My new Robo - whats going on?Is this normal? Help for new owner please

[Sancerree]

Yesterday afternoon brought new hamster home, Roborovski - Kora. I tried to let her settle in the cage and not touch her. It's been now 24h and I'm a bit worried about a couple of things...


https://imgur.com/a/7kBvNsW
her picture /\
1) She didn't 'chose' any hideout, she entered one couple times but she keeps coming back to the cardboard tunnel as on the picture. In the morning I didn't see her anywhere, finally found she was sleeping dag under the bedding in the corner of the cage, behind/under coconut hideout. Is this normal..?

2) Scratching the glass in the tunnel. She will scratch the glass and then next second sleep there. Then the same thing will happen. Why? Is she unhappy?

3) I haven't seen her drinking from the water bottle. I put a tiny piece of cucumber today at the entrance of tunnel she sits in and she ate it later on. Will she find the bottle?

4) When we put her into the cage she was exploring, but she hasn't been on the shelf level of the cage yet. She has easy access there by the wooden bridge. Is this normal?

5) She seems to be awake all the time? Or eventually just naps and move every couple seconds to a different position. She was awake in the morning, when I came back from work, and during night was using wheel.

Other than this she uses wheel, she takes food from the bowl (but where does she stash it?), she also used sand bath couple times. I would appreciate any advice or comments.

[LunaTheHamster1]

She is doing absolutely fine, don't worry - all just signs of her settling in, give her a few more days and I am sure you will see her settle in more, she sounds like she is just investigating and checking things out in her own time. I am sure she has a food stash somewhere, but I wouldn't be going looking or moving anything around just yet, just let her settle in for a few more days. Such a cute pic. My Luna slept in her strawberry when I first adopted her, took her several day until she built her nest in her hide.

[LunaTheHamster1]

re the water, i am sure she will find it when she needs it.

[Sancerree]

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

re the water, i am sure she will find it when she needs it.

Thank you for the reply and advice.

Do you think its normal that she digs herself under the bedding, under the hideout as well?

[LunaTheHamster1]

sounds completely fine to /me ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++ - (that was my Luna typing there!) they like to burrow and hide

[Pebbles82]

All normal They need 2 or 3 days to settle and it can take longer. It's generally recommended not to clean the cage for the first 2 weeks as well so she fully settles. If it gets whiffy, you can "spot clean" the pee area. But I found with a robo it's hard to find a particular pee area and it doesn't seem to smell anyway as they pee so little I think it evaporates! Depends how much depth of substrate you have though. I would give her at least a week before even a spot clean (ie take out a handful of smelly substrate and add a new handful).

Robos are big burrowers and tunnelers. Ours ignored all houses and dug a burrow under a shelf. She's probably started a tunnel system!

[Sancerree]

I wouldn’t mind her burrowing at all If I could at least see her! Can’t see her at all I’m just guessing she is under the coconut.

[Pebbles82]

Do you have a photo of your cage set up? Robos tend to need a set up with a fair amount of "overhead cover" to feel secure - eg good sized tunnels, hanging toys etc so it's not too open above, and a shelf or platform to go under. If there isn't much then they will instinctively dive under the substrate. They are the most fearful of all hamsters (so I've read) being so tiny - and they are prey animals so being under something makes them feel they can't be got at from above (like bird claws!). Even though they're domesticated pets they still have this instinct.

I know what you mean - it's like you never see them. I find though that although our robo likes to nest out of sight/underground, he comes out a lot more than our syrian - often at lunch time and in the afternoon. And when they are out they can be very funny rushing around and running in their wheels/saucer etc.

When she's settled and feels more confident she will be more active I'm sure. I also worried if ours was ok when I could never see him. Do you put a bit of fresh veg out each day as well as hamster mix? If not it's a good idea - just a tiny bit - thumbnail sized. They love fresh veg and you will see it has been nibbled each morning so know she is ok!

Another thing to check is water bottle accessibility and make sure it's not too high to reach.

[Sancerree]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Do you have a photo of your cage set up? Robos tend to need a set up with a fair amount of "overhead cover" to feel secure - eg good sized tunnels, hanging toys etc so it's not too open above, and a shelf or platform to go under. If there isn't much then they will instinctively dive under the substrate. They are the most fearful of all hamsters (so I've read) being so tiny - and they are prey animals so being under something makes them feel they can't be got at from above (like bird claws!). Even though they're domesticated pets they still have this instinct.

I know what you mean - it's like you never see them. I find though that although our robo likes to nest out of sight/underground, he comes out a lot more than our syrian - often at lunch time and in the afternoon. And when they are out they can be very funny rushing around and running in their wheels/saucer etc.

When she's settled and feels more confident she will be more active I'm sure. I also worried if ours was ok when I could never see him. Do you put a bit of fresh veg out each day as well as hamster mix? If not it's a good idea - just a tiny bit - thumbnail sized. They love fresh veg and you will see it has been nibbled each morning so know she is ok!

Another thing to check is water bottle accessibility and make sure it's not too high to reach.

Yes I do have couple more pictures - please have a look -> https://imgur.com/a/3J9mPRI

Under the shelf area, there is her potty in the corner, tunnel burrowed in bedding and sand bath.

So far I only tried to give her cucumber - which she nibbled on a bit. She hasn't taken a treat from my hand tho yet but doesn't seem to be totally freaked out by hand in the cage unless it causes some sudden noise (like accidentally hitting bars of the cage with my arm). Usually, when I try to give her something from my hand, she just sits in her potty (I can't reach there due to the shelf) and does nothing. I'm considering taking off the top of the cage (bar part) and trying to give her some seed from the mix (she seems to go for small seeds - well she is tiny, and corn and sunflower seed). She wasn't interested in yoghurt drop I left it on her plate but was untouched later. She likes millet spray which I planted in form of a 'tree' in her cage.


Our routine at the moment looks like this:
In the morning we are looking for her in the bedding to check If she is okay, then she pops her head out (super cute) and does some hamster things for a bit but from what I observed stays on the surface when we are around.

At evening, when I came back from work I had to be digging in the bedding for a good 5 minutes before I found her, she got out and is now in the tunnel on the surface. I tried with treats but no success will try again later.

[Sancerree]

Oh and water bottle, I think she still didn't drink from it( doesn't look like it), and I believe it's on alright height (when she stand on the food plate which is near it looks like its good height for her to drink).