cleaned cage now Cereal won't stay in it

[carlinabob]

Cereal our Syrian has 3 cages 1 large 1 medium and 1 small connected together by tubes, she has always loved all the cages and we have never had anything like bar chewing behaviour.

I cleaned her large cage out for the 3rd time since we have had her she is 15 weeks old, I made sure to save some substrate and bedding to keep her smell, so I cleaned the cage put everything back in the same place but she won't seem to use it. Her food bowl is down there so she goes to eat but literally everything else she does in the medium cage, she will not stay in the large for any length of time.

Anyone have any ideas as to what's going on?

[cypher]

When did you clean it? They do sometimes get a bit upset by cage cleaning but I wouldn't worry too much, you did everything right using some of the old substrate & putting things back where they were so she should settle again soon. If she doesn't maybe try doing just the opposite & put some new things in there to get her interested again but give her a little time first to see if she will go back to her usual behaviour.

[Pebbles82]

Charlie gets like that after a clean - if I clean his wheel he won't go near it for about a week but usually starts using it if I put treats in it! Maybe they think if it doesn't smell of them it must be someone else's cage now lol! Try hiding some food and treats in the cage and in the substrate and that might tempt her back in.

[Thin Lizzy]

What did you use to clean it with! Cereal might be able to smell that more than his own scent.

[carlinabob]

I cleaned it about a week ago, with wet kitchen roll and pet cage cleaner from p@h. I put treats in the cage about 2 days ago and she's not touched them. I'm worried she's not getting the space she needs from staying in the other cages.

[racinghamster]

Spray cleaners can have a strong smell especially if not rinsed away with hot water. Wiping the cage down can leave the smell around and for a hamster with a sensitive nose, this can be a distraction. I only use kitchen towel and hot water and only use fairly liquid diluted if I need to clean the base thoroughly for any reason. I spot clean only.

Sometimes they just get a little upset and stressed, but go back to normal again once they have settled and do their rummaging around during the night. Your Syrian is still young so the behaviour might still be a bit erratic! x

[Pebbles82]

I agree with Thin Lizzy and RH - best to just use warm water - cleaning solutions aren't necessary.

[cypher]

I agree about the cleaners too, most smell really strong, especially to a ham! If I have any areas that have been peed on & really need a good clean I use Safe4 disinfectant which has hardly any smell at all & my hams are fine with it.

[Thin Lizzy]

I use safe 4 disinfectant also, but I use it for the base when I do a clean.
Just thought I'd mention that I managed to wait over 3 weeks before I cleaned out Twinkle & Archie's cages. That is the longest time I've waited to clean them!