Cleaned Diegos Cage - weird behaviour?

[VeenaDiego]

hey guys

So I cleaned diegos cage last night and moved stuff around, added things etc. I also kept some old substrate and bits of his previous nest so it wasn't completely new to him.

he was fine last night but tonight he seems skittish and won't really come out his nest and when he does, he runs when i touch him. Just the other night he snuggled on my chest for a full 5 mins!

any ideas?

[cypher]

They do get stressed with cleaning, did you do the whole cage, nest & hoard?
It's best to just do partial cleans & only clean things when they really need it not just as a routine thing, the nest & hoard should always be left alone as much as possible.
Moving things around tends to stress them out too, once you've got the cage set up in a way that works for them it's best not to change it.

[Pebbles82]

He didn't like it and feels a bit homeless and scared. It's not good to move everything around - it satisfies us to tinker with the cage and rearrange it but it is the hammy's home and territory and it's stressful for them.

Also as Cypher says, best not to do a full cage clean and remove all his scent from everything (cage, toys etc). It has maybe made him a bit too scared to leave his cage again now in case it happens again, so they can get a bit reclusive then.

Sometimes it's better to spot clean a bit while they're in the cage so they can see what's going on. They scent mark everything in the cage, and partly that's to claim it as their territory and partly so they can find their way around the cage (they don't see well and rely on scent).

So the example usually used on here is imagine how you would feel if you can home and found all your furniture had been moved around and your bed stripped and you couldn't find anything - and someone had been in your house doing it!

[Pebbles82]

Give him some time to settle now. You could try distracting him from the stress by hiding a few treats here and there in the cage for him to find, when putting his food out. From now on though, best to leave everything where it is - assuming it works ok. Adding new things is usually accepted quite well - but if they think something new is in the wrong place and blocking a route they like they may have a hissy fit to let you know.

[VeenaDiego]

Thanks so much guys! i kept the paper from his nest and a good bit of old substrate but i realise now that i shouldnt have moved and thrown out his hoard, and maybe just spot cleaned instead.

hopefully in a few days he'll be back to normal and comfortable again!

[Pebbles82]

Oh he will be frantic if you've thrown out his hoard! Best thing now is to put new food back where his hoard was and let him see you do it. A handful of new hamster mix in the same place (usually or under their nest) then he'll be less panicky. That was his larder - they tend to pouch most of the food from the bowl and hoard it and eat from the hoard (ie snack in bed).

Their hoards can get very large and need pruning a bit when you need to change the substrate, but I don't remove the hoard unless it is a) enormous (and then just prune it) or b) pee'd on - if it's pee'd on you have to remove it but there's usually some dry left that you can leave - always leave some behind if it's dry and then add new food to replace some of what you've taken out - and that avoids them getting too stressed.

They tend to just hoard the dry hamster mix and eat anything fresh straight away - and the dry hamster mix is fine in the cage.

Not sure if you're doing weekly clean outs (pet shops usually advice this) but it isn't necessary. The more substrate you have in, the less you need to do a substrate change. And it works out cheaper in substrate. So you can just spot clean occasionally - I got at least 6 to 8 weeks without needing to change the substrate (in a large cage) and even then replace some of the old. Do the wheel a different time again, and any toys that need doing as and when (toys often don't need a clean that often).

Plastic houses can get a bit sweaty inside unless they're open underneath and sat on top of the substrate, so best to have a house that's open and on top of the substrate. That way he can burrow down to keep warm and build a decent sized nest without it getting manky with condensation I never touch the nest - unless it's pee'd in. If left, they will remove old bits and chuck them out of the door and add new bits themselves

[VeenaDiego]

Thank you so much! Your advice is super helpful and I feel like I always learn something from your comments, haha!

[Pebbles82]

No problem - it's a learning curve - our first poor hamster had to cope with me making mistakes.

[VeenaDiego]

He's come out for playtime and cuddles now

[VeenaDiego]

He's come out for cuddles and playtime tonight, lured by a carrot hahah!