I'm not sure if my hamster is happy

[semperFi]

Hello fellow hamster carers!

I'm new in the forum and I hope you are able to help me.

I have a winter white hamster, which is 8 months old at the moment. 2 months ago me and my SO made a custom cage for the hamster and the mood improved a lot. When he was in the old, tiny cage, the hamster was very bored and sad.

Let me explain you the behaviour of my hamster now: Right now I would say my hamster is fine, but lately looks like he is a bit afraid of going out. Last day, he was sleeping in the open and I thought he was comfortable, but the next day, I hit the cage without wanting trying to reach something behind the cage, and the hamster got afraid. 3 days have passed and I hear the hamster play at night with the wheel and eating, but he is very alert when i approach the cage and goes hiding (never did that before).

Also, lately, when I try to hand feed him, he bites a little bit. He never bites outside the cage, but inside the cage he always takes the food from your hand and then bites your finger. I have never been able to solve it.

To end, how can I make my hamster very happy? He has a nice wheel, he has plenty os places to hide in the cage, its a big cage. He always has food/water... I would love to leave him roam my bedroom but I'm afraid he would get hurt, so I cannot let him free.

Any advices? Thanks and sorry for the long post

[hellobg]

Perhaps a picture of his cage, would be nice. It might be either cage aggression.

[cypher]

It can take them quite a while to adjust to a new cage & some can be a bit overwhelmed by lots of space if they've been used to a small cage, biting could be due to your ham getting a bit territorial over his space or it could just be that he doesn't yet feel safe in the larger cage & is more nervous than before.
Some hams will take to more space but others do seem to prefer a smaller cage, they are so individual it's not always easy to know what will work best for them.
If you can upload a photo of your set up we may be able to make some suggestions to help him settle better.

[semperFi]

Hello

Thanks for responding, I attach the cage photos. They are in the link due file size.

Please help me I want a happy hamster.

https://ibb.co/gtgeso
https://ibb.co/gOmCCo
https://ibb.co/eMAuQ8
https://ibb.co/gNJQXo
https://ibb.co/kgmqyT

[cypher]

My first thought is that you could do with a lot more substrate in the cage, ideally 15-20cm deep, that allows your ham to dig & burrow naturally & even those hams that don't burrow a lot seem to feel happier & safer with plenty of substrate, it also makes cleaning easier as you won't have to remove so much of the substrate when you spot clean or do partial cleans so that again will make your ham feel safer & happier.
There is quite a lot of open space still so I would try to provide more enrichment, home made toys are fine you don't really need to buy stuff, an egg box with a couple of holes cut into the ends makes a great toy, you can hide food or treats in there, more in the way of small cardboard boxes or tubes, toilet roll treat toys, that kind of thing will easily fill a cage up more.
Does he have a sand bath in there? I couldn't be sure from the photos. A sand bath (with chinchilla sand not dust) is great for them, keeps there coat & skin in good condition & they just love to spend time in there!
The cage doesn't look that big so I think a few simple adjustments could help a lot.
Have there been any other changes in his environment? It does sound as though he was happy to begin with but not so much now if I understood you correctly so I wonder if something else may be making him less confident. A change in room, any other animals, things like that?
Some hams can be a bit territorial about the cage & don't like hands in the cage very much, if he doesn't bite outside the cage then I would keep interaction for those times, you could try just giving treats from your fingertips when he's in the cage so he can't bite but do any other handling or hand feeding during out of cage time.

[semperFi]

Originally Posted by cypher

My first thought is that you could do with a lot more substrate in the cage, ideally 15-20cm deep, that allows your ham to dig & burrow naturally & even those hams that don't burrow a lot seem to feel happier & safer with plenty of substrate, it also makes cleaning easier as you won't have to remove so much of the substrate when you spot clean or do partial cleans so that again will make your ham feel safer & happier.
There is quite a lot of open space still so I would try to provide more enrichment, home made toys are fine you don't really need to buy stuff, an egg box with a couple of holes cut into the ends makes a great toy, you can hide food or treats in there, more in the way of small cardboard boxes or tubes, toilet roll treat toys, that kind of thing will easily fill a cage up more.
Does he have a sand bath in there? I couldn't be sure from the photos. A sand bath (with chinchilla sand not dust) is great for them, keeps there coat & skin in good condition & they just love to spend time in there!
The cage doesn't look that big so I think a few simple adjustments could help a lot.
Have there been any other changes in his environment? It does sound as though he was happy to begin with but not so much now if I understood you correctly so I wonder if something else may be making him less confident. A change in room, any other animals, things like that?
Some hams can be a bit territorial about the cage & don't like hands in the cage very much, if he doesn't bite outside the cage then I would keep interaction for those times, you could try just giving treats from your fingertips when he's in the cage so he can't bite but do any other handling or hand feeding during out of cage time.

Thanks for the reply again!

I will put more substrate for him. It is a bit expensive to find aspen bedding for him but he deserves it so I will buy more, that's a good idea.

About toys, I could use some ideas, the egg box looks awesome, its almost a laberynth inside. I put him places to hide but he never uses them

I also have a hamster ball but I never put him on it before. Do you think he will enjoy some minutes of it?

Also, when I handle it, he looks very nervous (wants to explore a lot, but I cannot let it free in my bedroom or he could get hurt). How can I let him explore the most safely manner?

Regards

[Pebbles82]

Those are very nice bin cages How often do you clean him out? That is something that makes hamsters very unhappy, unsettled and stressed if they are cleaned out a lot. It isn't necessary to do clean outs every week or to do full cleans. Sorry if you already know this. If you have a bit more substrate you could just spot clean mainly - I only do a substrate change about every 2 months. Also try and put a bit of the old non smelly substrate back when you do this - sprinkle some on top or mix it into the new - so it still smells familiar. Clean the wheel a different week and any toys a different week again - that way something always smells familiar and their scent trails don't get disturbed too often. They may use a sand bath as a toilet as well which helps keep the cage clean.

How big is each bin? I was just wondering that if they are both a good size, he may be happier with just one space instead of two separate spaces connected by a tube. They generally do better with one larger space with their basic needs in - eg house, wheel, food bowl, water bottle and toys - rather than having things separated in two separate areas.

As Cypher said you could fill up the floor space a bit - maybe have one end with deeper substrate, egg boxes or tissue boxes as hides etc. Does he have a house that's big enough and nice and dark inside? They need somewhere dark to retreat to. You could also try scatter feeding as well as putting food in the food bowl. So maybe half as much as usual in the food bowl and scatter feed the rest - they enjoy foraging for and finding the bits of food.

What kind of cage was he in before? It may be he is not keen on top entrance with a hand coming in. So when getting him out maybe you could put a mug or jug in with a treat for him to climb into and lift him out that way.

He may nip or bite if a) he is in pain b) he's just woken up! c) you put your hand inside his house d) you smell of food!

I assume the cage is on the floor when you said it got knocked? Maybe he is unsettled at the position of it? If it's easily knocked then maybe think about having it somewhere else - eg on top of a cupboard or something?

Could you get a flying saucer as well as a wheel? I added one for our Robo and he loves it!

[cypher]

I wouldn't use a ball, I do think they're dangerous particularly for dwarf hamsters & don't really offer any benefit at all, far better to buy or make a play pen for him to have some out of cage time.
Some of the metal playpens you can buy are ok for dwarfs or you can make one out of storage cubes if you can get those, thread on that here.
Stylish playpen
You could probably make a temporary one from cardboard as long as you're with him & watching out for chewing or escapes while he's in it!
Put what toys you can in the play pen, even his wheel, just things for him to explore & enjoy while you interact with him.

I was also wondering & forgot to ask if the cage is on the floor, that can be very unsettling for them & it is better to have them higher up so it's easier to approach the cage without startling them & they don't get all the vibrations from the floor either.

[semperFi]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Those are very nice bin cages How often do you clean him out? That is something that makes hamsters very unhappy, unsettled and stressed if they are cleaned out a lot. It isn't necessary to do clean outs every week or to do full cleans. Sorry if you already know this. If you have a bit more substrate you could just spot clean mainly - I only do a substrate change about every 2 months. Also try and put a bit of the old non smelly substrate back when you do this - sprinkle some on top or mix it into the new - so it still smells familiar. Clean the wheel a different week and any toys a different week again - that way something always smells familiar and their scent trails don't get disturbed too often. They may use a sand bath as a toilet as well which helps keep the cage clean.

How big is each bin? I was just wondering that if they are both a good size, he may be happier with just one space instead of two separate spaces connected by a tube. They generally do better with one larger space with their basic needs in - eg house, wheel, food bowl, water bottle and toys - rather than having things separated in two separate areas.

As Cypher said you could fill up the floor space a bit - maybe have one end with deeper substrate, egg boxes or tissue boxes as hides etc. Does he have a house that's big enough and nice and dark inside? They need somewhere dark to retreat to. You could also try scatter feeding as well as putting food in the food bowl. So maybe half as much as usual in the food bowl and scatter feed the rest - they enjoy foraging for and finding the bits of food.

What kind of cage was he in before? It may be he is not keen on top entrance with a hand coming in. So when getting him out maybe you could put a mug or jug in with a treat for him to climb into and lift him out that way.

He may nip or bite if a) he is in pain b) he's just woken up! c) you put your hand inside his house d) you smell of food!

I assume the cage is on the floor when you said it got knocked? Maybe he is unsettled at the position of it? If it's easily knocked then maybe think about having it somewhere else - eg on top of a cupboard or something?

Could you get a flying saucer as well as a wheel? I added one for our Robo and he loves it!

Hello! Thanks for the response also to you.

We used to clean his cage every 2 weeks, but as you said, there is very little substrate. Today I will put all the substrate I have and order more.
I never cleaned the toys, it's not something I have thought about. I will start doing it also. What's hardest for me is to spot where he does his necessities, I'm not able to spot it very well.

Indeed, He has a sand bath! it's an alluminium bowl full of silica sand, 2 days ago it was the first time I put it in the cage. Im not sure if he understands what it is for, I have heard him at night play a little bit on there but I don't know if he just scratches it or if he does anything else with it.

The blue igloo he has is his favourite spot. No matter what I do to the cage, he always builds his nests under that. He never uses any other place to hide, he just loves the igloo and I'm not sure if I should remove it because it's his comfort place, but he never uses anything else I put in the cage.

About the scatter feeding, its a nice idea and i thought about it, but i was afraid of some food rotting there if he never eats it, and it could harm the hamster, so I mostly put his food on a mini pellet i built myself.

Maybe my idea of 2 cage bins separated by a tube was a bad idea? I thought it would be nice for him to have a tube and emulate what would be a real hamster nest. I put the food in one place, and the weel/water/nest in the other bin, so he goes to the other place to roam and get the food.

Sadly I do not have an elevated place to put the hamster, my house is tiny and I can only have the hamster in the floor Im starting to think im a bad owner.

He only bites if you feed hand him. He takes the food from your hand, but he keeps biting the finger tips, even if you put the palm resting, he takes the food but then he goes biting.

Outside of home, he always wants to explore, but I cannot let it go as he could get stuck between the cupboard and the wall and I could not rescue it.

When I take it out, I do that, I use an old wheel and he goes up, and I lift him. Then he goes to my hand without much issue, but a lot of nerviousism.

May I ask how can I change his routine? I want him to explore and I want to try that every day is different for him, but he never uses any of the toys my girlfriend craft.

Originally Posted by cypher

I wouldn't use a ball, I do think they're dangerous particularly for dwarf hamsters & don't really offer any benefit at all, far better to buy or make a play pen for him to have some out of cage time.
Some of the metal playpens you can buy are ok for dwarfs or you can make one out of storage cubes if you can get those, thread on that here.
Stylish playpen
You could probably make a temporary one from cardboard as long as you're with him & watching out for chewing or escapes while he's in it!
Put what toys you can in the play pen, even his wheel, just things for him to explore & enjoy while you interact with him.

I was also wondering & forgot to ask if the cage is on the floor, that can be very unsettling for them & it is better to have them higher up so it's easier to approach the cage without startling them & they don't get all the vibrations from the floor either.

Yes, the cage is in the floor, I do not have space at home to have it lifted. I can try though and clear a full table for him. Would it be a huge difference for him?

Also the play pen looks awesome. I'm from spain im not sure if im able to get something similar though. I always thought of doing a play pen and do a laberynth inside. Do you think he would enjoy it?



Also, lately when he is out and I approach him and talk him, he goes hiding of fear. He never did that before, but lately since i hit without wanting his cage he does it repeatedly... It makes me really sad since it was just a minor thing but he cannot let go. He used to be comfortable hearing my voice but now not anymore.

We changed homes, he was living in my girlfriends home, but there was a dog barking 24/7, so we moved the hamster to my home. It was not a good environment for him.

[cypher]

If you can find a table or something to put the cage on I think it would probably help.

The storage cube playpens are great but if you can't find something similar this metal play pen from Zooplus is perfectly adequate.
I find they tend to enjoy just having a variety of toys, hideouts & things to explore rather than a labyrinth type thing, the nice thing about play pens is you can vary what's in there to keep them interested unlike the cage where they prefer things to stay the same.
There are some playpens in this thread that might give you some ideas.
Let's see your playpens!

How long since you moved him to your home? It does sound like a good move but it may take him a while to adjust to the change, they can be very sensitive to any kind of change sometimes.
Was his cage on the floor previously? Just wondering if that might make a difference.
He does sound as though he's lost confidence quite a lot but I'm sure he'll get back to himself with time & patience, keep up with talking to him, even if he doesn't seem comfortable with it he should gradually become more comfortable again, I find with nervous hams just talking to them for a while then leaving a treat & walking away so they can find it can help them make that association & begin to accept that you mean nice things!

If you can get him out for more out of cage time, beginning slowly if he doesn't seem too happy at first & just interact with him a bit it should help.