Hamster attacked me?

xosunflowerox · 02-27-2019, 10:19 PM

So this is completely new, it's the first time I've seen my hamster be aggressive and I am pretty disheartened over it.

I opened her cage around the time she normally wakes up to give my hamster fresh food and do some spot cleaning as it's been a couple of days. Usually when I do this, she wakes up and comes to check out what I'm doing. She follows my hand around the cage and seems curious. Tonight she came out like usual and was checking out what I was doing. I was using a scooper to scoop some soiled bedding and she charged at my hand. She attacked the scooper. I'm not sure if she did this because she was grumpy and had just woken up or because she is developing cage rage? If someone kept waking me up and messing with my home, I wouldn't be happy about it either... But this is the first time she's attacked. I know her cage is too small (525ish square inches) and I am in the process of upgrading her cage. I wanted to keep her in the current cage for 3 weeks to a month before moving her to avoid stress. Right now it's been about 2 and half weeks.

Prior to this, she hasn't shown any signs of unhappiness that I've seen. When she's awake, she spends a couple of hours grooming herself. I see her yawning and stretching when she moves around. She moves around the cage to sit in various spots and chews on the toys I have provided. I've seen her run on the wheel a couple of times. I've begun the taming process. She takes treats off my hand with ease and will let me pet her back when she is eating. I am just really surprised that she attacked when she's never been aggressive towards me before... I'm a bit afraid to put my hand in the cage now as I'm worried she will bite my hand next...

xosunflowerox · 02-27-2019, 10:35 PM

Update: She's no longer taking treats from my hand.

When I come over to open the cage, she just darts straight into the hideaway. She's never done that before... I did move the cage into my bedroom two nights ago. I'm not sure if moving locations could have something to do with it?

cypher · 02-27-2019, 11:20 PM

Is she still eating, drinking normally & generally active other than this? Keep an eye on that just in case there's some health issue going on.
It could be the change of location, they are very sensitive to all the smells. sounds etc around them so it can take a little while for them to adjust & settle again if you move the cage.
Give her a few days to settle & see how she is.
Has she been coming out for out of cage time? It might be an idea to just leave her alone in the cage, still talk to her but keep hands out of the cage & then start out of cage time again once she's a bit more settled & do any spot cleaning when she's out of the cage rather than trying to do it while she's in there.

xosunflowerox · 02-27-2019, 11:25 PM

It doesn't seem like she's been eating, but she is still drinking. I had a treat stick in the cage for her and she's completely gotten everything off it. So she may just have been eating that over her normal food.
I've taken her into the playpen twice. The first time, she was scared, but curious. She spent most of the time trying to escape. The second time, she was very scared. She kept trying to hide under my legs and would be very still. I put some toys and treats in for her, but so far she seems to hate the playpen. I haven't tried the playpen since moving her.
I'm watching her now and she's being kind of frantic. She's moving around the cage pretty fast and is burrowing under her litter box and food bowl... It sort of seems like she's trying to get out. The last two nights she's been calm, I'm not sure what's going on.

Pebbles82 · 02-28-2019, 02:20 AM

Moving her cage will have been stressful - it’s a change of environment, familiarity and smells. So cleaning shortly afterwards will have added to the stress. Just a combination of events. When they have just woken up they can lash out sort of, out of fear if something is “invading”. If you think about it if you were half asleep and someone poked a shovel in your bed you might whack it and wonder what the heck was going on

.

Was it her nest you were spot cleaning or just somewhere in the cage?

She basically needs some time to adjust after the cage move. I would leave her alone for a couple of days again and then wait at least a week before spot cleaning again. She will get over it. And forgive you

Sometimes I find it better to spot clean when they’re in the cage and as you say they follow your hand around. Other times I’ve found it best to do it when they’re out of the cage if they’re a bit stressed about something - although that can lead them to not wanting to come out of the cage for a while (guarding). But as they get older and used to that happening sometimes they can approve of the change when they go back in and not be too bothered. Main thing is to keep it minimal. I can understand her not liking the scoop in her cage. She was seeing it off.

Generally though the cage needs to stay in the same place all the time.

xosunflowerox · 02-28-2019, 10:14 PM

Yes, I kind of thought she may be upset from me poking around when she had been sleeping along with the change of location.
I was spot cleaning outside the nest. I tried cleaning the nest once and found so much poop and food in there. I think she was upset I messed with the nest, then I read I'm not supposed to touch the nest unless the hamster pees in it. From what I saw, she hadn't peed in it. I don't plan to touch the nest again until after I move her to the new cage.

Her cage was originally in the living room but my roommate wanted me to move her cage when he had guests over (which would be rare). I thought it may just be better to keep her permanently in my room, so I am trying it. So far, she hasn't bothered me and I prefer her in my room. I can look over and see her whenever I want.

I'll leave her cage alone for the next couple of days.

Pebbles82 · 03-01-2019, 04:40 AM

That sounds better if she's in your room

Is that going to affect your choice of cage for upgrading? I'm sure she'll soon settle again.

xosunflowerox · 03-03-2019, 04:31 AM

The bin I bought is too large for the living room. Well... I mean it fits, it just looks awkward. I didn't want to upset my roommate by putting it there. The bin fits much better in my bedroom. I've spent the past week researching other options. I looked at an acrylic tank which turned out to not be suitable. I looked back into making a DIY cage, but found out it would be too expensive. The only other option I can think of is a 75 gallon tank. Someone told me the IRIS bin is not suitable since there can't be bedding depth of 10-12 inches.
But for now, I think the bin is my best option. I am hoping my hamster will like it, then I can possibly upgrade to the tank in the future.

Pebbles82 · 03-03-2019, 04:42 AM

75 gallon tank sounds very large! I know a 40 gallon breeder tank is popular. That's about 90cm by 45cm deep. And also a 55 gallon tank - not sure of the dimensions but I think it's a 4 foot tank.

You don't have to have a bedding depth of 10 to 12 inches. Some people like to do that but I don't think it is necessary with Syrians, especially if they have a good house which mimics a burrow. I think when people use tanks a lot in the US and there is the option for deep bedding, then they say it is good. It depends on the hamster. Some syrians aren't the slightest bit interested in digging tunnels and then it's a bit pointless having very deep bedding, plus everything on top then needs to be supported underneath with legs etc.

Many of us in the Uk use cages and the most bedding you can fit in is about 6" which works perfectly fine. There are also many US owners using Iris bins! Although if the height isn't that tall then it may be better for a dwarf hamster than a syrian (smaller wheel).

xosunflowerox · 03-03-2019, 12:17 PM

Yes, a 75 gallon tank is really big. I've been looking on the Hamster Hideout forums. Their members seem a lot more rigid about hamster requirements... On there, they say a 40 gallon tank is not big enough for a Syrian. If a 40 gallon is suitable, I could very easily get one and for a reasonable price! I do prefer the look of tanks over bins. The 75 gallon tank is harder to find and it's expensive unless it's on sale.

Good to know about the bedding! I was feeling really guilty thinking the bin would not provide sufficient bedding depth for burrowing. The only burrow I see that my hamster maintains is the one inside the hideaway house.
My current wheel will fit easily inside the bin. The bin is 14" tall with the lid on. For now, I'll use the bin.

I think I can provide a nice layout inside for my hamster.