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Old 07-30-2020, 01:56 AM   #1
Ang2020
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: UK
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Default Spot cleaning with new ham

Hi

I've had my Syrian for three nights now. She is very nervous and has mostly hidden behind her wheel. She comes out around 8pm for a drink and then we don't see her until midnight which by that time I'm already in bed. Being from a breeder who has regularly handled her, I thought she would be less wary. But I have been leaving her alone to get used to us. When I see her I talk to her but she freezes and then darts back to her bed.

My question, how do I spot clean with a nervous ham? I'm not sure where here toilet area is yet but I dont want to scare her by taking the wire cage off and messing up her stuff. I already has to replace some substrate as the water bottle leaked and she hissed at me! Any advice welcome.
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Old 07-30-2020, 02:55 AM   #2
LunaTheHamster1
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,593
Default Re: Spot cleaning with new ham

Personally, if this was me and my hamster was like that I wouldn't be even thinking about spot cleaning for the first week or 2. With Twinkle I left it 4 weeks as he was such a scaredy cat. He did exactly what you say your hamster is doing, he would dart back into his house, even when I hadn't moved and was way across the room. Around the 4-6 week mark this all changed and he is so tame now. It may not take you weeks, it may only take a few days or a week, every hamster is different, I am just using twinkle as an example as he took me the longest to bond with.

Don't forget everything is all new to her, let her settle in a bit and see how she goes then.
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Old 07-30-2020, 06:10 AM   #3
Coco61
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Join Date: May 2015
Location: London
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Default Re: Spot cleaning with new ham

Luna has given good advice there. Don’t touch anything for as long as you can. This will allow her to settle into her new surroundings. That is not just her cage and everything in it but every sound and smell from your home. Let her scent mark everything and become familiar with her new home. She needs to create her nest and hoard and become more confident.
You could try putting some pieces of plain white toilet paper in your sleeve to pick up your scent, then tear these into strips and place near her nest entrance. She will gather these up and use them in nesting plus get used to your scent too. You can use strips of toilet paper throughout her life to help with nest building whenever you have disturbed it and want to apologise to her!
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Old 07-30-2020, 07:39 AM   #4
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
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Default Re: Spot cleaning with new ham

Agree with Luna and Coco. I've had my foster Syrian for two weeks now and haven't done any cleaning. The cage doesn't smell bad and neither does he hence can't see a valid reason to turn his home upsidedown and upset him. He started off as a scared pet shop baby who would screech whenever i did anything in his cage so i left him alone and just talked to him for a few days. I can pick him up and stroke him now but still haven't got a clue where his peeing spot is.
You could place a toilet with sand in it near where she sleeps. My young Syrian has one but prefers to play in it whereas my older Syrian will only pee in his sandfilled toilet. It took a while of trial and error for him to do that and he had to be happy with my suggestion of introducing a toilet and then i had to get the location right.
Don't worry about cleaning, three nights is a short time so its very early days for your hamster to settle in, learn to trust you and gain confidence. It's a lot to deal with for a small animal who is often naturally on the shy side.
Your patience will be rewarded though.
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