Anti social boys

Essexmum · 12-26-2019, 03:37 PM

Hi, I could do with some advice. I have two little boys with natural habitats who seem very happy with their homes. Problem is i never see them! I'm used to not seeing Polski so much, he's getting old and sleeps a lot. However my new addition has taken to his natural habitat so well that he has created a network of tunnels in his substrate and I've only managed to get him out a couple of times for taming.

Should I remove some bedding so he's more accessible until I can handle him? I don't mind that they are doing their own thing, but at least i can grab Polski if I need to.

Ithuviel · 12-26-2019, 04:35 PM

what species are they?

Essexmum · 12-26-2019, 04:43 PM

They are both syrians. Polski is super tame but has only been in his natural cage for a few months and has been a bit of a hermit since.

Samwell has only been with us a week or so but has taken to tunnelling like a pro, he hasn't needed his hides at all as he's burrowed all around his cage. He has about 6 inches to burrow into.

I'd just like to be able to tame him properly because I'm going to need to clean his wee out soon and I don't want to traumatise him.

Dessi · 12-26-2019, 05:59 PM

I has the same problem with my dwarf so I kept him in a smaller cage and less bedding for 6-7 weeks. I gave him a few treats from my hands every day until he started looking forward to it and then transferred him to a bigger cage. He was a baby still and was more at ease in the smaller cage anyways.

RobinIsACatto · 12-26-2019, 09:44 PM

Please do not remove the bedding of your hamster’s cage so you can see them more often. They are fully nocturnal animals that are only awake for a few hours each night, and you must accept this. Your hamster will gain nothing beneficial out of being in a smaller cage in a reduced amount of bedding; only stress.

I understand it may be sad that you can’t see your hamster every night, but not every hamster will want human interaction and you as a responsible owner must respect that.

Essexmum · 12-27-2019, 01:20 PM

I'm happy for them to do their own thing but I'm concerned that I'm going to traumatize Samwell when I have to clean areas of his cage unless he's used to me

Ria P · 12-27-2019, 04:59 PM

I wouldn't worry about traumatizing Samwell by spot cleaning. He may go in a huff but he'll get over it. Only clean where really necessary but it has to be done from time to time. I have three hamsters and not one of them is that sociable, they all like to be left alone to do their own thing. My robo moves into his coconut for a day after i've removed damp substrate from his sleeping area and my dwarf moves to the other side of the cage after spot cleaning peed on substrate. Even my laid back syrian gets himself into a strop when i do some cleaning but they all go back to their normal, contented selves very quickly, especially when they find a tasty treat hidden in the cleaned areas......

Dessi · 12-27-2019, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobinIsACatto

Please do not remove the bedding of your hamster’s cage so you can see them more often. They are fully nocturnal animals that are only awake for a few hours each night, and you must accept this. Your hamster will gain nothing beneficial out of being in a smaller cage in a reduced amount of bedding; only stress.

I understand it may be sad that you can’t see your hamster every night, but not every hamster will want human interaction and you as a responsible owner must respect that.

You don’t need to drastically reduce the amount of bedding. Also, most baby hamsters were raised in less bedding, so it’s merely giving them what they know for a few more weeks, until they are tamed and used to human interaction.

I would think it’s best to have a little less space and bedding for 6 weeks then be scared of humans for the whole 2-3 years the hamster will live...