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Old 02-04-2021, 05:59 PM   #1
sovm
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 1
Default 4 month old female syrian Hamster never happy

Hi
I adopted a female syrian hamster just after christmas from my aunt who bought her for her grandson, long story short her got bored of her and quite frankly they were not caring for her correctly. She was being kept in a P@H cage with no enrichment and a lot of the time was in a very cold room in my aunts house. So safe to say when I adopted her she was in very safe hands as I have been researching and doing my very best to learn as much as I can to give her a happy and healthy life.
As soon as I got her I ordered a bigger wheel for her, toys and a bigger cage. She was monkey barring and chewing on the bars in her old cage which was understandable as it was far too small, so I ordered a bigger one. It has 760 square inches of floor space compared to her original one which had much much less and it has only bars on the top of the cage. I was also able to give her so much more bedding too she has 10 inches in one part. When I moved her in to the cage she was curious as they are but then as is in there nature just proceeded to try to escape again 🙄.

Fast forward to recently, she is now 4 months old. I forgot to mention she isn’t really tame, she really does not like being held, I put this down to my aunts grandson possibly grabbing her and more than likely not handling her with care so I have been trying to tame her by letting her free roam. Which is another issue, she hates free roaming. I bought her a large playpen so i could free roam her and bond with her, she spends most of her time scrapping at the sides trying to get out and just is agitated and not interested in me or the toys i put in with her. Now she is letting me pet her which was something she didn’t really let me do at first which is progress.

Anyway, tonight i just i’m at breaking point with her tbh she wakes up really late usually around 10-11pm, she goes to sleep around 9-10am. But i stay up so i can spend sometime with her and free roam her a bit. tonight however i discovered she has chewed two big holes on either side of her cage, she is very destructive as she’s also chewed her wheel as well as the inside of her hide, i don’t mind that as they’re wood so won’t do her harm. but i’m really just feeling at a loss now, it feels whatever i do just isn’t enough and she’s never happy. she’s also started monkey barring along the top of her cage.

Now i’ve kinda figured out why she’s doing this a bit, when she wakes up i always take the top of her cage of too see her better and talk to her but recently she’ll immediately sprint to the top of her hide and try to get out. i have been reading others posts and many have said that female syrians do tend to be a lot more high maintenance, just my luck i think i’ve got a diva or smth 😭😭 i just really do feel lost right now, my goal is to make her a much bigger cage i want to make her a cage with 1000 square inches of floor space but i can’t do that right now. i managed to buy her some more toys and stuff for enrichment so hopefully they’ll help but i’m just wondering if anyone else as a hamster that’s similar? i think i wouldn’t be so upset if i could at least hold her but she really doesn’t like being held she just jumps out of my hands and scurrys away...

apologies for such a long post but i got really upset tonight over it cause i really feel like she’s unhappy, especially when i see her determination and desperation to get out...i’m doing my best but it just doesn’t seem to be enough. i just want to give her as best and happy a life i can
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Old 02-08-2021, 04:25 PM   #2
Ollyrug
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Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 1
Default Re: 4 month old female syrian Hamster never happy

Hi,

I really hope that someone replies to this because we are having the exact same problem!

Me and my girlfriend adopted a hamster just after Christmas, we don’t know her exact age but we think around 3 months. She is a female Syrian we named Peach.

We bought her a good sized cage, the hamster heaven, with three different levels, she has lots of toys, three hides and lots to chew. However she is chewing the bars so much that we are worried for her teeth.

When we first had the cage she insisted on sleeping in the tubes and blocking herself in so we removed those and the penthouse.

We get her out every day either in the bath or free roaming in our hall where we can close all the doors so she cannot escape. When she’s free roaming or in the bath she always just scratches at the corners of the room trying to escape. It seems like no matter where she is she just wants to get out!

She’s not that tame yet, she lets us pet her in her cage but won’t let us handle her really.

We are feeling the exact same as you. We are at a loss on what else to do to make her happy and really need some advice on what we can try!
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Old 02-09-2021, 06:02 AM   #3
Amethyst_ice
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 8,026
Default Re: 4 month old female syrian Hamster never happy

Hello both.

Females can be more demanding yes. It sounds like you both have large suitable cages with plenty of enrichment.

Some hamsters will just never settle no matter what size cage they are in. Some even calm down in a smaller cage and the erractic behaviour can actually be due to too much space.

It is also hard when they aren't very tame.

Perhaps you could try some free range time for her, make an enclosure. When she comes to the top, start a routine of letting her climb into a box, perhaps offer a treat and then sit in the play area with her.

Food is often the way to any animals heart and routine and repetition will also help

Good luck and don't worry, we all have moments like this
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