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Old 04-07-2019, 05:43 PM   #1
mikatelyn
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Default Do your hamsters dislike substrate?

Hi all,
Kind of a weird question, but do your hamsters seem to prefer areas that don't have any substrate on it?
I've had my male Syrian, Smokey, for almost 4 months, so he's probably about 7 months old.
I've been noticing that even from very early on, he seemed to like going to places that had no substrate. He likes to hang out in an empty glass dish, for example, or on rocks.
He's now in a pretty ginormous cage, a Critter Nation. The bottom floor has over 800 square inches, then he has 2 shelf levels that are each exactly half the floor space, so basically he has about over 1600 square inches of space.

I put a lot of substrate on the ground level, maybe 8 inches at one corner, sloping down to maybe 3-4 inches at other parts of the cage to accomodate his wheel, etc.
On one shelf I have just an inch of substrate, then on the top shelf I put no substrate there, and instead put different things like flat rocks and ceramic stuff there because I live in Arizona and I wanted to give him a place to cool down when it got hot.
Even when it was pretty chilly here, he preferentially hung out in the areas without substrate, and seems to completely ignore the areas of his cage with deep substrate. I know he knows how to dig and make tunnels, because in his last cage (75 gallon aquarium), he actually had an extensive tunnel system for a while before I introduced a nice big wooden house and he moved into that instead.
Does anyone have a hamster that just doesn't like walking on substrate?
I'm currently using carefresh, but I noticed similar things with aspen as well as all living things paper bedding.
I'm wondering if I should reduce how much substrate I'm putting in since he doesn't seem to use that part of the cage with the deep substrate anymore. Or maybe add more substrate and use a digging box or a retaining wall because maybe the slope of the substrate is such that he can't dig well, or sees no point.
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Old 04-08-2019, 03:59 AM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Do your hamsters dislike substrate?

I would leave it for now. It can take them a while to settle into a new cage and develop habits. He's maybe still a bit shell shocked since the move

Do you have a photo of how it's set up? They usually like a house on the substrate so they can bury hoards under the nest - and also tend to choose a pee corner on substrate - good place to put a litter tray if he does.

When they sit around a bit after a move, it's often feeling a bit lost - it can go on for a couple of weeks if no cage cleaning is done, or longer if you clean the cage before the two weeks settling time is up. I'm sure he'll get some favourite habits soon.

Our current syrian loves substrate and digs in it. Our last one ignored it really but did like being able to burrow down a bit in it inside his nest.
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Old 04-08-2019, 06:25 AM   #3
chloeeruth98
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Default Re: Do your hamsters dislike substrate?

That's an interesting one... I think some hamsters are less interested in burrowing and prefer running around, and lots of soft substrates are more aimed at burrowing.

My Syrian girl Maisie seemed perplexed by 4" deep Aspen and carefresh substrate and kept walking around in a really odd way! She's much happier with mostly paper based litter, I think because it provides a firmer surface for her to run about on. She tends to like 'running errands' and busying herself between her food bowl, sand baths, toys and wheel! She doesn't bury or dig anywhere except for in her 2 sand baths (lunchbox size Tupperware tubs) or in her bed to make her nest.

I tend to use about 3" deep of back2nature litter over the main area of her cage, and sprinkle about 1/2" carefresh over that, so she can gather bits for her bed. For the area under her nesting house though, I use all carefresh, and make that more like 4-5" deep, as she likes to dig a little tunnel and nest to sleep in. She loves safebed bedding strips too, which I leave outside her nesting house door, and she carries them inside to line her tunnel and nest carefully!
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Old 04-08-2019, 07:33 PM   #4
mikatelyn
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Default Re: Do your hamsters dislike substrate?

He's been in the Critter Nation for about a month now, and I completely left it alone for about 3 weeks other than a little bit of spot cleaning of his litter tray (he pees in his sand tray!). Plus, I have not noticed him reverting to his Zombie Hammie persona since you helped me out last time, Serendipity (thanks again!). He's otherwise active, he just avoided that part of the cage.
I finally changed out the substrate on the ground level to carefresh last week because I noticed that he avoided the aspen portion of his last cage, and I transferred all the substrate over to the new cage minus the soiled stuff, so it all got mixed together.
Of course, right after I posted this question last night, I finally noticed that he was starting to explore that corner of the cage again. I kind of think he doesn't care for aspen!
That aspen made my throat and eyes itch, my nose would get stuffy and runny. I wonder if Smokey was having some similar aversion to it.
He does keep me guessing, that one.

Last edited by mikatelyn; 04-08-2019 at 07:40 PM.
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Old 04-08-2019, 07:39 PM   #5
mikatelyn
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Default Re: Do your hamsters dislike substrate?

Chloeeruth, when you say Maisie would walk on the aspen/carefresh substrate in an odd way, was it that very slow, kind of sprawled out walk? Smokey was doing that on his aspen/all living things paper bedding mix. I thought maybe it was because it was too loose/not packed in yet. Or maybe he was trying not to stir it up too much so that he wouldn't have to breathe too much of it in!
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Old 04-09-2019, 01:51 AM   #6
chloeeruth98
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Default Re: Do your hamsters dislike substrate?

Sounds like he doesn't like the Aspen then! It could be irritating his nose, or another thing I do wonder is whether some hamsters don't like the feel of it on their tummies... I had the feeling that was what was up with Maisie.

Yes that's exactly how she would walk! Almost like she was sort of wading or trying not to break through ice lol... once I tried the litter in half the cage she would walk normally on that part and waddle on the other, it was very funny!
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Old 04-09-2019, 08:37 AM   #7
mikatelyn
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Default Re: Do your hamsters dislike substrate?

Lol, yes, just like trying not to break through thin ice!
Well, I feel like we may have solved this hamster mystery!
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