Too early to change new hamster’s cage?

Letty · 10-25-2018, 01:05 AM

Hi guys! Just looking for a bit of advice.
I’ve had my Syrian hamster for 4 days now (I’m a new hamster mama!) She’s still fairly young and small, but I think she’s going to outgrow her cage pretty quickly now that she’s in it, if it’s not already a bit cramped. Later realised that it isn’t the minimum recommended size set out by the rspca despite being advertised as large and suitable for a Syrian! So I’m going to buy her a bigger one asap, but my question is do I move her straight away or would this stress her too much? Should I leave it a bit longer to let her get used to me and her surroundings? She seems pretty content with her current cage for now, and isn’t tame yet.
Thanks

cypher · 10-25-2018, 03:48 AM

If she seems content at the moment & has room for a decent size wheel (8" is usually ok for a baby but check her back is straight when running) a good house & a reasonable amount of substrate to dig & burrow in then it would be ok to keep her in a smaller cage until she's settled. If the cage is really small & doesn't have space for the basics then it would be better to move her earlier.
When you do move her you can make things easier for her by not cleaning anything (other than spot cleaning pee) for at least a couple of weeks before & after the move so everything retains her scent.
Which cage are you thinking of getting?

Hammyloui · 10-25-2018, 04:43 AM

I agree with cypher, unless there isn't enough space for a wheel that doesn't arch her back then she should be fine until shes settled down. What cage do you currently own?

Pebbles82 · 10-25-2018, 07:27 AM

Agree with the others - they take a good two weeks to be fully settled in a cage and scent mark everything. So maybe give it 3 or 4 weeks before upgrading her, providing she gets plenty of out of cage time. Although you said she's not tame yet - so out of cage time might be best in the bathtub (dry) for taming - or a secure playpen area. I find a hamster ball is a good way to transport them there (let them hop in the ball from the cage door, pop the lid on and carefully carry it there). A few toys in the bathtub help. Shell probably just slither up and down the side of the bath but at least it's a change of scene and you can gradually get her used to hand touch - the occasional stroke on the back with one finger - if she accepts that then move onto cupping a hand under her and lifting her a teeny bit but don't hold her - just let her walk off again. Once she gets used to that she should be fairly hand tame and you be able to hold her. Although they don't like sitting still long or being held long.

Anyway - when you do move her to a bigger cage, and as she's such a baby, it's best to do a gradual transition so it doesn't stress her too much, and also to move everything across from the old cage, including all the old bedding, her nest, hoard etc. Avoid the temptation to want to clean everything - that can wait. It's important everthing still smells familiar in the new cage and in as similar a layout as possible. Adding the odd new toy is fine but try and keep all the old ones as well.

So for the transition - what I do is set up the new cage with substrate and a couple of toys and maybe a toy from her old cage - then let her go in it for a play - she may freak out and want to come out again so then pop her back in her old cage and then wait till next time you take her out. Second time she will probably be quite interested in the new cage (now she knows she can go back to the old one!) and spend a bit of time in there.

I then leave it a day and then move everything over. The new bigger cage will hold more substrate so leave all the substrate in that you put in there for her exploration and also add all the substrate from the old cage - sort of sprinkle/spread it out on top. Then move everything else over, get it set up and ready and pop her in. (You'll need somewhere to put her while doing the move and it can take longer than expected so maybe a pet carrier?)

Once she's in the new cage you start from scratch again - give her 2 or 3 days alone and undisturbed to settle and adjust and no clean outs for two weeks. With a larger cage it needs cleaning out less often anyway and can go weeks without needing a substrate change. The more you put in the longer it can go so at least 4 to 5" deep is good. The other thing is - use a litter tray. She'll use it if you put it in the right place! ie the place she has chosen to pee - often a corner of the cage. That way you just empty the litter tray every five days and the rest of the cage stays clean and dry. They do tend to pee in their wheels sometimes but that can be given a wipe out as and when (not too often - they don't get that bad).

Most people put Chinchilla bathing sand in the litter tray - soaks up the pee. So if you haven't got one you could start using one now and then her cage will stay mostly clean until you do the changeover. I get this one. Fits in a corner and it's higher at the back to avoid splashes. Our hammies have always peed in the very back corner (clean little things!). Don't worry about poops - they're not smelly or dirty - theyre like little hard black seeds and they sometimes eat them or hoard them - which is normal for them. (They have two stomachs and can redigest extra vitamins etc from the poops).

I get this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hamster-cor...=hamster+potty

And this is the Chinchilla sand

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supreme-Pet...hinchilla+sand

One of those lasts for ages.

Pebbles82 · 10-25-2018, 07:30 AM

If you want to have a look at cage upgrades, the Alaska and Barney at Zooplus are popular choices

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r_cages/284288

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r_cages/189303

You'll also need a Syrian sized wheel for it - this one is popular (28cm)

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small..._wheels/174195

Letty · 10-25-2018, 09:53 AM

She seems fine in her wheel, no arched back, and has a few toys and tubes and chew blocks. I was looking at the hamster heaven but it seems a bit busy and overwhelming, and looks like it’d be hard to clean so I’ve more or less scrapped that idea unless there’s any benefit to all the tubes/ramps/compartments. I think I’m going to end up getting the Alaska cage

we don’t have a bathtub so I’ve got the biggest plastic storage container I can find to use as a playpen. I will order a litter tray also. she’s already established a pee spot so hopefully she’ll use it! Thanks for all the advice!

Pebbles82 · 10-26-2018, 03:47 PM

Both of those cages have nice big front opening doors

The Hamster Heaven is a lovely cage but as you say most of the contents are no good and need removing! And you're paying for them. It's a bit better built than the Alaska but the Alaska is fine - the Alaska is also a better height for fitting a Syrian wheel in. And more of a blank page for you to set up how you want.

Letty · 10-26-2018, 06:14 PM

That’s what I was thinking, I’ve seen some really nice toys and accessories that I think she’d like (she’s a little explorer and seems to prefer things to climb than tubes etc) so a nice big plain wire cage to make the layout to her liking would be ideal, and she’s moved most of her bedding out of her house to a corner of her cage and isn’t showing any interest whatsoever in the hidey holes and stuff so I think the little compartments wouldn’t get used either. Anyway, I have a much better idea of what I need now so thanks!!

Pebbles82 · 10-27-2018, 02:42 AM

Just be careful with hamster toys - I wasted loads of money on useless ones that either broke or were too small for a syrian or dangerous! So anything with holes in - holes need to be more than 5cm diameter. Even the white cat house in the Alaska is a bit risky for that (it's easily removed from the shelf though!). Generally hammies climb to either see if they can escape or to get to something. They aren't good climbers - they can get up but then tend to just drop (they don't see well and aren't good at climbing down!) and can hurt themselves, especially if they end up monkeybarring across the roof and land on something hard or sharp.

Also a lot of climbing toys have fabric, chains or rungs, which aren't suitable. They're not that interested in toys generally I find unless they have food attached to them! They like hidey places and tunnels because they can dive into them and feel safe. So anything that's dark or has food attached is about the size of it with syrians! Having said that, enriching the cage is important to give them a variety of places to go. One thing I do is tie a rat tube to the roof (using sisal string or plastic cable ties) so it leads from the shelf at one end/corner , to a rat sputnik at the other corner. Then put a daily treat in the sputnik (and some bedding to make it cosier). That gets them using more of the cage and gives a roof run as well as floor toys. Means you can't use any top door though! I have the Barney and managed to just go across part of the top door so I can still use it (but it doesn't have a front opening door).

To be honest, if you have the space, the Barney is a better buy than the Alaska as it comes with a good shelf and ladder and also a good house suitable for a syrian - they almost always use it. Then all you need is a wheel and floor toys.

Some of my favourite floor toys are the large cork logs - doubles up as a big dark tunnel and also an interesting texture to climb over.

mangoandmimi · 10-27-2018, 08:25 AM

I'd definitely consider the Barney over the Alaska to be honest. The Alaska is more the smallest size you can get away with as opposed to a 'good' size, while the Barney offers a decent amount of room - particularly important for more active female syrians. I think a lot of people start to find Alaska sized cages too small so it does make more sense to pay a little more for a bigger & better cage! It's doesn't seem that much larger just looking at the dimensions, but if you look at them side by side there's a big difference. I agree with Serendipity that the Barney shelf and house are really good accessories.