Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Behaviour

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-31-2020, 06:06 PM   #1
Lizchewy
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Wales
Posts: 61
Question Could it be the fireworks?

Hello. My name is Liz. This is my first post. My 9 year old son has a male syrian rescue hamster called Chewy (I am helping him with his care). We were told he was 12 weeks old when we got him (have had him for 3 weeks now). He was very nervous when we brought him home. We were told he wasnt properly cared for but not sure in what way exactly. Up until today he has seemed very happy with us. We have the savic rat plaza cage for him with an extra level put in and a huge hedgehog sized flat running wheel we got from Germany which he loves. We are slowly taming him and he will take treats from our hands and has been coming when we call him. Tonight he wouldn't come out of the cage to play though. Fireworks were going off in the distance. They sounded pretty quiet to me but I noticed with every bang he was up.on his hind legs with his head whirring around. Then he started frantically running around the cage and chewed the bars for the first time. Could it be the fireworks doing this, even though they are in the distance and not loud to my ears? I cant think of anything else that has changed. I hope he is not bored. He has 4 hideouts, one bridge, a few chew toys and sticks which he ignores and a kitchen roll tube but also 2 upper levels. I'm going to make some cardboard puzzles to hide treats in and he has a sand potty but I may put in an extra sand bath as this is his favourite thing when in the playpen. I wasnt sure how much to fill the cage with toys? Also i noticed today when my hand was in the cage he was kind of all over it patting and sniffing whereas he usually takes the treat and sits away to eat it (so we are still building up to stroking him, we take him to the playpen in his travel box which he usually jumps in to when we pop it in the cage). Right now he has gone back to bed whereas normally he is on his wheel or foraging for food. Any suggestions would be great? Thanks so much x
Lizchewy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2020, 08:31 AM   #2
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Could it be the fireworks?

Yes it could be - they have a much keener sense of hearing than we do. As he's just settling in and is quite young they can also be jumpy at any noise. Our previous syrian used to get jumpy every time someone banged the back door closed (which was two rooms away!).

It's a difficult time for pets. Not much you can do except maybe try and distract him afterwards by scattering the odd treat in the cage for him to find. Keep giving lots of nesting material at this time of year as well as they make their nests bigger and keep adding to them - torn up strips of toilet paper are safe.

On bonfire night itself they can get quite stressed and start running around - the only thing to do really is leave them alone - although putting a blanket over the cage might help (but keep an eye on that as they can chew the blanket through the bars - I tend to just do it on the top and only hanging down the sides a little bit. Somthing like a fleece blanket - not anything cotton which has threads if chewed.

If he gets very stressed then you could try him out of the cage in another room - eg bathtub for a taming session, or if he is hand tame then on top of a double bed with some toys - and some out of cage time for distraction, but you'd need to try and hamster proof the edge of the bed or sofa with blankets and keep an eye on him carefully. A big hide on the bed would give him somewhere to retreat if he got scared. But your presence can give some comfort and distraction, along with hides and treats etc.

If he is very stressed though I'd leave him in the cage or he may bolt - and just talk gently to him through the cage and put the blanket over.

Ours have tended to just hide away in the house and be a bit jumpy for a few days afterwards.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2020, 04:59 AM   #3
Lizchewy
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Wales
Posts: 61
Default Re: Could it be the fireworks?

Hi! Thanks so much for replying and for your advice. If one of your hamsters jumped at a distant door slamming then it's very likely the distant fireworks spooked our Chewy. I'll def put a blanket over his cage on bonfire night with some props to keep it from being chewed through the bars. Thank you for the heads up!! I've also noticed that when in his playpen which is full of cardboard box houses and cardboard tunnels he will often stop to chew on the chew toys i have dropped in there. But he wont chew the wood, he chews the metal that holds it together and the clasps at the ends. He seems obsessed with them and dragged the end of the chew toy into a hideout so he could sit in there and chew on the metal. As I said in my last post he is a hamster that's been rescued from somewhere he wasn't looked after properly so I'm not sure of this metal obsession is normal for some hamsters or its a habit he picked up in his past. I've taken these toys out now incase he damages himself on the metal and I've ordered whimzees after reading on here that they are good. There have been no fireworks past 2 nights and he has been much better. Back to running on his wheel and digging in his sandpit. He did chew the corner he started chewing on halloween night for a short time but not for long. Im going to add a lot more activities to his hone to distract him from making that a habit. He does have some behaviours which confuse me and again I'm not sure if this is normal or due to a dodgy past but if I give him a monkey but for example he will sit and stare at it for ages but not attempt to open it. I opened one for him right under his nose and then handed him the nut inside which he ate straight away and loved and then he just stared st the other nut left in the shell and patted my hand as if to ask for the other one?? I've gone a bit off subject here but I'm enjoying reading through all the threads on here and getting so much information. He is definitely a loved hamster who is getting a lot of time given to him so I'm sure he will be fine. Thanks again for your reply!
Lizchewy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2020, 05:02 AM   #4
Lizchewy
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Wales
Posts: 61
Default Re: Could it be the fireworks?

Monkey nut I meant, didn't check my typos before sending!
Lizchewy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2020, 08:07 PM   #5
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Could it be the fireworks?

Yes best not to have things with metal then! They all vary and he will still be settling in. With monkey nuts some will attack it and some won’t. What can help is making a hole in the end of the shell to start it off and they often crack it open themselves then
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2020, 12:03 AM   #6
Maker
Adult Hamster
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 303
Default Re: Could it be the fireworks?

He sounds like he has you wrapped around his little finger
What a lovely little character
Maker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2020, 04:40 AM   #7
Lizchewy
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Wales
Posts: 61
Default Re: Could it be the fireworks?

Thank you! I broke the shell of the next monkey nut in half so he could definitely get to the nut. A lot more staring at it went on ha ha. I've left it in his home to give him a chance to open it himself. His Whimzees have arrived today so very excited to give him his first one this evening when he wakes up at 7.30 (after he has finished his long and leisurely sand bath that is!) Hope there are not too many loud fireworks tonight! X
Lizchewy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
cage, fireworks, running, put, wheel, today, extra, noticed, distance, treats, playpen, sand, toys, weeks, told, post, thing, cardboard, puzzles, favourite, bath, potty, make, hide, upper

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 11:26 AM.