Potty Training

[Jenibelle]

Hi!
I just got my first hamster today. I am a bit surprised that he seems to be potty-ing everywhere, because he seemed to have had a specific spot while he was at the store (I visited him on two different days and saw him use this spot several times).

So far I've noticed poops right near his food bowl, on another area of his shelf, and in his house (I lifted his house while he was NOT in it).

I have begun to put all his poops in the area I hope he'll begin potty-ing... but is that the right thing to do? Some of his poops were in what looked like his stash (he had some food with them too), and I'm afraid I messed up his little hoard while trying to get the poos Now I feel bad. But I really want to teach him where to go.

What should I do? Is it better to start putting his poos there from the start, or should I just leave it be to not disturb him? And if I should leave everything be now, when should I start moving his poos to his potty area?

[velma]

To start with, he's still settling in & finding his own place for everything so he'll be scent marking & working how he likes it all so you need to give him space to settle in. Even if he's friendly, he's still had a major upheaval. But actually, they tend to poop everywhere. Sometimes Cleo will gather them up into piles but generally they go wherever. It's the pee they tend to do in one place so when he's settled, after he's felt the need to stop marking everything, you can encourage him to pee in his potty/sand jar/litter tray. Either put it in the space he favours or out the potty where you want it & put some soiled substrate in the jar with the sand. As he gets the idea that that is the the oee spot, you can clear out any soiled substrate from the rest of the cage so he doesn't keep peeing there.

[Jenibelle]

Okay, thank you so much for the insight Velma! I will leave absolutely everything be from now on. I didn't know about the scent marking. I'll let him mark up the place however he wants.

How long should I wait before cleaning away his poops, though? Like the ones in plain site, near his food and on the shelf. I don't want to de-mark it too soon. A week? Is that too long, or not enough time maybe?

[Pebbles82]

The poops aren't dirty or smelly - they are like little seeds and sometimes they eat them for extra vitamins. Hamsters have two stomachs so can redigest things when they eat the poops. I think it's normal for them to poop everywhere at first - Charlie did. Then it settles down (he now only poops in his nest on top of his hoard!). If you think about it, the change has made him nervous of finding food. To make sure they will always have food they poop in their food bowl sometimes. Once he settles in and realises food is plentiful he may stop doing that. Charlie also poops in his toilet a bit but mainly in his nest.

Best thing right now is just leave them - they don't smell and aren't dirty. He'll need 2 or 3 days being left alone, then you can start giving him the odd treat on your hand. Usually it's recommended not to clean or change anything in the cage for the first couple of weeks until they have got a routine and got used to the new environment. If it gets particularly smelly from wee, you can spot clean that area (ie take out a handful of smelly substrate, replace it with a handful of clean and mix it in.

As Velma says, weeing everywhere will be scent marking. Try putting a bit of wee'd on substrate on top of the potty. You have to be careful to avoid a Catch 22 situation - if you keep removing his scent he will keep weeing on things! Some of it is probably nerves as well - it will settle down.

Best thing is leave him in his cage and don't clean anything just now. But you could remove a handful or two of smelly substrate and replace it in a couple of days. Be sure to mix it in with the remaining substrate so it still smells familiar.

Has he built a nest? It's important to try not to disturb their nest, but if he has wee'd in there you might need to remove part of it, but maybe not just yet. Charlie never did wee in his nest - he got out of bed and went somewhere else to wee. Just observe where he goes to wee when he wakes up and comes out of his nest - that will probably be his chosen wee corner. They're a bit like us - the first thing they do when they wake up is go for a wee!

Congratulations on your new baby! It can feel a bit stressful at first, but just talk to him in a gentle voice, through the glass, and he'll soon get used to your presence and the sound of your voice.

You could also try the tissue trick. Put some white toilet paper or tissue up your sleeve and leave it there for a few hours, then tear it into strips and put it in his cage in a pile for nesting material. This will help him get used to your scent.

Looking forward to photos!

[velma]

I think Serendipity's covered it!

[Bertiebobbins]

From your pic on the other thread, he does look quite young. I had Glowy from 4 weeks old and it took him a while to decide to pee in one place, so don't panic if it takes a while. Glowy now potties in just the one place now!

[Coco61]

Yes, Serendipity has covered it. I have cleaned my boy out today for the first time since I moved him into a bigger cage on 1st November. I only partially cleaned out his potty about once a week since the move, being careful to leave some used potty litter behind so it does not lose his scent there. Sometimes he has pee'd in the front area of his large house which I could reach in and remove leaving his nest untouched in rear. However there was no wet substrate there today. As for poo, yes there is some dotted about the cage but I don't touch that (until today) but he poos in his two rat sized sputniks because I think he sits there in the night and snacks! Also he poo's a lot in his nest with his food hoard. But it does not smell or need removing. Today I examined his house carefully for the first time in two months and tried to leave the nest and hoard as best I could but I did remove some of the worst areas. I left a huge pile of torn up toilet tissue (plain white) outside his house aa a peace offering. He went to bed after a careful look around the cage and has not taken it inside so the damage to his nest can't be too traumatising!
For a youngster settling into a new home, just relax and let it alone. After all his hard work scenting his home it is very stressful for him if you come along and ruin it all! His scent glands are one on each hip area. If you notice that area looking a little greasy then you know he has been using them.

[Jenibelle]

Thank you all so much for your help, it's highly appreciated!

[Jenibelle]

I found his chosen pee corner. It's in the sand area, right where his wheel will be going in a few days. Oh boy.

[Pebbles82]

Lol! Can you put the wheel somewhere else? He won't change his corner!