Why do my hamsters not play with toys or explore their cage?

Daisie123 · 08-26-2018, 12:56 PM

Hello!
I adopted a pair of male robos two weeks ago, they are my first pair but no fighting so far! They came in a very small cage with no wheel or toys. I only had a very large 2200sq inch cage and so I've been introducing them to the extra space slowly by having part blocked off and every few days I am extending the space available to them.
I gave them a wodent wheel and flying saucer each and although they haven't paid much attention to the saucers, they absolutely love their normal wheels! It's pretty much all they do whilst they are awake. Although I'm pleased they're enjoying the exercise, I am a little worried as they don't explore the rest of their (rather big) cage or any of the toys in it. Occasionally they will pop through a tunnel but other than that, they stay around their wheels and the house they have chosen to nest in.
It's actually quite sad to how little interest they have in digging and exploring. It may just be because they are still fairly new but they're quite confident as long as there are no human hands in their cage (they're not take yet) so I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas on why this might be?!

Below are the hammies! Haven't actually names them yet but thinking frodo and sam?! Thanks for any help in advance!

mangoandmimi · 08-26-2018, 01:09 PM

Your boys are gorgeous! They look so sweet. I wouldn’t worry too much about the cage it can take time to get used to it. You could take longer intervals to increase the size each time which would probably help - even if it’s tempting to give them the whole cage quicker! Such a large cage takes time, robos can be quite timid.
My robo girl started off in a tiny cage and even upgrading her twice to her now being in a single detolf, it took a good few weeks for her to settle and actually make use of the whole space. She would also linger in only about a third of the tank and if she did venture out further she’d race back immediately and straight to her house bless. Must feel most secure there. So really your boys aren’t being too strange about this don’t worry. Hopefully they start to enjoy the space soon!

flowerfairy · 08-26-2018, 01:17 PM

Good advice from mangoamdmimi. My robos generally seem to be more at ease in smaller set ups. I had a pair of girls who fell out badly when I moved them to a bigger cage (100 c 50cm).

Your two look lovely. Do they have lots of tunnels and hidey houses? These will help them to feel secure.

Drago · 08-26-2018, 02:30 PM

First off, amazing cage size!! It’s very rare I see people giving their hams such an appropriate sized cage.
As for why they’re not exploring- they may just be less confident. My robo was never really the most explorative type of ham. She had almost 2 feet of bedding, and thus spent most of her time burrowing about. You could always encourage more exploration by adding lots of cover to the top of the bedding. Hamsters are prey animals, and an area that is too open can make them nervous. They’re also quite new, so I’d give them a few more weeks to settle in, and get used to the cage before worrying yourself.
How deep is your bedding if I may ask? I found my robo wasn’t too interested in burrowing until I gave her nearly 2 ft of bedding.
Those two are adorable btw! Congrats on welcoming them into your life

Daisie123 · 08-30-2018, 04:36 PM

Thank you! They do have lots of tunnels and hides spread around the cage so plenty of hiding spots! They only have 4 inches of bedding at the moment. Usually this would be deeper but I wasn't sure if they'd be diggers so I wanted to test them out a bit before filling their cage! When I clean them, I will defo add more bedding as I have seen them dig a little bit. I will give them a few more weeks and hope they grow into the cage, thanks for the advice everyone, much appreciated!

Drago · 08-30-2018, 04:56 PM

Some hams aren’t huge diggers! I’d definitely recommend giving them more bedding once you get around to that change. If you can, 12 inches is ideal! Looking forward to hearing more about these lovely little ones

alpacassei · 08-31-2018, 02:51 AM

Such a cute pair! I love their markings

I agree with Mango, they might need more time to adjust to the size increases. My robo Sundae was in a mini Duna for a month before upgrading to a bin cage for several months before moving on to the Duna Multy.

For Robos I recommended sectioning off part of the cage and turning it into a giant sand bath! Robos are desert hamsters and love love love their sand!

SergeantZoo · 08-31-2018, 08:55 AM

Nice cage! I’d love to see pictures of the entire cage

I’ve never heard of introducing space slowly

That’s something new lol

I agree with adding lots of bedding. It’s probably one of the best “toys” you can give a hamster and from what I’ve heard, some won’t dig until given a good amount of bedding.