Oz's cage setups!

[Robean]

So we've had Oz for three weeks now and have given him a new cage setup each clean-out, which he seems to enjoy exploring. To make it less stressful for him we scatter a little of his previous bedding around so he retains his scent, but I'd like to show you each setup! It would be awesome to hear your opinions, and suggestions of what we could do for him next

Setup 1:
When we first got him, we didn't really theme his cage so it was more of a general setup for him to get settled in at first- although we did give him a big sandbox space with dino chews in it so he could be an archeologist for a week:
sid mea.png

Setup 2:
Last week's theme was a beach! We separated his sand from his (mostly blue) confetti substrate as if it was a coast, and set up his hammock so that he could chill out up high:
sid mea 2.png

Setup 3:
This week's theme is adventure; we've made him a homemade burrowing box out of the box he came to us in as we've noticed through his behaviour the last couple of weeks that his FAVOURITE thing to do is burrowing:
sid mea 3.png

[cypher]

I know thinking up new cage set ups can be a lot of fun & I'm sure your ham is enjoying some of your ideas but as you've only had him for three weeks I would settle on one & give him a chance to really make himself at home.
You don't need to clean every week, just spot clean pee as needed but I wouldn't do more than that for a few weeks now then you can just clean a part of the cage at a time if & when it needs it, not all at once.
Unless he pees in his nest I would leave that alone & not remove any of it for a while & never remove all of it, same goes for the food hoard, if you clean that area then always put it back or replace with some fresh mix.

[Robean]

Ahh okay, sorry! I got excited and probably too carried away- I don't want to stress him out D:

I'll stick to spot-cleaning for two weeks and then every two weeks do a deep clean? and after the deep clean I'll theme it differently?

Do you suggest to leave it longer than that? Thanks for your advice <3

[Coco61]

Hi Robean, welcome to HC. The point behind cypher's advice is that hamsters find any cleaning of their cage very stressful. Obviously some tolerate the interference better than others. They spend a lot of time scent marking their territory and rely on their sense of smell because their eye sight is poor in comparison. When we come along and clean away their scent it is very stressful and has to be redone. So it is best to interfere as little as possible particularly when you want a new ham to settle in.
So as cypher suggested just spot clean any wee area but leave the rest alone. Unless he is a smelly boy, you can leave things for a month or more. When you do clean return any substrate that is clean and mix with the new to retain his scent. With bedding only remove it if essential but return as much as you can. I used to check my boys nests and leave it untouched if dry. I would remove some of his food hoard underneath if getting old but return all that was in good condition. Nothing a hamster hates more than someone raiding their precious food store. Some even pee on it to deter thieves!
Changing toys around can be done every so often but after he has settled in with you.
So good luck with Oz!

[Robean]

Ahhh okay !!! Thank you for specifying, and again thank you both for the advice!
I'll be sure to write this down for future reference, I super appreciate it