Peanut likes to sleep wedged in between thing

[PrehistoricGirl]

Is it normal for a dwarf hamster to want to sleep all wedged in between thing and then lying on their side? - He does this between several things in his bin cage - he does have a tube and 3 small houses he can lie in.



- it is a small video, where you can see him pushing himself behind the small house to sleep. (it should open, if you press the small image)

If the video doesn't work, here is a picture


here is a picture of his cage:


I'm fairly new to hamsters, so I just wanted to know if it is normal behaviour

[cypher]

It's quite normal, they do like to try & squeeze into the smallest spaces & sleep in odd places!
I wouldn't try to encourage sleeping in plastic tubes but you could half bury some cardboard tubes in the substrate for him to explore, he'd probably love an egg box too!
If you have a good deep layer of substrate they will sometimes just burrow down & sleep in that too.
Have you tried giving shredded toilet tissue for nesting? I can't really tell from the photo.

[PrehistoricGirl]

He did have some cardboard tubes, but he didn't really used them, so I took them out, he likes to sleep in the plastic tubes, where he also scratches a lot on the sides, I'm guessing he does it to trim his nails, or maybe he is just weird.

I do have a huge amount of substrate behind his wheel, but he seems to be digging everywhere else but there, like under his foodbowl. - and yes it's hard to see but there is a lot of toilet tissue in there, most are probably in his houses and burried in the substrate.

I will find an egg box and try with the cardboard tubes again

Thank you for all the advice I might need to get a bigger cage at some point to fill all the stuff in there ;D

[Piebald]

I'd suggest getting him some more hidey type houses, maybe with compartments. Rodipet has some good looking ones (the site is in German but it's easy enough to work with). Even some bendy bridges he can hide under. They also have some interesting houses with a wheel stand on top, or a house with food on top. All will maximise the use of your space while giving your ham some burrow like places and things to run around and over.
He's adorable. xx

[PrehistoricGirl]

I have been looking at different houses in pet stores, but most of them looks unfisnished with splinters and stuff like that, and I don't want him to get hurt by going into his house - I'm thinking of making a diy house and shelf for him, to uptimize the huge cage that he actually has. - but I will look at the site, I did have german in school, when I was younger, so I hope I can figure it out

Thank you

[cypher]

Rodipet do have some great houses, they have really nice free standing shelves that fit in a corner too, mine love to sleep under those as much as in their houses!
If you use google chrome browser it will translate pages as you go along, makes life so much easier!
Häuser - Rodipet® Heimtierzubehör Shop
Zubehör Rodipet® Etagen - Rodipet® Heimtierzubehör Shop
Home made ones can be great too if you're up to it, I'd go for wood or card rather than any more plastic though.

[PrehistoricGirl]

I won't use more plastic the plastic things he has now are all from his all cage, and will be replaced as soon as I find better alternatives. I have just looked at the Rodipet site, and the house and shelves look a lot more finished than in the petshops I have looked in.
But my parents are very handy and have worked a lot with wood, so they have tools and knowledge, for diy projects in wood - though I might just buy some stuff, it doesn't seem too expensive on the rodipet site

[cypher]

The quality at rodipet is very good, I've never had anything with splinters or rough edges or anything like that from them, the guy who started the company keeps hams himself & I think he genuinely wants what's best for them.
If your parents are good with wood though maybe you could get some ideas from there & they could make them for you!

[PrehistoricGirl]

I will visit my parents in the summer holiday, and get their help, but I will probably make the projects myself and if it goes wrong, I will buy some from rodipet

[Thin Lizzy]

I found with my 2, they did that also, find a tight space and squeeze into it, but it soon wore off when they started making their nests.