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Old 01-10-2020, 09:58 PM   #1
Rhea101
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Default Robo Food Hoarding Concerns

Hi all!

I have some questions regarding my male Robo Donut who we got 2 weeks ago.

We have been giving him a spoonful of seed mix a day. He started hiding about 60% of it under his bedding, which is fine. It's been like a week and a half and I think the food is still sitting there, how can I know when it will go bad and will be unsafe for him to eat (it's a seed mix)?

I am also not sure how to clean out his bedding since he had little food hoards everywhere. He is in a ~400 sq inch (13inx30) aquarium and it's starting to smell a bit, so I wanted to clean all the bedding out, but I don't want to freak him out by taking away the food stock piles.

Lastly, we recently introduced him to a new seed mix because the last one didn't have enough variety. He hasn't been eating the new mix and is instead eating whatever he hoarded of the last one. Should I just keep trying to feed him the new one?

He looks like he's getting kind of chubbier than usual too.

I would appreciate any advice, thanks!

Last edited by Rhea101; 01-10-2020 at 10:22 PM.
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Old 01-10-2020, 10:06 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Robo Food Hoarding Concerns

I wouldn't worry about the hoarding, some hams hoard more than others, seed mix doesn't go off although it will get a bit stale after a while, it's fine to leave them alone but if you do think some needs clearing out after a while or you need to clean an area of the cage where some food is hoarded you can just clean it out & put a little fresh mix back where it was.
I wouldn't clean much after only 2 weeks as he'll still be settling in, if you can find where he pees spot clean there but don't do a full cage clean, maybe a partial cage clean after about a month but leave his nest a lone as much as possible.
What foods have you been giving him? If he doesn't like the new one & the old one has a good nutritional balance maybe stick with that, did you change mixes gradually? It's best to do the change over a week or so just gradually introducing the new food a little at a time.
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Old 01-10-2020, 10:10 PM   #3
Salem13
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Default Re: Robo Food Hoarding Concerns

You could try to instead of adding food to his bowl take some out of his hoard and replace it with new stuff. I would also try maybe feeding him less often, perhaps every other day. I know a lot of people like to try to make sure their hamsters eat all or at least most of their food before adding more.

I wouldn't recommend cleaning all the bedding out because then you would be getting rid of all of his scent as well. If you can figure out where he pees you should be able to clean that out which will help with the smell. If you're going to replace the bedding though I'd recommend only changing maybe 50-75% of it so its not entirely foreign to him.

Also just as a note, the recommended minimum for hamsters is 450 sq inches. I think the 360 should be ok for the time being but it would be a good idea to look into bigger enclosures, perhaps a bin cage.
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Old 01-11-2020, 03:13 PM   #4
Rhea101
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Default Re: Robo Food Hoarding Concerns

Thank you for the advice!

The new mix has the same stuff as the old one + some new seeds. I think he'll eventually get used to it.

Sadly I can't figure out where he pees, I think he just pees everywhere so I'll try to remove the top layer instead of a full cage cleaning
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Old 01-12-2020, 12:33 AM   #5
cypher
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Default Re: Robo Food Hoarding Concerns

If you've only had him two weeks he may not have settled on one pee spot yet, sometimes that can take a while so don't be in too much of a hurry to clean as that may just keep up the cycle of peeing in lots of different places.
Does he pee in the wheel? A lot of hams do & that an make the whole cage smell, I usually clean the wheel once a week, just water is usually enough.
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Old 01-12-2020, 06:38 AM   #6
Engel
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Default Re: Robo Food Hoarding Concerns

My roborovski hoards but I do scatter feed. I normally do about 10g of food every 3 days. That way it keeps the stash relatively low and fresh. My robo stashes his food in a hide in his sand bath. I normally check it every couple of days to see how much is left. If there's a lot then I know I don't need to add anymore for a day or 2. If it's running low, I know it's time to scatter some more

I have 3 Syrians, 1 just goes to the bowl and gets what he wants, the other gets it all in her pouches so it's wherever she goes and the other one takes some into her nest when she needs it. But they all have bowls because they're new and still settling in, will probably scatter feed them in time too as it adds enrichment
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Old 10-13-2020, 05:16 PM   #7
Rhea101
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Default Re: Robo Food Hoarding Concerns

Update: He ended up getting used to it after a week!
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Old 10-15-2020, 07:30 AM   #8
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Default Re: Robo Food Hoarding Concerns

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhea101 View Post
Update: He ended up getting used to it after a week!
Aww that's good
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