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Old 03-13-2019, 02:43 PM   #1
luckadoodledoo
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Default Distressed hammy, wondering what to do

Hi, apologies in advance for the long paragraph of context. I've been worried about my 1 y/o Syrian, Custard; when I first adopted him, I was told that he bit his past owners' child- he's a very skittish ham so I assume that he must've been really poorly handled to have bitten someone. He's just not the type; he fears hands and, despite all attempts, will not be tamed (the odd stroke here and there is fine for him, but no cupping hands/lifting without some panicked sprinting). He's had intermittent bouts of bar chewing; his original cage is 80cm x 50cm (barely minimum requirement, but he was a baby and I'm a student) and he's since had a DIY bin connected via a plastic tube to give him a total cage size of 1800 square inches.

In the past, when he began chewing, it was seldom for a week and he'd stop as quick as he started. Over time he's slowly been waking up later and later, refusing to come out of his nest until all the lights are off and I've seemingly gone to bed. Recently he's been chewing the bars for 2 weeks straight, only ever between 5 - 6am each night. I recently gave his bin cage extension a revamp with a more natural theme with multiple types of digging areas & puzzle toys, while his barred cage had his flying saucer and various chews- that stopped the chewing for about 3 nights, but he started up again the other night. I understand that the connector tube means he hasn't got an open area to run (and wondered if that may be causing him stress) however, currently, I don't have funds or means to buy a tank/detolf due to the recent revamp of his cage.

Oddly, he'll stop if I come out of bed and sit by his cage just to talk to him for about 15 mins- after which, he'll head to bed himself. When he's in his state of bar chewing, he looks totally panicked; ears pricked, very tense, up on his hind legs seemingly defensively. His behaviour has puzzled me from the moment I got him, but I always assumed it's the effects of trauma, like PTSD. I should note that he doesn't want to leave his cage, whether it be offered by a ball (he used to love his ball when he was younger but ignores any offer these days) or even leaving the lid of the cage off, where he could climb out without even having to stretch or climb up to it. The times where he'd been taken out to free roam, he was frantically running about the room/trying his hardest to scape the bathtub wall. I feel I can't really offer him handling anyway because of how squirmy and fearful of hands he is, so I wouldn't be able to pick him up and easily place him back in the cage, since he also has a habit of launching himself from hands.

He seems to be in a state of limbo where he's distressed when he's out, but grows restless when in his cage. It's really upsetting. My mother suggested that he be PTS and I'm wondering if it might be the most compassionate thing to do, but at the same time I'm really unsure if I'd be cutting his life short by doing so. Sorry that this is a really sad topic and a big read, I'd appreciate any suggestions or advice, thank you.
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Old 03-13-2019, 05:37 PM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Distressed hammy, wondering what to do

Hi there. This kind of thing can often be their environment not being right. Connected cages to make a larger space don't always work - two smaller areas aren't the same as one large open area.

It does sound like he isn't happy in his cage. You don't need anything as big as a detolf though. Is one of his current bins as big as, or bigger than the 80 x 50 cage?

When he was in a cage, was he better than now? It could be he was just used to a barred cage and doesn't like a bin - which means top access and they sometimes don't like things coming from the top or feeling too enclosed if they're not used to it.

Here are the main things that cause them to stress in a cage and bar chew though - apart from cage size:

1) Cleaning out too much or moving things around. You mentioned having a revamp recently. Some hamsters hate anything moving even an inch! Clean outs can really stress them - best to spot clean and do partial cleans leaving it as long as possible, so something always smells familiar.

2) Not enough substrate - they can't have normal behaviors like digging and burying hoards if the substrate isn't deep enough - it's like being in a bed without enough covers. 3 to 4" deep minimum - 5 to 6" is better, or more.

3) Cage layout - not enough overhead cover - too much open space with nothing to sit under - no place that is dark to retreat to. They need a house that's dark inside and big enough to build a big cosy nest (give them that and many hamsters are very happy and hardly want to come out of their cage!) A shoebox house is a good size. Tank or bin cages can be difficult to set up with overhead cover as no bars to hang things from. So overhead cover needs to be things like large toys at floor level - eg the large cork logs and lots of hidey places to dive into.

4) Not enough enrichment (that includes substrate depth and overhead cover etc but a shelf or platform is quite important for overhead cover as well - and variety of level). Sounds like you have plenty of toys but is there a platform he can sit under? Or climb on for somewhere to go.

5) Wheel too small or not working well.

6) Access - not finding it easy to get to food or water- eg a wobbly ramp or a ramp that;s too steep or just no way of easily getting to them.

7) Water bottle not working properly.

I think when a hamster displays these extreme stress symptoms, they are trying to tell you something - and sometimes it is something important -like the wheel or water bottle not working. But it does sound like he maybe needs one larger area and a bit more enrichment - with a single larger floor area you have space for a large house with a tunnel entrance (bendy bridge over the door) and larger floor toys like cork logs, and also a platform.

Assume you're in the Uk? Would you have space for a Barney cage? It's about £50 but a better size than 80 x 50 (it's 100 x 54). I haven't come across a hamster that has needed more space than a Barney cage . It's good value as it comes with a shelf and a good sized house already.
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Old 03-13-2019, 05:38 PM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Distressed hammy, wondering what to do

I don't think it is just previous experiences. I can understand him not liking hands or not being tameable - but they should feel secure in their environment - he sounds like a hamster who needs the right set up and to not have too much interference while in his cage.

Cagewise it's tricky. If he is already chewing bars a lot in the bin cage (mesh?) then it could have become a habit. Although if it has only just started then something has set him off and spooked him - maybe the revamp? And it may settle. Our last Syrian never bar chewed - until he had a big change when we went away on holiday and left him somewhere. He bar chewed constatnly whenwe got back and it took two weeks and a full clean out to settle him down (remove scents of the place he'd been saying).

As you describe, he'd stop if you talked to him and if let out obviously. He'd also stop if we trned the lights out and went to bed. So it is trying to tell you something - that something isn't right for him or driving him crazy!

Anyway - if he is bar chewing and it doesn't settle then a cage could be risky. The Barney has narrow bars though so much less likely bar chewing is even possible and not so easy to do. On the other hand if he doesn't like top access or an enclosed bin style, then that may not be right either. Glass tanks are expensive and also top opening.

Do you have a photo of his set up? Might be able to suggest some tweaks.

Last edited by Pebbles82; 03-13-2019 at 05:44 PM.
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Old 03-16-2019, 06:50 AM   #4
luckadoodledoo
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Default Re: Distressed hammy, wondering what to do

Hi Serendipity,

Thanks so much for replying and taking time to give pointers & insight! I'll try to reply to this to the best of my abilities; it's a big relief to hear that it could be an issue that's fixable!

His bin cage is 100 x 50, I believe, so a little bit bigger; it's made up of two that were (non-toxic) hot-glued together- he's recently taken to digging through his substrate to find the connection and chewing at that also.

He's had periods every few months of chewing from the week that we got him, but for the most part he didn't chew, and the days that he did chew collectively seldom lasted as long as a week. This has been going on for about 2 ~ 3 weeks and I spotted (what looked like) a bar rub on his nose when he started chewing at 7am this morning, which was more upsetting. When we first got Custard, he had a habit of chewing the metal base of his silent spinner, so I wondered if he had an affinity for metal or if he's just been constantly stressed the whole time.

Ahhh, I didn't know they could be unsettled by even the smallest of changes- that could explain it. I got so caught up in trying to make things more comfy for him that the changes were too often and may have been counter productive.

He's never been a fan of overhead toys- he's seemingly scared of them/dodges them, so I made sure to set them on the ground and provide tunnels/bridges instead. He has a 30cm flying saucer that he would run on for literally hours when we first got it, but it may have been loved a bit too much and isn't as smooth these days. It still spins easily, but I find I need to put vegetable oil on it more often than before to keep it that way. The ramp issue could be a contributing factor too- I did order one of the massively long bendy bridges, but it never arrived and it bugs me that he doesn't have an easy way up onto his platform- you'll see what I mean in the pictures of the cage, he only has a tuff tube for access. May have to order another bridge if the original doesn't seem to be turning up.

Yep, I'm Yorkshire/Lancs based; I'll definitely take a look at the Barney, thank you!

He doesn't tend to go for the chicken wire on the top of his bin, most likely because he can't reach it. I hoped it would settle but since it's continued for a while, I feel like it's becoming a habit. I'd feel awful if I started blowing on him/flicking water at him to stop when all he's trying to do is communicate

He's certainly a tricky one- I'll post the pics of his setup below:





Oh gosh those images are blurry- so sorry! To give context: the more natural setup has 6" of substrate at the highest point, though I feel that more could be added. He likes digging, so has a chinchilla sand box and a pit that has a mixture of sand & dried coconut fibre (brick type, soaked in water, squeezed out & left to dry out on trays) to give him something different to dig in. The log in there is bogwood. The cardboard in the barred cage was partly to prevent bar chewing and partly to stop the wheel jamming on the cage bars if it moved. It also works to darken the cage a bit; since it's only my desk and a wall, it's not cutting off much ventilation and blocks out some of the stark white. The lid of the bin cage is 3 layers of chicken wire, crossed over & duct taped together on a plastic top with rectangles cut out (we didn't have any 1cm mesh at the time that it was made).

Last edited by luckadoodledoo; 03-16-2019 at 06:56 AM.
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cage, chewing, bed, hands, night, tube, bin, revamp, distressed, bar, recently, climb, offer, started, time, stop, hed, seemingly, ball, hell, means, state, wondering, past, advice

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