New owner, new hamster looks stressed.

[Naddie24]

Hi there.
I’m a new hamster owner but have always had contact with my children’s hamsters and various pets over the years.
I bought an 8 week old male 2 weeks ago from Pets at Home. I’ve read everything I could possibly read about their care & placed new Monty in his cage & left him in peace overnight. Next day, he was absolutely soaking. He chewed the plastic seal on his water bottle that drenched his entire bedding & half chewed through the plastic cage already!
The cage was returned as clips didn’t fix etc. it was overall terrible standard & so many faults. I bought a large wire one instead.
I’m doing everything by the book and can now stroke his back when he’s eating but he constantly tries to bite anything that moves near him. (Even shop assistant when I bought him). I’ve already had a few bites when he’s suddenly lurched after me thinking he’s calm. He just acts agitated all the time. Always chewing his bars despite all the usual toys. I don’t reward him for this and I’ve read every forum post but I’m not seeing quite like this. my daughter says he looks incredibly stressed out but even she (experienced) can’t see why.
Monty just runs always at top speed, taking random bites at everything. He won’t chew his toys. If I go near, he’ll run up the bars, biting them & snatch. I’ve hid his food which he’ll destroy the container getting to it, grab as fast as possible & run to his house. Totally hyper!
I understand he’s still settling in but I’m worried that there’s something bothering him or can this be normal behaviour please? He’s such a beautiful wee fella but I can’t see what I could be doing wrong for him to look constantly agitated. Any advice would be great thank you. Taking him back is not an option btw. I wouldn’t do that to him and besides, despite his scattiness, I already love him to bits.

[Razor]

Hello. Which species of hamster is Monty? And which cage are you using? What you've described appears to be signs of cage aggression, usually caused by small cages. I would strongly recommend moving him into a tank type cage. A good sized aquarium or the IKEA detolf are good options. Also, check that the wheel is spinning freely. A wheel that doesn't spin freely can lead to lack of exercise and boredom, resulting in cage aggression again.
Remember, pet stores do not provide the best information regarding hamster welfare. I urge you to check with forums such as this one or Hamster Hideout if you have any concerns with your little guy.

[cypher]

It is still quite early days for him & some hams do take longer to settle than others.
Maybe if you could post a photo of your cage set up it might be easier to see if there's anything there that could be better for him.
Have you been doing any out of cage taming yet? IF not I would begin doing that, they are often easier to tame out of the cage in a playpen or other safe play area with some toys to explore where you can interact with him more easily.

[Naddie24]

Hi and thanks. Monty is a 10 week old Syrian hamster. He’s in a medium 3 tier cage with loads of space. He was originally in a plastic one and in one night had scraped the sides and chewed a seam.
My daughter feels the set up is fine and he’s not interested in any toys. I bought him a larger wheel that he’s not bothering with either. He just runs at top speed and acts as though he’s starving. Can’t get the food in quickly enough. I’ve had him in a playpen but he just ran around all the edges. He’s biting everything.

[ebrequus]

There are three tier cages that are not appropriate for a Syrian. Also, some hamsters need a bigger space than others. I’m also wondering if he may be in pain. Maybe a trip to the vet is in his future?

[cypher]

It is possible there's some health issue involved that's causing him distress but it hard to know from what you've said really.
Tiered cages aren't suitable, hamsters are ground dwellers & need a large space all on one level (you can add low shelves to maximise space but they aren't essential) with a cage base that allows for plenty of deep substrate, at least 15cm more if possible.
They also need a large dark house with no base laid on top of the substrate.
The most popular cage for sryrains is the barney from Zooplus., that might give you a better idea of the sort of space they need.
What size wheel does he have? Most young hams are ok with an 8" wheel but when fully grown often need a 10-12" wheel so the cage needs to allow space for that too.
Many toys sold for hamsters aren't suitable for Syrians, tubes etc need to be rat size!
Most hams don't really enjoy toys sold as chew toys but do love whimzee dog chews, the toothbrush is best, so it might be worth trying hm with those.
Hope there are some ideas there that might help you find a way to get him settled & happy.