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Old 09-18-2019, 08:20 PM   #1
Cotton
Adult Hamster
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Ontario
Posts: 262
Default Fire Hydrant Action & Nest Building

I hope I'm not sounding crude, but I truly had no idea that a male hamster urinates like a male dog. Timmy (previously Julio) goes to the same two corners, places a hind paw on the wall of his enclosure and urinates into the corner.

Perfect for cleaning because now I have started doing as recommended by posters here at Hamster Central and spot clean while leaving the rest of his home as is.

And the nest building...that's elaborate. It's a free standing structure all on its own. If I tried to make one, I am sure it would just fall over. You can tell I'm fascinated, right?
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Old 09-18-2019, 10:14 PM   #2
Ria P
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Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Fire Hydrant Action & Nest Building

Never heard of a hamster lifting a paw to pee. That's so funny!

Henry reverses and lifts his tail.

I'd love to see a photo of Timmy's nest. Some real construction work going on there by the sounds of it.
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Old 09-19-2019, 03:55 AM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Fire Hydrant Action & Nest Building

Ha ha. I have never seen a hamster lift a leg either. Our Syrians have both had corner litter trays and pee in the very back corner with their tail up (squat/tail lift) as Ria says.

They all have different quirks and personalities. I was also amazed at nest building skills with our last hamster who was a master weaver.

You don't have a male dog as well do you? Just wondering if this is copying! I say that because our first dog (Heinz 57) was female, and one day, at the grand old age of 11, instead of peeing the female way, she cocked a leg at a tree - after seeing another dog do it.
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Old 09-22-2019, 10:57 AM   #4
Cotton
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Ontario
Posts: 262
Default Re: Fire Hydrant Action & Nest Building

Thank you, Ria and Serendipity.

Ria, I tried to resize a picture of Timmy's nest, but the size of the nest got lost without the background as comparison.

Serendipity, I don't have a dog, but I don't know anything about Timmy's life before I adopted him. The shelter estimated his age to be approximately a year so it's possible there was a dog in his life at some point. He's now using a corner litter pan with sand in it and one time I saw him place both hind paws agains the sides of the pan, although most of the time, he still raises only one.

Last edited by Cotton; 09-22-2019 at 11:04 AM.
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Old 09-23-2019, 01:35 AM   #5
Dalis_mum
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Yorkshire
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Default Re: Fire Hydrant Action & Nest Building

His sounds like a territorial marking thing, especially if he's in a new environment. Lots of animals or various genus and species mark high up. The highest scent/urine/spray is the ruler of that territory (to put it simply). Maybe it's because he's still settling, or can smell a previous animal in the cage or other animals in the area. Its a behaviour most documented in big cats and some mustalids (polecats etc). I wouldn't worry about it, it's not stereotypy and thus not a sign of stress. As someone with a potty trained hamster, it really does save a fortune in substrate so Yay!
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Old 02-15-2021, 06:58 AM   #6
Cotton
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Ontario
Posts: 262
Default Re: Fire Hydrant Action & Nest Building

Oh, I forgot about this thread and how surprised I was the first time I saw Timmy urinate like a male dog. He still does it that way!

I think Timmy may have been younger than the shelter's estimated age of a year because he is still very energetic, eats well and shows no sign of slowing down. That would make him two and a half years old now. I am guessing an elderly Syrian hamster would show signs of slowing down. Either way, he's still a happy, healthy little dude!
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