usually caused by lack of fun toys (and chew toys) and/or lack of cage space. Hamsters should be taken out for playtime for 10-20 minutes. It sounds like your hamster is a bit bored, but maybe there is another explanation to this. Maybe you can get a litter box that is heavier, ceramic litter boxes work great since it provides a nice and cool mini-area and your hamster can't tip it over. You can get a ceramic container from the dollar store. Ceramic containers do provide a cooling space for your hamster while your hamster enjoys the lovely sand bath.

As I always say, good luck!

[Munchalot]

My last Syrian girl was a nutter too. Some of them are just little furry whirlwinds of energy!

She had LOADS of toys, and was let out for at least an hour a night, but no matter how long she had out she did not want to go home. I would try to put her back but she would just scramble back up my arm. Lol. And the bar chewing... never heard anything like it! She was a complete fruit cake that ham.

You could try giving her something heavier to use as a sand dish. I use heavy ceramic dog dishes, they work well.

As for out of cage time, have you tried setting up a play pen with some toys? Keeps them occupied and lets them burn off some steam. Normally 30 mins or so is fine, but for particularly energetic hams you can keep them out for longer. Even my placid boys get at least 40 mins a night, up to an hour.

And does she have a nice big wheel? Minimum is 8 inches in diameter but some prefer a bigger 12 inch wheel. My Syrian boy wouldn't run in his 20cm, but now he's got his bigger one he loves it!

[starbug]

I should have said that Lucy has a large Wodent Wheel and a playpen with lots of toys. I've also added more toys to her cage - including lots of chewable ones! I will look for a more suitable sand dish to go in her cage.

I was wondering how much of her 'nuttiness' is because she's a babay and how much she is likely to calm down as she gets older?

[Teddy001]

Originally Posted by starbug

I should have said that Lucy has a large Wodent Wheel and a playpen with lots of toys. I've also added more toys to her cage - including lots of chewable ones! I will look for a more suitable sand dish to go in her cage.

I was wondering how much of her 'nuttiness' is because she's a babay and how much she is likely to calm down as she gets older?

I think it maybe, she's still a baby.. I have a female Syrian, got her 4 weeks old, and she was very scared, at first, then after a few weeks, she runs from her connecting cages, knocks over her food dishes, and moves all of her toys around.. I've been lucky in that, she does not chew on the cage, and when she's out of her cage, she seems content, going back to her cage. I have an dwarf and Syrian, they both do not beg to come out.. I read that female's have the hormones that may cause them to be a bit, "moody". It could also be, since Lucys a baby, she's just very curious of everything in her cage.. like a young child, that touches everything, and is a bit clumsy due to their balance hasn't fully developed.

[SoapyVP]

The only time Picky is quiet is when she's sat on my other half eating fruit with him. Otherwise she's destroying her cage, racing round in her ball, trying to get under the sofa, chewing her bars, chasing a ping pong ball. She's about 6 months old now. Too soon I'll be worried that she's not running around and she's getting old.

[Sammypoo]

My female shrek is about 11 weeks old and she is just the same she trashes her tank every night only thing she can't move is her sandbath as it's a ceramic cat bowl (one free with whiskers cat meat) but she is a diva and moves everything part of the reason she is called shrek as she can be a little ogre at times

[DrKMcK]

Your little one sounds adorable...and completely normal. The idea of getting a heavier sand box is a good idea. I look at it as, it's their home...they know how they like it. My dwarfies cage looks wonderful after I've done a cage clean, but it doesn't stay that way. They spend a lot of time rearranging things to their liking. In fact, because they insist on putting their bedding in their sandbox, I will be making them a platform for their sandbath. I'll get around them on this one point somehow .

[daydreambeliever]

Nibbles bites the barsdoes for attention, because when I woke up this morming he was on his wheel saw me sit up ram over to the cage, poped his head up started biting the bars until I layed back down