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Old 03-15-2019, 09:40 PM   #1
Trollish
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Join Date: Mar 2019
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Default Hamster less active since moving into a larger cage

Hello, I have had a Syrian hamster for nearly a year now. About two months ago, I decided to upgrade her cage into an even larger one. It has a more space to run around, more room for toys, and even a second floor platform.

However, she seems to have become less active since moving into that cage, even after two months. I rarely hear her run on her wheel anymore and she seems to spend a lot more time in her sleeping hut. When I feed her, she just hoards all the food in her mouth and immediately goes back into her hut. Previously, she would eat her food out in the open when I gave her food. I'm just confused as to why she is behaving like this, am I doing something wrong? She appears healthy in almost all regards (though I am slightly concerned that she is becoming a little overweight, I do not know what an overweight hamster looks like however)

On a slightly unrelated note, when she wakes up I tend to find her frozen in place on the second floor platform and it takes longer than normal to get her to start moving again. Sometimes, I even have to carry her off the second floor because she seems to have forgotten that the ramp exists.
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Old 03-16-2019, 03:33 AM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Hamster less active since moving into a larger cage

While they do mostly enjoy having a larger cage & more space how well they settle will depend as much on how the cage is set up as the actual size.
It's important not to have too much open space & really deep substrate, it may be that she's feeling a bit exposed & vulnerable in the larger cage.
It's hard to say without seeing your cage so if you have some photos you could upload that would really help with suggesting things that might help.
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Old 03-16-2019, 06:28 AM   #3
Trollish
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Talking Re: Hamster less active since moving into a larger cage

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
While they do mostly enjoy having a larger cage & more space how well they settle will depend as much on how the cage is set up as the actual size.
It's important not to have too much open space & really deep substrate, it may be that she's feeling a bit exposed & vulnerable in the larger cage.
It's hard to say without seeing your cage so if you have some photos you could upload that would really help with suggesting things that might help.
I've attached some pictures of my cage (my hamster is sleeping). Please let me know what you think, I'm open to any suggestions on how to improve my cage. Even after a whole year I'm still learning!

How much substrate would you recommend? I definitely feel like I don't have enough at times.
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Old 03-16-2019, 06:59 AM   #4
cypher
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Default Re: Hamster less active since moving into a larger cage

I think the open space is probably the problem.
To begin with I would completely fill the base with substrate right up to the top of the plastic, that should help.
She really needs a bigger better house than the igloo, plastic isn't too good as it gets quite humid in there & the igloos aren't completely dark.
Would your wheel fit on the shelf or is it too tall?
I was just thinking if you could put the wheel on the shelf you could put a nice big shoebox size cardboard box house there, no base & a door cut out maybe with a bendy bridge in front of the door to make it really dark inside.
If not then maybe you could get something similar under the shelf?
If you leave the wheel where it is you will need to buy or make a shelf to stand it on so it's above the level of the substrate, you can easily make one with a piece of safe wood & some dowels glued on for legs.
Then you need to put more into the open space that's left, things like cork tunnels or tubes are good or even more bendy bridges to make little hideouts & something to climb on as well.
Hyacinth or seagrass tunnels are good too & available from most pet shops or online, just check they're big enough as they come in different sizes.
If you use cork it's best to put it in a bag & freeze it for a week before use just in case of bugs!
Have a look through this thread for ideas of things to use & how best to make use of the space you have.
Let's see your cages - New thread - July 2017
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