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Old 10-15-2020, 09:37 PM   #1
spookymulder
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Default Free Roam Jitters

I've got a pretty relaxed hamster. When I put my hand in the terrarium she will follow it around trying to climb on. She will climb up my arm and onto my back.

If I let her free roam she sniffs around very curiously but starts to get a bit shaky and a bit more apprehensive about my hands near her and anything but very slow movements can cause her to startle easily. In the cage, in my hands or crawling around on me she's perfectly fine. I allowed her to walk around on my bed and when she got near the edge, I didn't even move and for one reason or another she startled with an "Oh my god" look on her face and fell off the edge of the bed (luckily my bed is close to the floor).

So how do you get them to calm down a bit when they're allowed to run around and explore a bit?
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Old 10-15-2020, 10:06 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

It can take them a while to get confident out of the cage, as everything is new again, it may help to start in a smaller enclosed area, the bed would be ok if you could put pillows or cushions or something around the edge so she won’t fall off, the fall will probably have scared her a bit & knocked her confidence a bit.
If you use a playpen or smaller area you can put toys to explore & some substrate & other things from the cage so it has her scent on it which should help her feel more comfortable with it.
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Old 10-15-2020, 11:28 PM   #3
spookymulder
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
It can take them a while to get confident out of the cage, as everything is new again, it may help to start in a smaller enclosed area, the bed would be ok if you could put pillows or cushions or something around the edge so she won’t fall off, the fall will probably have scared her a bit & knocked her confidence a bit.
If you use a playpen or smaller area you can put toys to explore & some substrate & other things from the cage so it has her scent on it which should help her feel more comfortable with it.
Yea unfortunately I'm not sure I have anything to cordon of an area at the moment. Waiting on Ikea to get the Detolf in stock locally again and maybe with a larger area she won't want out so often when I get near her. I'll try to come up with something.

A bit off the topic of the post, but what is a good Syrian size wheel that isn't too expensive? The Silent Runners are nearly $40. Anything comparable?
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Old 10-16-2020, 12:37 AM   #4
Ria P
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

A lot of people use the 28cm Trixie wheel which is inexpensive.
The 28cm Savic Orbital wheel is a midrange wheel.
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Old 10-16-2020, 08:53 AM   #5
spookymulder
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

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Originally Posted by Ria P View Post
A lot of people use the 28cm Trixie wheel which is inexpensive.
The 28cm Savic Orbital wheel is a midrange wheel.
Do you know if this place is reliable? The Silent Runner 9" is $23.49 here. That puts it in the same price range. I just need the stand and wheel.

https://www.exoticnutrition.com/Prod...f-d47454b691ca
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Old 10-16-2020, 08:58 AM   #6
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

The 12 inch Silent Runner is barely more there in terms of cost, and you really will need the 12 inch for a Syrian. The 9 inch is the perfect size for any other hamster species, but Syrians really do need the larger size unfortunately.

https://www.exoticnutrition.com/Prod...r)__43673.aspx

As far as the website goes, that'd be the actual Silent Runner manufacturer so yes it is reliable as far as the wheel itself goes - but definitely get the 12 inch version.
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Old 10-16-2020, 09:13 AM   #7
spookymulder
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

I'll have to wait until Detolf is in stock then. The current habitat would tightly fit the 12".

Oh, seems to be in stock now. They didn't notify me.
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Old 10-17-2020, 10:26 AM   #8
Bronwynthehamster
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

Sounds like she trusts you, have you considered purchasing a playpen? They are quite cheap and although she would need supervision, safe for them to run around in. Even just putting her in the bath for a bit (with no water in obviously) and letting her get used to exploring new surroundings before releasing her in a bigger area?
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Old 10-24-2020, 01:40 PM   #9
spookymulder
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

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Originally Posted by Bronwynthehamster View Post
Sounds like she trusts you, have you considered purchasing a playpen? They are quite cheap and although she would need supervision, safe for them to run around in. Even just putting her in the bath for a bit (with no water in obviously) and letting her get used to exploring new surroundings before releasing her in a bigger area?
Yea, generally seems to. Often tries really hard to climb up my arm when my hand is in the habitat. Follows my hand around if I move it to grab on to it. Climbs up my arm and onto my back. Hangs out on my shoulders for a bit and then tries to cautiously climb down. So what I've been doing is sit on the bed so that it has a soft landing if it falls. Then I'll allow it to walk on my lap without letting it go anywhere. Occasionally I'll allow a bit of walking on the bed.

Just that as soon as she's on the bed she is easily startled and moves around a bit fast and away from my hands so I'm hesitant to let her do that.

When I upgraded to the Detolf and after adding the wheel she seems to have lost some trust. As soon as the wheel was added she doesn't move from the 1/4th portion of the Detolf where the wheel is and sleeps in the corner behind it. Also has stopped coming to me. Not sure why. She will however still come to me for any food in my hand. If I'm moving anything around she is started easily.

The other week before I got the new wheel she was coming out of a tunnel (waking up I believe) and I walked up to the Detolf. Really scared her. I believe she even "hissed" at me once or twice.

If I understand correctly, Hamsters supposedly have bad vision? Is this true? I've come to believe or at least think that either that is true for all hamsters or this specific one. Just due to my observations of its behavior from various distances. My assumption when this happened was that she could not recognize me when I approached and that startled her.

Last edited by spookymulder; 10-24-2020 at 01:56 PM.
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Old 10-24-2020, 02:14 PM   #10
Ria P
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Default Re: Free Roam Jitters

Are you talking to her as you approach her so she knows its you?
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