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Old 02-03-2020, 07:15 PM   #1
Sonic1366
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Default Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

I adopted a new russian dwarf hamster on friday (currently monday) and I'm afraid her behavior might not be normal. Unfortunately, friday started out with several complications. At the pet store I picked out a cage that seemed perfect, it was more than big enough and really deep. I had the whole thing set up with the exact same bedding as the pet store, a large igloo, wheel, food dish and water bottle before I went back to get the hamster. She didn't bite when I first tried to take her out of the box and into her cage, but she tried scratching my hand.
Started out with normal hamster things, like exploring the cage, only to soon realize that even with a ton of bedding, she was too short to reach the water bottle (and even with enough bedding it would run the risk of her moving it all and never being able to reach.) The second problem was that she was too light to get the wheel to even budge. I thought it moved easily enough and it wasn't big enough for anything other than a dwarf so I have no idea what was wrong with it. After she calmed down and went into her igloo, I added a small, smooth, metal tin for her to stand on to reach her water and she managed to use it consistently just fine over the next few hours.
After 9pm, after all the pet shops had closed, the biggest and final problem arised: the gaps on the very top bars were too wide and she was already half way out of the cage. I put my hand in front of her and she backed up into the cage.
So I had to quickly find a new home at 10pm. The only place open with anything was Walmart with an absolute garbage cage. It's half the size of the original cage but has three levels connected by ramps.
At the moment it's a little crowded, I stuck both the original wheel she can't budge (since I wanted her to feel familiar with some things in the new cage) as well as the wheel the cage came with. While it's bigger than the cage the pet store uses, it's still not very big and she definitely needs a new space but it's only been 3 days and I didn't want to keep shuffling her between homes.

Now onto the potential cage rage, the common symptoms are:
Territorial: every time I've put my hand in or near the cage she's bitten me. When I try to offer food or a treat she seems more interested in trying to go after me than the food, but after how poorly she was moved from the last cage to this one, I don't blame her for being a little defensive.
Hoarding: She doesn't hoard the food the pet store was feeding her as it's littered across all 3 platforms (I plan to feed her a blend of the pet store's food and other kind that I'm currently trickling in) but she goes right for any of the new kind of food and hides it. She even stops to look at me before she does.
Chewing: She doesn't seem to obsessively chew on the cage. Just a little bit now and then. The plastics on the wheel and platforms have some nibble marks but nothing insinuating she's excessively chewing. She has a wooden stick from the cage in the pet store and 2 apple sticks that she a absolutely destroyed right away both times.
Climbing: She has levels to the cage, she climbs to get around. Nothing seems to be wrong here.
Guarding the entrances to the cage: I don't think she's entirely aware where those even are.

I plan on moving her to a nicer cage at some point, but is it worse to keep moving her between cages so suddenly or does she seem to have a bad case of cage rage? Or is it simply too soon to tell and I should give her a few more days (and ultimately get bitten a few more times when I offer her food).
I'm sorry this post was so long, but out of all the hamsters I've owned, this one has been the most complicated and I appreciate any input anyone has to offer.
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Old 02-04-2020, 02:57 AM   #2
Ithuviel
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

This is a complicated situation. I really don't know what to say. if she is not bar chewing yet or getting overly stressed about he cage you could keep her a bit longer, after a while (lets say 2 weeks) you can move her into the good cage with her bedding and most of the items so she feels familiar.

maybe people with good experience could tell you more.
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Old 02-04-2020, 03:33 AM   #3
Salem13
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

Shes still very new and likely pretty scared. The smaller cage could be adding to her current stress but as long as its temporary it should be ok. Make sure that whatever cage she ends up in meets the 450 square inch requirement to help avoid that. I would for now just give her a few days without trying to touch her. Maybe use the tissue trick to ger her used to your smell. Put a tissue in your shirt for a little while then put it in the cage. She can sniff it and use it for nesting material.

Also just as a note, dwarves from pet stores seem to be more likely to be aggressive than others. Youtuber Munchies Place has a video regarding aggressive dwarves if youre curious.
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Old 02-04-2020, 01:37 PM   #4
Ria P
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

My adopted dwarf also bites and always has done. In fact he was pretty crazy and attacking everything in sight when i first got him. He has calmed down a lot and turned out to be a lovely hamster. Not one i can handle because he still bites but he comes to his window to see me or the mealworm i'm holding, i can stroke him and take him out of his cage in his mug. He may have had bad experiences with humans, i don't know his history.
What i'm saying is that a hamster who's inclined to bite can still make a lovely pet. Not all are cuddly. Yours may well stop biting once she's settled and feels safe and comfortable in a suitable cage.
Could you post a photo of your larger cage? Maybe you could attach mesh with cable ties to the top so she can't escape. A three level cage isn't really suitable for a dwarf because they are ground dwellers and need deep substrate to be able to burrow and build tunnels to keep them happy. Make sure there is no fall risk in the current cage so she can't hurt herself.
The wheel may need adjusting so it spins freely. Have a proper look at it and loosen it. A hamster needs a usable wheel so you need to get this sorted.
Why can't you position the water bottle so she can reach it? Or make a stand for it if you can't lower it in the cage.

She needs a good sized permanent cage now to be able to settle and make a home so i would suggest that you mesh the bigger cage, give her plenty of substrate, a house and a wheel that works, a bottle she can reach and plenty of hides and enrichment. Give her chew sticks and talk to her for a few days. Let her get to know you and your voice before you try and hand feed her risking to get bitten. There's no rush trying to tame her. She needs a decent home first.
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Old 02-04-2020, 01:41 PM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

It’s just fear and needing time to settle in. Was the first cage a zoo one? They have 2cm bar spacing on top but you can mesh the lid. The second cage sounds like it might be a bit tall/have fall risks if it has a few levels. Although cage changes are stressful they can also get cage rage if the cage is too small or unsuitable somehow. So ideally now it would be good to move her to a suitable one and give her a good two weeks to adjust and settle into the cage. They don’t like a hand in their cage at the best of times, particularly if it comes from above. During that two weeks it’s best not to clean anything or move anything- so best to get it set up right with wheel working etc before she moves in.

What country are you in and we can recommend suitable inexpensive cage options. If the first one isn’t a zoo one I would take it back for a refund and say it wasn’t suitable for a hamster. Then you can put the money towards something better.
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Old 02-04-2020, 03:59 PM   #6
Sonic1366
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

I live in america. The cage that was too big was from the brand All Living Things, if I remember correctly, and has been fully returned. I would love cage recommendations, google search has me all over the place when I look.
I don't have any tissues so I took a few sheets of TP from a fresh loaf and have that down my shirt for now and will give to her later.
I tried adjusting the first wheel a few times but somehow she's just too light. She seems to really like the wheel that came with the cage and has completely ignored the first wheel since. The current cage height should be fine. It's only an inch taller than the first one and with the first one she spent a while climbing all the way up to the top and jumping down on purpose. She likes to climb up to the top level and then take the slide down. Before she found the slide she stood at the edge unwilling to jump so I feel confident she'll be fine. And even if she does, the bedding is very fluffy, uninterrupted, and deep wherever she would land. I took almost all of the bedding from the first cage and put it in the smaller one so it reaches past the bars.
The igloo is mostly buried in bedding but today I saw she's dug a tunnel to the entrance.
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Old 02-05-2020, 01:01 AM   #7
Littlephodopusmom
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

I just wanted to add my experience with my guy in case it helps also. I agree with everyone, I think she is just afraid right now and things can get better. When I got my russian dwarf as a baby I really didn't try much with him for about 5 to 7 days. I just let him be and talked to him quietly to get him used to my voice. Every day I talked to him I offered him a treat. I did get bitten hard a couple of times when he was young but he only gets upset with me now if he feels threatened or I try to do things in his cage while he is awake in it. He also couldn't get his wheel going as he was just too small and light so I had a smaller wheel for him at first and changed it as he grew. It can change...my guy usually now climbs on top of his bridge to get onto my hand as he knows he'ss get a treat and come out to play. A separate Rubbermaid play area helped him understand that I am the elevator to take him there Maybe your girl could always bite but I had a dwarf like that years ago and gloves were just something I had to do. Try not to worry too much, everything is new and intimidating to her so over time she might calm down
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Old 02-05-2020, 10:18 PM   #8
Sonic1366
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

If I may post an update, it appears she's absolutely destroyed one of the plastic ramps. She's not chewing for more than 2 or 3 mins at a time but there's no salvaging that ramp.
It's nighttime now, but tomorrow morning I'm going out to get the biggest storage bin the shelf will hold. I used large sterilite bins for almost 10 years as a hedgehog cage until he recently passed, so I'm no stranger to bin cages in general. I never used a lid for my hedgehog, as they're bigger and easier to find, but I'll definitely be using one for a hamster.
I initially wanted to make a bin cage before I got the hamster but the first commercial cage *looked* so ideal that it seemed the better route. Shame I didn't stick with my gut so the poor girl wouldn't need to be moved again but if every porkchop were perfect we wouldn't have hotdogs.
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Old 02-06-2020, 01:26 AM   #9
Ithuviel
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

Good luck and keep us updated. Move the hamster with all of its bedding as well as toys and hides. Make everything similar to the cage it is in.
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Old 02-06-2020, 06:51 PM   #10
Sonic1366
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Default Re: Cage Rage or Still Just Too New?

So the new cage is about 650 square inches. It's been an hour and a half and she's still exploring. Took awhile to get the mesh on and the lid is not very pretty, but I think it's great. She's still trying to climb the walls, but I'm going to hope she can't reach a foot up.
I had to get a new water bottle and a wheel that doesn't attach to bars. I also added a few hiding houses for the extra space.
I used some older Aspen bedding I had around the edges and filled the center with her normal bedding, then covered the whole thing with the bedding from her cage. She hasn't chewed on a single thing since she got in there so I think it's safe to say she's a lot happier.
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cage, pet, food, store, wheel, water, bedding, rage, hamster, offer, shes, reach, hand, big, moving, put, levels, moved, wrong, chewing, problem, things, budge, half, original

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