I'm too scared to let my hamster out, but he wants to come out!

tommywx · 10-03-2015, 01:49 PM

Hello everyone

I am a first time hamster owner and I'm only a teenager. My sister gave me her hamster and he looks pretty comfortable but I've noticed that when I open the top of his cage when he's awake, he likes to climb out and investigate.

He climbs onto my hand and then jumps onto my bed. Now the problem is that he edges close to the edge of my bed and I fear that he might slip or jump off. I don't know how old he is or what breed he is if that is even relevant.

Anyway After a minute of following hima bout I have to put him back into his cage because I can't keep grabbing him when he gets too close to the edge. When I put him in the cage, he scratches at the exit and bites the bars and makes a real noise!

My question is, will he be safe if I leave him on my bed unsupervised (I will look over to him every 15 seconds or something). My bed is is an ormal bed but with two matresses, so it's apretty high jump for a hamster. WIll he fall off? Is he safe?

thanks a lot! He looks stressed in his small cage!

fluffymunchkins · 10-03-2015, 02:13 PM

Hi there,

Hamsters have pretty poor eyesight so it is likely he'll jump off the bed if left unsupervised. If you have a bath its a much safer and big space for to have some time outside the cage, if not you could make a playpen using cardboard boxes or a big plastic box

Hope that helps

herbi7 · 10-03-2015, 02:30 PM

He will fall off if he is active and inquisitive. Have u got room for a playpen for him in your room? The wire ones are a bit rubbish though as they can climb the sides so you are probably better off making one from big cardboard boxes or something. If you put some pics of your ham on here people will be able to tell you what sort of hamster you have as it makes a bit of a difference in terms of how good at climbing they are and stuff. I can leave my dwarfs in the baths and the playpen unsupervised but not my Syrian as she can jump out of both

Shannonmcn · 10-03-2015, 03:12 PM

Speaking from experience they absolutely will jump off the bed and be in behind it where you can't get them in no time! A playpen or some time out in a dry bathtub is a good way to let them out for an explore. I used some old cardboard boxes to make a playpen that's very hard for them to climb, I weigh down the joints with books and shoes and stuff and it worked quite well. Or if you have a VERY secure room with 100% no gaps or holes they can get into you can let them have the run of a room for a while and you can sit and let them investigate you if they want or have a sniff around. I use my hallway with all the doors closed, a bathroom can work sometimes.

It seems like you're on friendly terms already though which is lovely! If he's okay being picked up and will crawl on your hands happily then you're miles ahead of some new hamster owners

defs post some pictures so we can see the fluff and the cute and stuff

tommywx · 10-03-2015, 03:47 PM

Thanks a lot everyone! I never thought about the bath as a playpen! I will lay some towels in the bath tommorow for him to play in! Thanks for the ideas!!

peasypea · 10-04-2015, 02:18 AM

I let my syrians run round a secure room once they are tame enough for me to pick them up. My lounge is safe and has no holes, and although she obviously goes under furniture she always comes out, she runs around exploring so she's easy enough to find most of the time. She climbs up onto the sofa to see us too

I have a ladder so she can climb back into her cage whenever she wants, if she needs the loo or something, so if you have a cage you can put on the floor it means they can go back if they need to. The first time is really scary because you don't know what they'll do but Nelly absolutely loves exploring the whole room. Just make sure there aren't any holes into the wall!

BluerayDarkes · 10-04-2015, 03:12 AM

As others have answered yes he will jump off the bed and to do the suggested activities above, however I want to give you some input on the cage. You said the cage is small and that the hamster looks stressed in it, this could contribute to the bar chewing and trying to escape.

I would suggest you try to find a bigger cage one that is 80x50, failing that then maybe think about making a bin cage from a Samla Ikea container which is 79x56. They are very easy to make and there is a lot of examples and help which are in the HC forums. Good luck