Cage Climbing

Shadow Cat · 01-30-2020, 02:31 PM

Sorry if this thread is overdone but I couldn't find a newish thread on the topic and didn't want to dig one up from three years ago!

This is the first time in a long time I've had a hamster in a wire cage instead of a bin cage and my Syrian is giving me a mild heart attack every time she just lets go of the ceiling and drops to the floor!

I know bar climbing can be a sign of stress but she doesn't seem particularly stressed otherwise. I should also say she's in the Barney cage so it's not because her cage is small. She also spent about 20 minutes earlier free roaming (well, in a large enclosed playpen with toys and things, I didn't just let her loose, I'd never see her again!) Her wheel isn't stuck so she could get her energy out that way if she wanted.

I'm so worried she'll hurt herself. She seems totally unbothered when she lands, I'm the one panicking. She has deep substrate but inevitably there are hard objects in her cage. Toys and hides and such.

I've never owned a female hamster before. Could she be more restless because she's in heat? And am I worrying for nothing? She was in a tank in the petshop so this is new to her and I've only had her a week. Any advice would be appreciated hugely.

I imagine this is what parents feel like when their toddle scrambles up a climbing frame in the park...

sarahbutterflies · 01-30-2020, 05:47 PM

She is still probably adjusting to her environment because she is relatively new. Monkey barring can not only be a sign of stress but also a sign of boredom. I would recommend free roaming her for much longer than 20 minutes if you can, maybe in the future once she is used to you more. You can scatter feed, provide sprays (oat, wheat, millet, flax), dried herbs, fresh fruits and veggies, add a sand bath, provide more bedding, add different substrates and textures (aspen, wood, moss, coconut fiber, soil, rocks, cork log). Female Syrians in particular are notorious for being hard to please and being unhappy in their enclosure no matter how big. This is mostly due with their very strong natural instinct to find a mate and explore more territory. This instinct probably kicks in a lot more when she is in heat. Some people recommend a cage that is at least 1000 square inches because of that. I would just make sure there is nothing hard she could hand on if she falls because you can't keep an eye on her when you're sleeping. Maybe stack the bedding a little higher in that area too. A solution would be to get a larger cage and even then it's not guaranteed she won't show similar signs. I understand it's tricky, dealing with similar things with my hammy. You could also upgrade her wheel size if it is on the smaller size, most adult Syrians will need an 11-12 inch wheel some people even have larger ones.

Shadow Cat · 01-30-2020, 08:58 PM

Thanks. Yes, I usually would free roam for longer but I've only had her 6 days and haven't even held her in my hands yet, I didn't want to overwhelm her. She has the biggest wheel I could find for sale, it's 28cm in diameter, I think that's 11 inches. I can't remove all the hard things she could land in from her cage or she would have nothing to do! It's not like she only climbs in one place. I think there's plenty of enrichment in her cage, things to climb beside her cage, places to burrow and things to chew. I'm afraid a larger cage isn't an option due to space and, frankly, the money I spent on this cage.

LunaTheHamster1 · 01-31-2020, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadow Cat

Thanks. Yes, I usually would free roam for longer but I've only had her 6 days and haven't even held her in my hands yet, I didn't want to overwhelm her. She has the biggest wheel I could find for sale, it's 28cm in diameter, I think that's 11 inches. I can't remove all the hard things she could land in from her cage or she would have nothing to do! It's not like she only climbs in one place. I think there's plenty of enrichment in her cage, things to climb beside her cage, places to burrow and things to chew. I'm afraid a larger cage isn't an option due to space and, frankly, the money I spent on this cage.

Can you post a picture of your cage and we might be able to offer some advice to help.

Flossypet · 01-31-2020, 06:12 AM

I don't think falling that height will hurt her. Hamsters seem to have quite a tolerance for falls like that and it actually doesn't affect them at all.

If your hamster is spending a lot of the time climbing the bars, she could be stressed due to having too little to do or not enough space. However, it is most likely that she is just settling in and getting acquainted with the new environment - that includes the ceiling of her cage.

Shadow Cat · 02-01-2020, 01:23 AM

Thank you for all the advice guys. I'm not sure how to post a photo though.

Yesterday I put the shelf that comes with the Barney cage on while she was free roaming as I hadn't put it in when I set up the cage and last night she climbed the bars less I think. Maybe she just wanted to be up high.

In her cage she has 4 hides, including the big one that comes with the cage and a cardboard tube and three bridges, 5 or 6 chew toys and a whimzees chew and some wheat spray. A large wheel. Plenty of paper bedding to burrow in and I watched her having a grand old time digging around last night. I scatter fed her some herbs and seeds too. I don't think she's lacking for things to do, but if anyone can think of any other enrichment ideas for when she's in her cage I would be very grateful.

Ria P · 02-01-2020, 11:20 AM

I have a height loving Syrian. It's not so that he climbed the bars but he never burrowed (has plenty of substrate) so i got some degus shelves from Amazon as an added enrichment. They are placed at different heights and he loves them, has sat on them since he was a baby.

Pebbles82 · 02-02-2020, 07:41 AM

I think they usually climb to try and find a way out. Try to escape. If she drops from the roof she should be fine if you have plenty of substrate - at least 5" deep - the Barney will hold that. It'll cushion any falls. But just make sure there are no floor toys she could land on that will hurt her. Even a bendy bridge can be quite hard to land on. So anything hard or sharp could go under the shelf, or under something that's attached to the roof.

I do think they like a shelf - it's somewhere to go and it's also something they like to sit under. Makes them feel secure when they're out and about I think.

Set up of a cage can be fiddly looking at all the risks and access points etc. But you'll get there! Something like a kitchen roll tube wouldn't hurt her to land on (although slit it down one side so it expands as they're a bit small for a syrian).

Females can be very active so she may need lots to do and plenty of out of cage time. Does she like ripping up cardboard? Chuck in the odd egg box (cardboard) and you can cut the holes off a couple of the sticky out bits and put some treats inside - that'll keep her busy. Cardboard is fine to land on as well.

Pebbles82 · 02-02-2020, 07:43 AM

Also keep putting out plenty of paper nesting material. If the pile goes down keep topping it up. They are big nest builders and like to rearrange the substrate sometimes as well and build mountains etc.

Shadow Cat · 02-03-2020, 01:37 PM

Update. I bought a vinyl wipe clean table cloth to spread out on my carpet and constructed a playpen with lots of tunnels and toys and climbing things in to let her run around and explore out of her cage. I'm currently sat on my bed reading Little Women with one eye on her and she seems to be having a good time.

I also bought some earplugs for a better night's sleep!

I took your advice about moving sharp things under the shelf. She has this big carrot thing she likes to eat but it has a lot of sticky out bits that wouldn't be comfy to land on.