She's acting so weird...

hrl20100 · 09-21-2015, 01:12 PM

So Flump just did the weirdest thing and I don't know if its normal or not.
It almost looked as if she was having a fit, but i don't think it was a fit. I've had a previous hamster who had a fit and it was nothing like it.

Anyway, she sat in her corner and groomed herself, then she kept rolling over onto her back and started squirming around. I managed to get it on video so I will try and sent the link when i have put it on youtube...

She would squirm and roll around, then she'd stop and clean herself, then she'd have a little itch, then get back to rolling around again.

I know hamsters do sandbathe, but she doesn't have a sand bath and i've never seen a hammie sandbathe before so I don't know if she was trying to do that?

Help!?

virtualkeith · 09-21-2015, 01:40 PM

I wouldn't worry. My hamster has a little routine where he waies up and goes to a particular corner and rolls around for a bit and cleans and grooms himself, then heads for his wheel. He is acting normal otherwise. I've left a sand bath in his cage, and he does not use it. He just likes to roll around on the floor of his cage for some reason. He's done that since I've had him.

Thin Lizzy · 09-21-2015, 07:56 PM

Sometimes the rolling is because they have an itch, and maybe your ham can't reach that area so rolling about in the substrate is their way of sorting it.
Many hamsters like the sandbath.

cypher · 09-21-2015, 10:34 PM

It sounds like normal grooming behaviour, maybe try a sand bath & see how she enjoys that.

hrl20100 · 09-22-2015, 01:39 AM

The feedback is reassurring and i'm not worrying about her anymore.
Shes acting her normal self, i've just never seen her do that before!

Here is the video anyway:
https://youtu.be/0HlvYfSTOpA

cypher · 09-22-2015, 03:33 AM

Definitely looks like she had an itch she couldn't quite reach for a good scratch! Either that or some pesky midge got her!
I'd really think about giving her a sandbath if you have the space.
Either that or maybe put more substrate in the cage so she can have a really good dig down.

Wanna Hamster · 09-22-2015, 04:31 AM

That's actually quite cute! I agree with cypher that a sandbath and more substrate would be beneficial to her.

hrl20100 · 09-22-2015, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Definitely looks like she had an itch she couldn't quite reach for a good scratch! Either that or some pesky midge got her!
I'd really think about giving her a sandbath if you have the space.
Either that or maybe put more substrate in the cage so she can have a really good dig down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wanna Hamster

That's actually quite cute! I agree with cypher that a sandbath and more substrate would be beneficial to her.

I was looking into getting a sandbath for her. Should I buy one thats advertized for hammies? I was wondering if they'd be a little small for her as they look enclosed...
I was thinking about getting one of those reptile water dishes (natural look

) and put some sand in there for her?

Also, what type of sand would you guys reccomend? Just normal chinchilla/small animal sand?

I cleaned her cage out today and created a seperate area (that corner) for her to dig and burrow in

cypher · 09-22-2015, 07:40 AM

I use this sand as do many others, I think it's about the best.
Ideally they need about 20cm of substrate to dig in, it's not possible to provide that in a barred cage but if you can fill the base to the top, at least in one area it should be around 15cm which is good enough for them to dig & burrow in, I did see your cage photo in the other thread & it doesn't look as though she has much to dig in even with the corner area really, I know it can be really hard to squeeze everything in but if you could make it a bit deeper I'm sure she'd enjoy it.

ETA I forget to say about the sand bath! You really don't need to buy anything special, a ceramic dish of some sort, a large glass jar or a cardboard box are just a few of the things you can use, have a look in your kitchen cupboards!