Weeing in tube and taming issues

n_t · 10-13-2008, 09:38 AM

i cleaned out the tube which he peed in, it definitely is urine i took a sawb of it into the lab for testing at university so im not worried about him. checked him over when he was walking up and down and his tail is not wet or any of his fur...his eyes are bright, fur nice and glossy and he spends a lot of time in his wheel, so i am glad he's ok. i'll stop using the vits because i have a salt lick in his cage anyway. today i gave him some hamster mix with a raw almond that i crushed slightly. he has dragged some of his bedding into a tube and has hoarded most of his food there, during the weekend when i clean his cage out i'll replace some of his used bedding plus food in his house so it might encourage him to sleep there, i have some of the litter stuff that can be used, i will definitely have to potty train him...there is droppings every where, even in his food bowl

will definitely take pics of him soon, havent yet as he's a bit shy, but hopefully when he gets used to me it will be ok!

souffle · 10-13-2008, 10:09 AM

If he insists on using the tube to sleep in and store I would take it off if you can and seal off for now. They can get chest problems with the warm musty atmousphere in a restricted area. Once he starts sleeping in his nest you can put them back. He is a typical baby.

He will pee in tubes, on his wheel, in bed! They never poop in the potty, just wee. Hammy poop is dry and harmless so dont worry if he does it all over the place

Ours usually do it in bed

n_t · 10-13-2008, 12:57 PM

thanks for the advice and i took out all the tubes in his cage today and sealed them off, he was really upset about it, but once i put his house back in, he went straight into it! i put this peice of bedding he had dragged into his tube into the house to give him some comfort...what im worried is that he will get bored just with one level in his house and no tubes to crawl into, but i left his wheel in there...so it should be ok?

also, how long should i leave him without the tubes for? he is 7 weeks old

i've just disinfected all tubes and left them in a bag.

many thanks!

souffle · 10-13-2008, 02:55 PM

I would leave him without the tubes till he is a lot bigger, maybe 12-16weeks when he will not find them comfy to sleep in. What type of cage do you have? If the levels are only accessable by tubes could you put a ladder or something he could climb up. Also you can give him cardboard boxes with holes cut in and egg boxes, toilet roll tubes etc as play toys. You can put these on the floor for him and change them around when they are trashed. Give him lots of out time and interactive play with you and he will soon be nice and tame. What is he called. Do you have any piccies?

n_t · 10-13-2008, 03:41 PM

uhmm....i have a laura ferplast tube cage with wiring...i didnt think about the ladder, will definitely try and get one for him. in the meantime i will out toilet rolls etc in there for him. i tried to stroke him today and he was ok with it, sometimes if he senses im hesitant about handling him, he will get really nervous and run around the cage so i dont want to scare him too much. i havent exactly held him yet because he is really jumpy and nervous...how am i going to do this?

souffle · 10-14-2008, 02:26 AM

I have had a look at the Laura cage and I think if you get either a budgie or mouse ladder or use one of the bendy log bridges to form a platform he will be able to hop up from that. You could even make one yourself out of corregated cardboard for now. You may have to have a think how to attach it but if you loop the curved top over the shelf edge and then use a wire sandwich bag tie on to the side it should hold in place. He will out grow the wheel in this cage quite quickly so make sure you watch for his back bending when he runs. As for taming you should start this now. Here is our guide to taming
http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/Taming_tips
Try and be confident or he will sense you are nervous. He will be fast and jumpy at first so handle over a low soft area like a bed or on the floor. He may wee on you too!
I am going to split this topic down to two and put the taming part in behavior shortly n t as it is slipping off topic.

n_t · 10-14-2008, 11:22 AM

I already replaced his wheel and got him one of those medium silent spinners that pets at home sell because i wanted something that wouldnt be too noisy. i went out and got him a few dog biscuits today from the petshop so he could chew on one once a week for his teeth. thanks for the taming link, i'm going to try it out today, i cant help being nervous about him biting me, so i hope it goes well

n_t · 10-15-2008, 06:34 AM

i did exactly as that link told me to do and it worked wonderfully

i was so happy! he was extremely jumpy at first, but then when i actually picked him up after a couple of minutes he was crawling all over my hands, but he's still a bit jumpy. i want to carry on handling for half an hour every day...is this too much or ok? i gave him his first dog biscuit yesterday and he loved it! he tried to bite my hand very softly yesterday trying to see if i was food or not, but i blew softly on his nose and he didnt do it again...so i'm very happy! i got yogurt drops for him, so today i'm going to give him a treat if he doesnt bite and it goes well!

souffle · 10-15-2008, 01:22 PM

Great news n t. He will soon get less jumpy if you keep up the handling. Half an hour is fine and even better if you do it in two sessions. Just take care your hands don't smell of yogurt drops in case he thinks your fingets are edible.

If he starts on the bars again try pushing a dog biscuit through them so he chews at that. I am so pleased our article helped you. It always works for us

n_t · 10-15-2008, 02:36 PM

ok so when i tried to handle him today, things went ok except for when my phone vibrated on my desk close by and he got extremely scared, he bit my finger really hard! lol blood! aaahhhhh! nah only kidding it was a little bit of blood, thats all. just glad that his teeth are sharp! anyway he is being good for the meantime. i got him this wooden chew and he has chewed half of it off already in one day. i was worried he may have swallowed the wood but i looked in his bedding and it was all there. i guess he just spat it out or something. i put him in this ball today so he could walk around a bit, but he didnt really know what to do. he took a few steps forward, but then decided to clean himself so after, i helped him a bit by pushing the ball lightly and he started doing a few steps of his own inside it. so for now, everything going well - and he is drinking water a lot during the day - is this normal? hope so...