Right now I'm in a living situation where I'm living with my boyfriends brother while we get on our feet a bit and find our own place. That should be between 3-6 months. I want to get out sooner but the boyfriend insists we take our time.
Anyways, right now we've got a room and outside of our room is a makes shift living room. There's rooms in the basement but it's not a basement but rather an extension of the house. Hopefully that makes sense. So I am able to bring the detolf out for Little Bear and keep Aria in my room, it's quieter in there. However, my boyfriends brother and his wife want to remodel the downstairs bathroom. Meaning that everything in the living room down stairs needs to be moved. This would include the detolf. Right now it would be easier to move the bin cage than it would be to move the detolf with how crowded the downstairs is. I really don't know when they are planning on starting the bathroom but I'm going to talk with them about it. If they are going to put it off for months on end then I'm just going to bring the detolf out.
Speaking of which, I still have the bin I used for Aria during the move up here. I was thinking about trying how she does in that bin before making an official switch between hamsters. That way I can also keep her in my room.
So here is the odd thing I wanted to tell you guys. Aria LOVES being outdoors. She is fearless out there. All she wants to do is explore. I've never let her walk in the grass because there are SO many spiders out there. I literally see them as I walk on the grass. Anyways, she's very calm out there. She's only ever nervous inside the house. It doesn't really matter what room it is. Once she's outside she's fine. I actually... tried something and I took her outside today. She was totally cool with it and wasn't nervous at all. She was walking calmly on me and everything. So I don't know... maybe there's just something about the house that she doesn't like.
The other thing I did today was rearrange her detolf. I gave her more cover and hidey-holes in the inside of the detolf. I checked up on her a couple minutes ago and she was running in her saucer.
So this is what I'm thinking. Overall, she must not like the open space of the detolf, at least not during the day because even before this episode she would still be quick about being out during the day. I'm starting to think that because of the last scare on the bed she might be associating coming out of the detolf with that event. Like it's going to happen every time. I also think this because she's not scared of taking treats from me hand or the sound of my voice. So I'm wondering, if I make her outings from the detolf a positive experience again, like going outside, maybe she will overcome the scare that she had. Any thoughts on this?
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Originally Posted by Lexieshamster
Hi Oatmeal Cupcake - thought I'd put my two pennies worth in. I'm in the put her back in the bin cage camp. I'm sure you could get rid of the smell with washing and some pet safe disinfectant - and like you say, there was another hamster in there before and this didn't bother her. These things come to mind for me with why she had become scared:
1) Maybe the extra space of the detolf makes Aria less motivated to come out (it would be investing to see if you notice any changes in Little Bear if you do swap them over).
2) Some hamsters just don't like glass cages due to the feeling exposed thing.
2) She may have become less sociable from being handled less after the falling incident. I know if I go away for just a few days Neville does this.
3) The smell of Little Bear in your hands (this can be picked up even after washing- my gerbils won't come near me after I've handled Neville) is perhaps now a factor when combined with the above.
I'd swap them over and restart the taming process after she's settled back into the bin cage. Do the taming before you've handled Little Bear and wash them extra extra well if not. Rub some of her substrate on your hands too.
Don't feel bad about spending more time with Little Bear. You're doing the best you can for both of them and clearly have their best interests at heart. I spend way more time with Neville than I do with my gerbils because they simply don't like being handled or being out of their cage and I often used wonder what I was doing wrong and feel guilty so I can identify with what you're going through.
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Thank you very much, I actually didn't know some of these things. I'll be sure to keep all of this in mind. It's good to hear that I'm not the only one that has gone through something like this.
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Originally Posted by Piebald
I think it's a good point that she is probably aware of Little Bear. In fact, although I know her behavior change doesn't track exactly with his arrival, it may be the better explanation for it. If that's the case she will hopefully settle. I wondered too-- doesn't the bin open from the top? Or does it have a side door? (Some people make doors with old cage parts). Do have a look at the Agent Spectacles thread. xx  |
I used to have two bins stacked on each other with a ramp leading to the one on top. The bottom had a door. The top one had a lid. I did take a look at Agent Spectacles thread. The only problem with this would be that she chews on the mesh that is on the lids. Besides being worried about her teeth, she'd make a lot of noise in the room at night and she sleeps in out room.
Re: Hamster paranoia leads to hamster guilt
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