cage change

pebblethehamster · 01-17-2019, 11:10 AM

hey!!
ever since i got the detolf for my hamster about 3 or 4 weeks ago he’s been behaving differently. i kept all the same bedding and same toys in the cage and had it all in similar places. He didn’t come out as early and when i did see him, he was trying to get out by standing on hides. i thought this was because of the stress of moving, but this has carried on.

I can go days now without seeing him and he hasn’t had out of cage time in a long time. He is always changing the places he is sleeping in too, which is very unusual, he has slept in the same tunnel since the day i bought it.

i’m not sure if i’m worrying about this too much or if there could be something wrong with the cage. it would be great if you could help!!

mangoandmimi · 01-17-2019, 11:15 AM

That has been quite a long time could you post a photo of your setup? Don't know if you added more items to fill the bigger space since it was quite a big upgrade, open space in a larger cage often doesn't go down too well. I suppose it is quite a different cage in that it is quite long but usually because of the narrow width hamsters don't get so nervous in there. At least one end of the detolf should have deep bedding, you can get up to 8 inches with enough overhead space if you've got a lid on.

pebblethehamster · 01-17-2019, 11:29 AM

here are some pictures

the bigger bridge and the buried tunnel in the middle of her cage wasn’t usually in the previous cage, but they had been in there a few times before, so i would have thought they’d still have a little bit of her scent on

i hope this helps!

mangoandmimi · 01-17-2019, 12:52 PM

Looks good

Although there isn't really anywhere dark to retreat to apart from the tunnels, like a suitably sized nest or just cover in general. Cover is important in larger cages, adding low platforms help with that. Is she sleeping in the green box or one of the other ones? Those houses aren't suitable to be honest - it's much too small for a Syrian, it is plastic so will get very humid in there, and it has a base meaning she cannot burrow down to sleep or store the food hoard in there properly. A decent house can make a big difference in how settled a hamster is. For now a shoe box is a good size, although I think it is better if they have multiple compartments as it's even more private that way. Maybe something to think about in the future. I would just put a couple more items in the cage though, there is quite a lot more that you could do with the space to fill it up.

The current bedding depth also does not allow a Syrian to burrow, they do best with 10+ inches of it but it can't be helped with a detolf - if you build one end of the cage up to 7-8 inches it should be alright. Without an adequate amount of bedding they can often act funny so it is worth experimenting with that. Might help if you move the wheel over to where the bottle is as those need to be in shallow sections, otherwise just build it up wherever you can. Hope that helps a bit.

Pebbles82 · 01-17-2019, 01:09 PM

Ditto re the house

I would put quite a large house in where the little plastic one is - a cardboard shoe box or tissue box with a hole cut for a door. If you have any childrens shoe boxes they can be a good size for a dwarf hammy, but bigger ones are ok too - they just fill them with bedding. Take her nest out of the little plastic one and put it in the new bigger house. If you have a bendy bridge you can put over the door (cut a holein the cardboard for the door) then it will make it nice and dark inside.

They do need smewhere dark to retreat to and then feel more confident about being out and about in the cage. Also maybe make the other end a digging area with deep substrate so it makes it kind of cosier but still with plenty of floor space.

pebblethehamster · 01-17-2019, 01:43 PM

thank you for the help! i’ll add in a shoebox and move things around, hopefully he’ll be happier! does this mean i’ll see him more often or is he still getting used to cage still?

Pebbles82 · 01-17-2019, 02:44 PM

I wouldn't move anything around - that will stress him and set things back. Just replace the house and add some deep bedding at one end maybe. See how he goes - they do like to build a really big nest and have their hoards in it and can be much happier then so if he;s happier and more confident he may come out more.

If that doesn't help you may need to try some overhead cover - eg a large hammock hanging from the mesh at the top, so he feels secure under something. I didn't notice if you had a platform in there - that can really help as they can dive under it to feel safe. The space is great but a lot of overhead space can be scary.