New hamster questions!

[tbtharose]

Hello!

So this is my first post as I’ve just rescued my first hamster 3 days ago. She’s absolutely wonderful and taming seems to be going well - she’s just started climbing on my hands and letting me pick her up - but I do have a couple of concerns that I just wanted to share and hopefully get some advice on!

So her cage is currently in my bedroom, and as soon as I start getting ready to go to bed she immediately starts climbing the bars and bar biting, which she’ll often do well into the night. She’s currently in the Savic hamster heaven and during the first few hours of her day she seems to love her cage and get loads of enrichment out of it, but at night she seems desperate to escape. I’m terrified that she’ll manage to get out at some point, and I hate the idea that she’s unhappy or feels stuck. Is there anything I can do to help her and stop her from wanting to escape so badly?

Any tips, advice or comforting words would be really appreciated! I just want a happy hamster!!

[Dodo]

Hello!

Can you show us a picture of your set up please? Maybe we can advise on some changes to keep her busy. Also, the hamster heaven is on the small side and ifyour hamster is a female Syrian, they tend to require much larger spaces of 100x50 cm, which could explain the bar biting etc. which are a sign of stress/boredom.

If she's super friendly and active you probably need to take her out every night for free roaming or in a playpen so she has a good time to explore and run around.

Does she have a big enough wheel? Again, if she is a Syrian, she needs at least a 28 cm / 11 inch wheel, or ideally bigger.

If she needs an upgrade it will be tricky at the moment to find an affordable cage that is big enough. Maybe it would be worth checking a few linnmon DIY cage tutorials on Youtube and see if that's an option that could work for you? Your hamster seems so friendly and fun it is probably worth having suitable enclosure to keep her happy.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Ria P]

Hi and welcome to HC!

Our two Syrians bar chew in the evening soon as they see me to let me know that they want to come out to play and run around. Not at the same time of course.
They settle after a good free roaming session and plenty of attention from their humans and then go on their wheels and attend to their business of hamstering about.

They are boys and live in Alaskas. One used to live temporarily in a Hamster Heaven which was a bit low for his Syrian sized wheel, big house and degus shelves.
The Hamster Heaven is a great cage for dwarfs, especially with all the plastic tubes and shelves removed to make space for some suitable furnishings.

I'd be looking for something like a Savic Plaza for a female Syrian. Most of my cages are second hand off Gumtree.

Maybe she'll settle after plenty of out of cage time in the evening before you go to bed and she may not need a bigger cage then.