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Old 01-19-2019, 07:45 AM   #1
Emilymm
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Default Can’t please new hamster

We got a new Syrian two weeks ago. She’s in a Detolf cage (5.5ftx1ft), and yet displays behaviours that hamsters in unsuitably sized cages would display. She chews the bars in the cage, tries to climb to walls of the cage to get out, and she’s just learned how to reach the lid to hang off the chicken wire with her teeth! We can’t afford a bigger cage for her, and we also just don’t have the space for it. She’s keeping us up all night with the noise, is there any way to help this?
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Old 01-19-2019, 07:55 AM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Can’t please new hamster

Do you have a photo of your set up? It would really help to see if there any changes that might help.
How much out of cage time does she have? Females do tend to be a bit more hyper than males so plenty of out of cage time with lots to explore can help.
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Old 01-19-2019, 07:58 AM   #3
Emilymm
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Default Re: Can’t please new hamster

I don’t have a photo at the minute, but I can post one later. She’s difficult to handle at the minute (slowly getting better), so her out of cage time is limited to 15-20 minutes in her exercise ball.
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Old 01-19-2019, 08:08 AM   #4
cypher
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Default Re: Can’t please new hamster

That would be great if you could get a photo.

I would ditch the ball, that won't be giving her any kind of enrichment or stimulation, you could just use the ball for transport as she's obviously happy to climb into it & then either take her to the bath (with a towel in the bottom) or make/buy a playpen & give her lots of toys, cardboard tubes & things to explore while you begin to interact with her.
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Old 01-19-2019, 08:26 AM   #5
mangoandmimi
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Default Re: Can’t please new hamster

Yes a photo would help and agree about the ball - they really don’t offer a lot if anything in the way of stimulation and are actually quite dangerous to use. A large playpen that is escape proof would be a good investment, whether you buy or make one yourself.

Not sure how much bedding there is in the cage, you can easily get 8 inches up one end of the tank with enough overhead room, that would provide an adequate amount to burrow in.

The bars are a pain but some people have removed them and siliconed/glued the ends together instead. It would mean you would need to figure out something else for the lid though. I have also seen people keep the horizontal bars in but saw away the vertical ones which is a really good idea, you’d need some kind of power saw probably but it might be worth looking into as that way you can still have the lid across the top bar. That would stop the bar chewing anyway. But if sawing those away I really would silicone it for extra stability.
For the lid have you tried 6mm mesh? It’s very difficult to get teeth through mesh that small.
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Old 01-19-2019, 08:56 AM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Can’t please new hamster

They need chance to settle into a cage and make their own habits and scent mark everything. After moving into a new cage it can take them a good 2 weeks to settle in and during that time it's usually recommended not to clean anything or move anything around - so if she hasn't had an undisturbed settling in time this could make her a bit frantic. If that is the case, then start again and give her two weeks with no disturbance (you can maybe empty a litter tray after a week or spot clean the pee spot after a week).

When they chew and try and escape it's usually because they're stressed and don't feel safe or settled.

Cleaning out too much and moving things around or taking them out can cause that too (especially if you remove the nest, hoard or wheel!).

They also need, as well as the space, somewhere dark to go - that is big enough to build a big nest in - so a house or nesting box that's dark inside. A shoebox house is a good size - with a hole cut for a door. Cut the base out of the box and use the lid as a lift off roof - so then you don't need to remove the house so the nest stays in tact. Have it sat on top of the substrate (or even part buried in substrate) and open underneath so they can burrow down and get cosy.

Putting a bendy bridge over the house door helps make it dark inside. They need a dark place to retreat to and feel safe, where they can nest and hoard in privacy.
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Old 01-19-2019, 11:36 AM   #7
Emilymm
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Default Re: Can’t please new hamster

We never usually use the ball, we normally just sit on the floor with them but since she doesn’t like to be handled, we thought we’d give it a go. Here’s a picture of her cage set-up.
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Old 01-19-2019, 12:05 PM   #8
cypher
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Default Re: Can’t please new hamster

I think there's a lot you could do to make her feel more comfortable in her cage & keep her entertained, there is quite a lot of open space at the moment & they do like more cover & more things to do.
I can't tell how deep the substrate is but that's already been mentioned, as deep as you can make it is best.
I would replace the igloo type house, if that's the only house you have for her then a cardboard box would do for now, something shoebox size is best, with no base, a door cut out on one side & then you could use a bendy bridge in front of the door to keep it nice & dark inside.
An upright wheel would be better for her, they run better on those & it also frees up a lot of space for toys & things to keep her busy.
You don't really need to buy a lot of stuff, things like cork tunnels are great for making hideouts plus something to climb on & somewhere to scatter & hide food but you can make do with cardboard tubes (as long as they are big enough for her to get through easily) & cardboard boxes to hideout in explore & chew.
Apart from liking to have places that provide some cover their main activity is foraging so you could do with more places to hide food or treats away, if you don't already you could try scatter feeding which would keep her busy for quite a while & encourage natural behaviour.
Bendy bridges are great for climbing hiding & exploring too so simple things can make a lot of difference.
Have you had a look at the "Let's see your cages" thread? That might give you more ideas of things you could do to make a more fun environment for her.
Does she have any chews? Whimzee dogs chews are loved by hams & that's just one more thing that she would probably enjoy more than trying to climb out of her tank! You can also try apple or hazel sticks which you can get in most pet shops.
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cage, she’s, can’t, afford, bigger, chicken, teeth, lid, wire, hang, keeping, noise, night, space, reach, don’t, walls, 5.5ftx1ft, detolf, displays, behaviours, ago, weeks, hamster, syrian

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