Elderly hamster cage change question

[Vierville]

Hello.

We have a very very sweet but extremely timid and set-in -her- ways Campbell's Dwarf of 17months old.

We've had her since she was one month old and she has only ever known one cage. It is a multi- level cage with shelf-type levels and numerous tubes running around the exterior. I really don't like the shelves or the tubes to be honest, both from a safety perspective.

When we first got her, it was by far the biggest and nicest cage we could find (we looked at about seven different stores) and she has always loved it, she has two nest boxes, a big wheel, a sand bath and she definitely has her habitual stashing places and her habitual toilet area which never change location.

She is really a creature of habit, exhibiting very stressed and skittish behaviour for about 24hrs each time we clean her cage so in order to minimise stress to her we try to do very regular partial clean-ups (particularly of her toilet area) and only do a complete cleanout every six weeks.

Recently, Ferplast cages have become available in my country and I much prefer these to the cage she currently has based on quality of the materials as well as overall safe design but I am very concerned that if we change her to a totally different cage at this age and considering her personality, it may be a worse idea that letting her live out her days in the one she is happy in.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[LunaTheHamster1]

umm, bit of a tough one, because you aren't really going to know how she will react unless you try. Is there a way you could transfer all of her items into a new cage so they are all pretty much setup like they are now?

[Ria P]

Would a new cage mean a change from multi levels to one big floor space area? If that's the case it would be far more suitable for a hamster especially now that she's getting older.
You could get a new cage and use it as a play area cage initially to give her a chance to scent it and familiarise herself with it. You could put the cage in a play pen with the door open so she doesn't feel trapped and let her explore it in her own time.
I think the only way to find out is to introduce her to a new cage. If it turns out that she does not like it at all and wants to stay in her current cage then you have a new cage to adopt another hamster.

My Syrian is quite set in his ways and a real homebody but he settled rightaway when i upgraded his original cage. I set it up as close as possible to the original set up with all his things and he was fine.

[Vierville]

Hi Luna, that was what I'd hoped to be able to do, to try and replicate her current layout as much as possible though it just won't be possible due to her current cage being very much more vertically oriented while the one I'd possibly get for her is a much more horizontal one.

I also want to move away from having lots of exterior tubes and on her current cage her one and only toilet area is in the bend of one tube and she has two hoards in locations around her tube 'network'. These have been her toilet and hoard spots since day one.

[Vierville]

Thanks Ria P, that is some good advice!

It is entirely from a safety perspective that I am thinking of changing cages. She is getting on a bit and I am terrified of her falling or of one of her tubes detaching...

[Pebbles82]

How much floor area is there in her current cage? If there is enough then you could possibly adapt her current cage by removing the shelves (or having them so they create a full level to avoid fall risks), and removing the tubes. However that may be more stressful than a move to a new, more suitable cage as she ages. I am guessing the cage is more tall than having floor area, as you mention a number of shelves. Long term that wouldn't be good anyway as she gets older - shelves often have to be removed as they get older and less mobile to avoid falls and dwarf hamsters don't do that well with tubes unless they are horizontal.

So I think a cage change would be a good idea, if it's the right cage. You mentioned Ferplast cages being available. Is the Duna Multy available? That would be a safe and good retirement home and could be set up with plenty of enrichment. Plenty of substrate, lots of floor toys - short tunnels, hidey places/houses etc. Slightly different levels even (more substrate at one end than the other) and lower climb opportunities - eg a large cork log that could be climbed over or run through.

If there are only barred cages available then you need one that is not too tall - lower would be better. The Ferplast Criceti 15 would be ok. You could do the same kind of set up. They often like shelves so they have somethng to sit under to feel secure or to climb onto - but it may be better to have a large-ish flat roofed house instead of a shelf as she's getting older - it would then be a very low level and also provide somewhere dark to retreat to.

When I've done cage changes I think it helps to do it gradually over a couple of days. So set up the new cage with substrate, a few new toys and take a familiar toy out of the old cage to put in there, then let the hammy have some time in there to explore - like a play session. If she freaks out and wants to come out then put her back in the old cage and do the same thing again next day. When I did this our hamster panicked and was scrabbling to come out and happy when back in his old cage. But then clearly, once he felt safe again, he was thinking he might want to try it again as he started pestering to come out again! So I put him back in the new cage and the second time he spent ages in there exploring everything and showing interest and seemed happy. At that point I thought about moving everything over and leaving him in there, but gave him another day back in his old cage. Then on move day you need to put them somewhere safe (pet carrier maybe) while you move everything across - this can take longer than you think, getting everything right. I also found it best to put the pet carrier in another room because they can hear and smell that you are messing with their cage and get anxious.

So you then have the new cage with substrate (which will already smell a bit familiar as the hamster has been in there a couple of times) and a couple of toys. Then move all the old substrate from the old cage across and spread it on top of the existing substrate, so it smells familiar. Avoid the temptation to clean everything at this point - don't clean anything - just move everything across. Keeping a similar layout helps house at same end, wheel in same place etc. It won't be exactly the same if it's a single level cage but the main thing is the "route" is similar from house to wheel etc.

Adding new things can be good as well but keep old familiar things too. I also move the nest and hoard across in/under the house. Scatter a bit of food on the substrate, hide a few treats and then move the hamster in to the new cage.

You then need to leave her for a couple of days to settle and not clean anything or move things for a couple of weeks until she is fully settled and scent marked things etc.

If you do the transition like that over a couple of days she should settle in quite quickly. Our first syrian had two cage changes, poor thing. The first one was when I knew very little about hamsters and moved him over cold turkey - he reacted very badly and it was quite upsetting for about a week, to the point we nearly moved him back into the old cage, but stuck it out and by day 10 he was happy as larry.

The second time I did the two day transition as above and it was way better - it gave him time to adjust. He was a bit skitty for 2 or 3 days but that was all and he settled very well after that.

I think now is a good time to do it, before it gets to the stage when she has problems with levels and heights, is older, and it's harder to adjust.

[Pebbles82]

This is the Duna Multy - the standard sized one, not the mini one. This would be a good size so you can add lots of enrichment at floor level so she can still be active without the falls risks from shelves.

https://www.ferplast.com/gb/duna-multy.html

This is the Criceti 15

https://www.ferplast.com/gb/hamster-...riceti-15.html

There is also the Ferplast Kios which is a similar size to the duna multy but lower so good for a dwarf hamster.

https://www.ferplast.com/gb/hamster-...ages/kios.html

There aren't any other Ferplast cages I'd recommend - most are either too small or too tall (or both).

[Vierville]

Thank you so much for the advice and for the links Serendipity7000, it is greatly appreciated!

Yes, her current cage only has 2780cm2 of floor level space and with the shelves it adds up to probably another 1000cm2. It is not an ideal amount of space but was the biggest cage we could find at the time despite a massive amount of driving from petshop to petshop in search of cages. She was our first hamster and since we first got her we've learned a lot!

She has a lot of external tunnels as I mentioned-probably around 3 metres in total- but I would be very happy to miimise tunnels as much as I can from a sanitation and a safety perspective. I am very worried about the possibility of the tunnels detaching.

She is the most sedentary hamster I've ever known but she does like climbing up her pipes and visiting the different levels occasionally so I think something like the Criceti 15 would be ideal. She's never been very keen on playing with toys and she barely uses her wheel (we've checked on her using a bit of paper on top of the wheel at night!) but I know that she will greatly value having numerous hidey spots and houses and somewhere not too high to climb up.

Our little chap who recently passed away had an identical setup to hers and as he got really elderly we had to remove shelves as he was getting quite unsteady on his feet and we also removed the steeper sections of tunnel, I want to learn from that and prevent any major cage changes when she is in her old age by making the change while she's still young enough to handle it with less stress.

[Pebbles82]

I find they only use the plastic tubes as a way of getting from a to b and do absolutely fine without them, providing you provide enough enrichment at floor level - eg cardboard tubes, hidey places, plenty of substrate. I wouldn't worry about her missing the external tubes. Their most important things are their nest and their hoard and they do like a house that's big enough to build a cosy nest in and dark inside.

She may well prefer having more floor space to run around in rather than going through plastic tubes and she will soon adjust. So I would go for a straight cage without any tubes apart from the odd tunnel at floor level. You could use one tube (ie a single run) as a floor toy in her new cage so it's something familiar which would help adjust.

The Criceti 15 would be a good option - it's not too tall. If you leave the shelf in then have it fairly low and make sure there's nothing sharp or hard she can fall onto if she topples off it. So any hard or sharp floor toys could go under the shelf. It does come with a ladder so she won't need tubes for access.

Main thing is fill up the cage base with at least 4 to 6" of substrate and lots of floor toys so it doesn't look empty and exposed, a good sized house (a small shoe box or tissue box with a hole cut in is ideal), her wheel and toilet roll tunnels are good - plus various hidey places - a cardboard egg box with a hole cut in is one, or coconut huts (coconut with hole for entrance) seem popular as extra hidey places.