New baby robo - digging and wheel stuff.

aragneer · 08-13-2016, 02:15 AM

Hi guys!

So after the passing of pudding, we have waited two months and finally got a robo (which are so difficult to find in my area of Ireland)!

I am not the most experienced hamster owner but have managed to take care of 6 happy little ones.

Now last night, we had to take our robo's wheel away as it was so loud and he is in our room (I am buying him a new one this week or next when I get paid). Since this, he has found his bearings and has started digging like crazy! Bu he is digging at NOTHING! He isn't moving bedding. He is just sat very low to the floor digging away. I have seen him walk around normally but every other minute, he is digging! His bedding is so deep and he now has his wheel again and toys. Is this normal?

Also will he be okay without the wheel for an evening or two until we get the new one? He has it from early morning to about 10-11 at night.

Any other robo tips would be great

I had two before but I was very young and we just fed them and cleaned them and left them to their own devices!

Thanks guys!

Thin Lizzy · 08-13-2016, 05:08 AM

Hamsters especially dwarfs love to dig, plenty substrate is a must so they can did and make tunnels. You can't go wrong with plenty substrate and bedding.
They do love their wheels and night time is the norm for them but, a couple of nights without till you get a new one should be fine. Have you got any kitchen rolls/toilet rolls that you could put in the cage, hamsters do get a lot of fun from tearing up the cardboard.

aragneer · 08-13-2016, 05:27 AM

Oh thank goodness. I was worried he was stress digging or something as last night was his first night with us. He has eaten and drank so I know he is healthy there

I will probably add some more bedding in to let him make some tunnels! He is such a funny chap

he buries under there and then hides and peaks his nose out haha.

He has three toilet tubes and a sand bath so he has been hiding and playing there quietly. Thanks for the help! So glad it's nothing worrying!

Thin Lizzy · 08-13-2016, 05:36 AM

You're Welcome!
Put some toilet paper in, great for bedding, they love to build nests too!
As long as it's not the wool bedding as this is dangerous. I always stuff load of toilet paper up my sleeves for a couple of hours and then place in the cage. It will have your scent on it and this familiarises your ham with you.

cypher · 08-13-2016, 06:03 AM

Your little robo sounds fine to me too, they do love to dig so much, just put as much substrate as you can in the cage & he'll have hours of fun! It will give him more to do without his wheel as well, I agree a couple of nights without it shouldn't be a problem.
Do you know which new wheel you're going to get for him?
Another thing most dwarf hams love is egg boxes, if you cut a small hole in either end for them to go in & out, put a little substrate in & then hide some of his food in there he should really enjoy hunting it out.

aragneer · 08-13-2016, 09:42 AM

Thank you so much both of you! We have wanted a robo for so long that I am just gonna be a nervous over protective mamma for a few weeks haha!

The ideas are great! The egg box plan is so cute, I am definitely going to try that out!

Thanks again

aragneer · 08-13-2016, 12:10 PM

Sorry forgot to say, we will be getting a silent spinner or a saucer

The little guy just got startled by outside noise and ran really fast straight into the wall of his cage

I hope he wont be this shy for long

cypher · 08-13-2016, 12:20 PM

He's bound to be shy for a while, just give him time to settle & adjust to all the big changes, doing the tissue trick & just talking to them quietly for the first few days helps them to begin getting used to you.

In case you weren't aware the new design silent spinners don't spin so well as the old ones & can be too stiff for a robo, there's a discussion on the best wheels for robos here that you might find helpful.

aragneer · 08-13-2016, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

He's bound to be shy for a while, just give him time to settle & adjust to all the big changes, doing the tissue trick & just talking to them quietly for the first few days helps them to begin getting used to you.

In case you weren't aware the new design silent spinners don't spin so well as the old ones & can be too stiff for a robo, there's a discussion on the best wheels for robos here that you might find helpful.

I will do that indeed

he has a little chunk out of one of his ears we think he was possibly the runt so we understand he needs a good bit of time.

Ahh we bought a silent spinner and we have had this problem.exactly! None of our dwarfs have been able to use it. I am thinking of trying a saucer first and seeing how that goes. Are they known to be quite quiet?

velma · 08-13-2016, 01:04 PM

I had a superpet/kaytee silent spinner from before the redesign and a p@h silent spinner more recently. So you could try a p@h one? There's not a huge difference in the wheels, the biggest thing is the stands. I personally don't like the stand on the p@h version as its a plastic and I feel a bit unstable but it fits in the regular silent spinner stand. My little robo Hector used to love both. He had a saucer on occasion, mostly out in his playtub. He liked it for that but seemed to get bored more quickly of it in his cage. (He was my little pirate with chunks missing from his ear too. It adds character

)