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Old 11-04-2015, 02:49 PM   #1
tommywx
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 16
Default My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

Hello again everyone.

This is my fourth or something post and my problem this time is that I think my hamster is still really bored even after having a big new cage.

His old cage was quite small. No space to run around, could only fit in a wheel and 1 toy.

But his new cage is like 3 x the size!! This time he has a big tube to run through to get to his bed on top of the cage. He has much more room to run around. He has 2 little mini houses where I hide his food sometimes. He has a sand bath, a little bridge toy and a jungle gym. This is his cage now http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o00_s00

But between the time 5 o clock when he wakes up, and 11 before I go to bed, he is completely silent. Sometimes he runs on his wheel but sometimes not. Am I doing something wrong? Does he need more toys? Does he need a bigger or a smaller cage?

Thanks for any help.
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Old 11-04-2015, 03:36 PM   #2
Piebald
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Default Re: My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

Hi tommy.
Remind us, what kind of hamster do you have and how old is he?
How long has he been in the new cage?
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Old 11-04-2015, 03:49 PM   #3
tommywx
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Default Re: My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Piebald View Post
Hi tommy.
Remind us, what kind of hamster do you have and how old is he?
How long has he been in the new cage?

I dont know how old he is or what breed he is. He has black and white fur.

He has been in his new cage for about 5 days now. He has had plenty of time to explore his new home.
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Old 11-04-2015, 04:05 PM   #4
velma
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Default Re: My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

Can you post a picture of your hamster & your cage? To be fair though, some hams are a big lazy & having a perfectly fine time not doing a lot but actually, 5 days isn't that long to fully settle in yet. It can take about 2 weeks, slightly longer for some hamsters so give him a chance to find his feet.
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Old 11-04-2015, 05:28 PM   #5
tommywx
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Default Re: My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

I can only take pictures on my phone and when I render them they come out all awful looking and tiny ):
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Old 11-05-2015, 12:18 AM   #6
Piebald
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Default Re: My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

LOL try it and see if we can make it out. Where did you get your hammie from?
I agree it takes a while for them to get used to a bigger cage. Your poor hammie is so used to being in the tiny one he doesn't know what to do with the room. Don't worry, he will figure it out. He is likely exploring all over when you are asleep. Be sure he has lots of tubes and upside down cardboard boxes with hole cut in them so he can run from one hiding place to the next as open spaces may be a little scary for him until he get used to it.
What's his name?
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Old 11-05-2015, 12:40 AM   #7
Pebbles82
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Default Re: My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

Hi there. 5 days isn't long to be in a new cage so he is probably still adjusting. The Hamster Heaven is a good sized cage with excellent access at the front (big door). Actually if your hamster wakes from 5pm to 11pm you are lucky! Many hamsters sleep until 11pm and are only awake and active at night.

It is good he is coming out and about at 5pm to explore his cage.

What he will be doing in the first few days is
scent-marking, so he can find his way around (they don't see very well)
just working out what's what and which bits he likes and which bits he wants to rearrange.

It might be that the wheel isn't big enough. The one that comes with the hamster heaven is way too small - just big enough for a mouse really. If it's a syrian hamster (see the photo of our syrian below) he will need something like a 27cm wodent wheel or 28cm trixie wheel.

If he runs in a very small wheel his back will be bent and this can cause pain and serious spinal problems later (and possibly lead to vet bills regarding this), so the wheel is a really important thing to get right for him. Apologies if you already know this.

Another thing that could affect his behaviour is cleaning. Too much cleaning takes away his scent marking and then he could be confused and not know where things are (or think a predator has entered his cage!).

General advice on moving a hamster to a new cage is don't clean anything for the first two weeks - until they have worked out what's what and started to make some habits.
If the cage gets really stinky then remove say a handful of soggy litter material and replace it with a clean handful, and mix it in.

Anyway - hope we get to see a photo of your little black and white hammy soon!

For now I would check the following:

1) Is there enough substrate/litter in the base of the cage (minimum 3 or 4" deep and it does tend to compress and go flat sometimes). Actually the deeper the litter the less the cage gets smelly and it reduces cleaning (because the bottom half tends to stay dry). If you put 6" in (which would be almost to the top of the base) he might start digging some tunnels. Basically the more substrate the more they like it.

2) Do you have a hamster potty (I think the Hamster heaven comes with one but can't remember). It's not essential but again helps to keep the cage dry so less cleaning needed. Cage cleaning is necessary sometimes but really stresses hamsters, and stress is bad for them so it's about finding a way to do it gradually. Our hamster uses a potty and I empty/clean that out about every 5 days and the rest of his cage stays mostly dry so I only have to do a major clean about once every 3 months, with spot cleaning in between and wiping down his wheel occasionally.

Have added a link to a cage cleaning video that I found really helpful and has made things easier for me (and our hamster).

3) Does he have enough nesting material? And a suitable dark place to build a nest? The substrate/litter is the stuff on the base of the cage. Nesting material is so they can build a big nest to sleep in (and sometimes bury their hoards under) and their nest is their number one most important thing in life! They don't like it being messed with. The best nesting material is plain white toilet paper. Take a few sheets and tear them into 5 or 6 strips and put a big pile of this in the cage somewhere. Your hamster should pouch it or take it somewhere to build a nest out of it.

I had a shelf from the hamster heaven in my cage for a while - the one with the inset yellow food bowl in one corner and a little pod house on top. Our hamster made his nest in the little pod house and it was a nightmare! He loved that little round house but it wasn't big enough (he's a big syrian) and the top kept popping off. On top of that his hoard underneath was sweating and turned to compost. In the hamster heaven you have space, under one of the shelves, to put a bigger house. An upturned shoe box with a door cut in would do - just something nice and dark. Labyrinth houses fit under the shelf and are really popular with hamsters. These are available in the Uk at Amazon and Zooplus (Trixie Leif labyrinth house). If you're in the US I don't think they are available but any house that is big enough, open underneath and doesn't have window (or has a window bigger than 5cm diameter) is ok. Be careful as many houses and products sold for hamsters are too small and only suitable for mice or dwarf hamsters. Syrians can get stuck in holes that are too small.

It may be that your hamster is nesting in the penthouse on top of the Hamster heaven in which case he already has a place to nest. A lot of people remove the tubes and penthouse and block off the tube exits (I think plugs are supplied to block these off) because of hamsters blocking off the tubes with bedding or nesting in the tubes, which makes cleaning difficult and just isn't good really.

Anyway - if he has enough suitable substrate, plenty of nesting material, a good hamster mix provided once a day and access to water, he should be doing fine. Check his water bottle is working ok (sometimes they don't let water out properly). I tap the end to check my finger gets wet after refilling it. Refill it every day and keep a spare bottle just in case.

This is the cleaning video I mentioned that I found really helpful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

This is our syrian hamster (they come in various different colours)





They can be 6 to 8" long.

Hope this helps. Finally - if you are in the US - there are various types of litter/substrate, including Carefresh, Boxo, Kaytee Clean n Cozy, Aspen wood. If you use pine shavings, make sure they say they are kiln-dried and dust extracted. If they're not kiln dried, they're not suitable.
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Old 11-06-2015, 03:47 AM   #8
Bertiebobbins
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Default Re: My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

Everyone has already said everything lol only thing I will add is that they're all different - my huge Syrian is really stealthy and you wouldn't know he was there if you didn't know when to look out for him, whereas my little Syrian it's like a bomb went off every time he wakes up you can't miss it he's so noisy!
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Old 11-06-2015, 05:58 PM   #9
tommywx
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Default Re: My hamster is still quite idle, even after a big new cage :/

Thanks for all the responses guys!!
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