Bar Climbing?

[KitKatKatie]

Hi, I just got my male syrian Pipsqueak yesterday, and I'm a bit worried about him. He is in a mesh cage so he can climb the sides and often monkey bars across the roof. Sometimes he falls, even onto toys and I'm worries he will get hurt. He also chews one certain corner alot. Is this normal? This is my first hamster so I'm not very familiar with their behaviour.

Also, I did research it and the web says it could be from a small cage but the cage is huge (it literally takes up over half of my desk) so why else could this be?

[cypher]

I think they bar climb just because they can tbh, it's mostly exploring the cage unlike bar chewing which can be from boredom or having an unsuitable cage set up.
It can be dangerous though as he could get hurt if he falls, can you attach anything to the bars like little ledges, or other things to stop him climbing all the way to the top?
You need to make sure he has really deep substrate & try to make sure he can't fall onto anything hard.
Which cage do you have, it would help to know & see a photo of your set up so we could make suggestions to help.

[KitKatKatie]

Originally Posted by cypher

I think they bar climb just because they can tbh, it's mostly exploring the cage unlike bar chewing which can be from boredom or having an unsuitable cage set up.
It can be dangerous though as he could get hurt if he falls, can you attach anything to the bars like little ledges, or other things to stop him climbing all the way to the top?
You need to make sure he has really deep substrate & try to make sure he can't fall onto anything hard.
Which cage do you have, it would help to know & see a photo of your set up so we could make suggestions to help.

I can't upload pics of my setup for some reason but Ill to describe it. The cage is this one https://www.petplanet.co.uk/product....56&pf_id=68279

We took out the mesh floor and we are using it as a stand to prevent bumblefoot but the mesh platform is still there. He has a food bowl on the ledge, an igloo on the other side along with his water bottle. Under the ledge is a flying saucer wheel, which we are replacing because he keeps falling off it and there is a large wooden chew and a bendy bridge opposite the wheel. There are also a few toilet roll tunnels and toys aswell. I think I'll deepen his substrate a bit like you said but is there anything else I might be able to do? Mainly to stop him chewing the bars.

[cypher]

The cage isn't a bad size, a little small maybe but ok for a young ham I would think, the base looks quite shallow though, do you know how deep it is? Ideally you need a minimum of 15cm substrate, preferably more but many barred cages don't really allow for much more.
There should be no mesh at all in the cage, I would take the platform out right away & either make or buy some wooden levels or shelves, it's easy enough to make a free standing shelf with a piece of wood (kiln dried pine ideally) & some dowels stuck on with ham safe glue for legs.
Is the mesh big enough to bolt things on to stop him from climbing, you could get some bolt on shelves, lave ledges or something like that to break up all the space he has to climb, maybe attach something a sputnik to the top with bendy bridges for access if need be,
Igloos aren't the best of houses, they aren't dark enough & can get a build up of condensation inside, wooden houses are better or even just a cardboard box with no base & a door cut out on one side. The house should be fairly big for a syrian too, 15-20cm at least I would think.
Many hams aren't really keen on wooden chew toys but they love whimzee dog chews (most people use the toothbrush) so that might help keep him busy & out of trouble.
Maybe add in some cardboard tubes something like a pringles tube is a good size they won't get stuck in, or some cardboard boxes for him to play around with if the cage is a bit empty.
Scatter feeding & hiding food or treats in things like toilet roll treat toys will also be a good way to keep him occupied.
Is he bar chewing as well as bar climbing?

[Pebbles82]

What Cypher said You could cover the mesh shelf with something (eg a chill and chew mat or two, or better, some hemp mat - both are safe to use). Or cardboard for now. But I would remove the mesh ladder and find another kind of ramp up to the shelf.

The base is shallow - I would put cardboard strips around the inside about 2" deep all round and fill the base with at least 4" deep of substrate. 4 to 5" would be good. That will cushion any falls. Any hard toys like ceramic or bendy bridges you could put under the shelf. With the substrate deeper it will also effectively reduce the fall height so he should be ok landing on the flying saucer.

When they first go in a cage they do tend to climb a lot and get a bit frantic - to try and find a way out. They also do this more if they don't have a wheel. Your flying saucer is probably too small. Rather than get a bigger one, they do much better with an upright wheel where they can run properly. It needs to be big enough that they can run with a completely straight back - a popular one is the 28cm trixie wheel which is quite quiet and not expensive. Wheels linked below.

Until he has a wheel you might do to let him out into a fenced off playpen area every day to burn off some energy. Put a couple of toys in so he has something to hide in (a mug on its side or a kitchen roll inner tube slit down one side is fine). The dry bathtub could do if you don't have a safe area - people use that to start taming.

Some days he might be overwhelmed after being out and not want to come out the next day so play it by ear - if he comes to the bars wanting to come out then give him some out of cage time.

Meanwhile you can start taming by talking to him through the bars and offering him the odd treat through the bars. Take it slowly - he may not be ready to be held yet - they can wriggle free and "ping" 2 feet in the air before they're tame.

The main thing right now is to give him 2 weeks to settle into the cage without cleaning or moving things around. They need that. You can spot clean the pee area maybe once a week - ie take a handful of substrate out and add a new handful and mix it in. It isn't necessary to do full cage cleans weekly and that stresses them out.

But - because you need to make some changes for safety now, try not to do too much just now. Adding the odd thing is usually accepted ok without stressing them too much - taking things out or moving them around can stress them a lot (they scent mark everything so they know where it is! They don't see well).

So for now I would

a) Cover the shelf
b) Add the cardboard round the edges and add more substrate.

You can do both those things at the same time without disrupting things too much.

c) Add a new wheel.

With the extra substrate and reduced height you may not need to move any of the other floor toys just yet. But you'll need a ramp for the shelf. You can just cover the shelf with cardboard for now but this hemp mat is good - it's very large and you just cut a piece the right size - so you have spare if it gets manky

Nests & Nesting Materials at zooplus: Hemp Floor for Small Animals

I would suggest getting these as well

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hamster-cor...=hamster+potty

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supreme-Pet...hinchilla+sand

You put the litter tray where he has chosen as a pee corner - often a corner of the cage. If you put it in the right place he should start using it. And put the Chinchilla bathing sand in the potty. It soaks up the pee. He may sit in the front part for a wash as well and treat it as a sand bath Then you just need to empty the litter tray every 5 days or so and the cage stays clean and dry mostly although young hamsters will occasionally pee elsewhere on occasion. Generally though they are very clean and pee in a toilet all the time. It's ok to add this he'll probably be interested.

I have problems with ramps - keeping them in place and bendy stick ones wobble, so I use a large cork tunnel next to a shelf as a ramp (doubles up as a floor toy). But they're not cheap and it might fill your cage up a bit too much. A medium sized bendy stick bridge as a tunnel might do for now though. Another option I've used is to tie a hyacinth tunnel to the front bars as a tunnel ramp. These are nice tunnels for a hamster and chewable. But you need to make sure the holes are at the top or side or they can't climb up! I attach it to the bars at an angle with cable ties.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROSEWOOD-Bo...yacinth+tunnel

The main thing is to get him a wheel. The other things you could make or adapt - eg a pyrex casserole dish as a sandbath, make a ramp out of a piece of wood, use kitchen roll inner tubes as floor toys etc (slit them down the side so they expand or they can get stuck).

Wheels:

This is the 28cm Trixie wheel

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-Exer...s=trixie+wheel

You might need to have the substrate slightly lower in the wheel area so the wheel sits stable on the base, but you can slope the substrate away from it.

[Pebbles82]

Cleaning:

After the initial two weeks settling in time , you can just "spot clean" mainly and empty the litter tray. Their poops aren't dirty or smelly so don't worry about those. They hoard them or eat them sometimes for extra vitamins, which is normal. I only remove them if they start taking over.

With spot cleaning and a litter tray you can easily go two months without changing the substrate/cleaning. Occasionally you could wipe the wheel or a toy if necessary but it's best not to clean everything at the same time - that way something always smells familiar. Even when you do finally change the substrate, it's best to keep some of the old clean substrate and mix it in wiht the new or sprinkle some on top,so it doesn't feel like a strange cage.

Nesting material - don't use any fluffy bedding if you've been sold it - best nesting material is torn up strips of plain white toilet paper - a heap of it in the cage. The hamster takes some and builds a nest and they'll keep taking more to keep refurbishing their nest.

Their nest and hoards are their number one things they don't like being messed with! They don't need removing, if dry, until you do a full/partial cage clean - even then i leave the nest if it's dry. And I leave the hoards too if they're dry, but when they start getting very large i remove some of it. If you do have to remove the hoard then always put some new hamster mix back in exactly the same place.

[KitKatKatie]

Thanks guys, I have already ordered an 11 inch wheel for him which will arrive in a couple of days and I think I'll buy some fleece maybe to cover the platform for now and I'll get a bendy bridge for the ramp. With the substrate, I will add more in but I may replace it a little sooner because they are unnamed wood shavings which the pet shop uses and I'm anxious that they may be cedar or pine. I'll find some aspen or carefresh after I replace the shavings.

[Pebbles82]

All pine shavings in the uk have to be kiln dried by law so they should be ok if they’re pine although some are dustier than others. But if it doesn’t specify what they are then yes better to get something else. But this first two weeks is quite important so I would just leave it and add extra and mix it in and in a month maybe you can change the lot. Fleece isn’t safe for hamsters though. They could chew it and get blocked intestines. Cardboard is fine and the chill and chew hyacinths mats are good but you can’t cut them to size without them fraying a lot. Maybe you could overlap two of them or something. Substrate wise, Fitch is very popular on here. Works out a lot cheaper than Carefresh. Very similar but has no dust. It’s recycled food grade paper. If you google Fitch pet bedding you’ll find the link. Also hamsters love it ��

[KitKatKatie]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

All pine shavings in the uk have to be kiln dried by law so they should be ok if they’re pine although some are dustier than others. But if it doesn’t specify what they are then yes better to get something else. But this first two weeks is quite important so I would just leave it and add extra and mix it in and in a month maybe you can change the lot. Fleece isn’t safe for hamsters though. They could chew it and get blocked intestines. Cardboard is fine and the chill and chew hyacinths mats are good but you can’t cut them to size without them fraying a lot. Maybe you could overlap two of them or something. Substrate wise, Fitch is very popular on here. Works out a lot cheaper than Carefresh. Very similar but has no dust. It’s recycled food grade paper. If you google Fitch pet bedding you’ll find the link. Also hamsters love it ��

Ohh okay, thanks you! I'll go ahead and put a bit of cardboard over it instead until I get a matter then ☺