Cage seems small - Page 2

SandyT · 02-16-2019, 10:21 AM

Part of me thinks that this is normal behaviour but my concern is because it was such a sudden change. I had been away for a couple of days and so really had expected her to be more shy. Her cage behaviours have only started since she became more confident about coming out of her cage. Her playpen can be extended and made pretty massive but I'd kept it smaller as I thought I thought it might scare her if it was too big. Should I make it massive? I use a sheet underneath but maybe it would be better being directly on the carpet. I think her bar biting is getting worse. I'm worried she's going to damage her teeth. I try to ignore it, will have to completely but if it doesn't, I know I need move her. She has part of a Whimzee left. Not sure she's that interested in it now it's smaller. I'll get her another one and see if that helps. Thank you again.

mangoandmimi · 02-16-2019, 10:52 AM

I don't think small playpens or anything short of a large playpen work well with Syrians, it just tends to frustrate them or make them try and escape. Unless it is set up really well with lots of enrichment similar to what a cage setup would be. And with playpens no matter how large it is they're aware that they're closed in by solid walls which is why I think free ranging them works better. They often like to follow the room walls round. But if you can make the playpen larger I'd try that. You can try her directly on the carpet, my old carpet got pretty chewed up in one corner by hamsters though so you do need to keep an eye on her.

To be honest any bar biting at all is concerning, snapped teeth & stuck jaws are not uncommon. To me, it all sounds like boredom/stress from boredom more than anything to be honest, as opposed to being stressed for another reason. It can be difficult to know exactly why they're acting up though. But especially if this behaviour came about when she got more confident it doesn't really sound like she's nervous. If she's been in there for 3 weeks that's usually enough time for her to settle in and it doesn't sound like you're over cleaning or changing things in there too much. Sudden changes like this do happen, I've had it happen too when a hamster has just got bored of a setup or has wanted more room.

SandyT · 02-16-2019, 12:06 PM

It has been a really strange change in her. Her cage has looked trashed for the last few days. I've tried to make her cage enriching and nice for her. I've tried to get her good quality things, house, wheel, food etc and yet she seems so unhappy. I will do whatever I can to make sure she is happy but in the mean time I'm feeling so cr*p because I'm letting her down. ��

Pebbles82 · 02-16-2019, 02:03 PM

Hmm she does sound like an active female! It sounds familiar (I am thinking of Shannon's CC!). I bet she had fun trashing her cage. The bar chewing is concerning. The only time Newt bar chewed as a baby was when he didn't have a wheel in his cage at first. But he was more of a digger and tunneler than chewer. She sounds like more of a chewer/destroyer. Maybe try weaving cardboard strips round the bars for now and give her some cardboard toilet rolls and egg boxes to destroy. Maybe scatter feed as well - so she can keep busy foraging for the food.

I can see why you were wondering if she might need a bigger cage. For some very active hamsters, no cage is big enough - but you might be right. I forget that the Savic cage is 50 cm deep - the Barney is 54 and it does seem to feel a fair bit deeper.

If you do decide she needs something bigger (which seems reasonable) you should get a good price for the Plaza cage second hand.

Shannon moved CC from a Hamster Heaven to a detolf and she seemed happy with the detolf I remember.

SandyT · 02-18-2019, 10:00 PM

She is a destroyer now! She chews at the bars in various places so I'm not sure how well the card trick would work. She used to use her wheel loads and I thought she was happy but maybe that was stress related too. I've got a new wheel on order for the playpen in the hope that will help, though I've since realised she barely uses the one she has now. I've increased her playpen to about 6 times the size of her cage, she still tries to escape. I did have her on the sofa tonight which was possibly a bit better until she escaped. Sadly, there is no way I can ham proof the room to have her properly free roaming. I removed the sheet from under the playpen, she's had a good chew on the carpet already!! She has eaten her whimzee, I have some being delivered tomorrow. I have toys in her cage that I hid food in, but I think she's just used to those now. I scatter feed every few days (she always has food in a bowl) I'm not sure she likes the Rodipet food that much. She wants to be out of her cage all the time, which I'd happily do if she didn't chew the play pen. She just seems so unhappy and I feel awful.

cypher · 02-18-2019, 10:33 PM

I'm sorry things are so difficult, try not to feel so bad you are doing everything you can for her. I don't have experience with Syrians but I do know you're not the only one to have a female like this, a larger cage might be your best option.
Sorry I can't really make any more suggestions.

SandyT · 02-19-2019, 03:05 AM

Thank you Cypher. I'm not really sure in which direction to go with a bigger cage. In some respects, the Borneo XL doesn't seem enough of an upgrade. I don't think a Detolf would fit in. I did wonder about the Kallax and perhaps making it 2 levels but I know levels don't count as space so much.

cypher · 02-19-2019, 03:54 AM

The Borneo xl might be enough of an upgrade, I got sent one by mistake once & it did seem pretty huge when I sat in it

An extra 19cm might not sound a lot but could make a big difference I don't really know anything about the Kallax tbh. Levels don't count as space but if you have a large cage & add in levels it can provide more scope for enrichment so it can still make a difference.

mangoandmimi · 02-19-2019, 04:48 AM

I wouldn’t go for another barred cage it says 8mm spacing but if she did manage to get her teeth through that could be even more dangerous. It’ll probably only be a matter of time before she started trying to chew again, and the base looks really shallow. The detolf isn’t a huge upgrade either.

Pebbles82 · 02-19-2019, 06:16 AM

Large cages tend to be an issue with cost - which is why the detolf is popular as it's not too expensive. Just wondering if you could leave the playpen up and put the cage in the playpen - probably isn't feasible for a long period. I did this once with our Syrian when he got very stressed after we left him somewhere while we were on holiday. Eventually he stopped bothering to come out of the cage when he realised he could get out whenever he wanted and still couldn't get past the playpen.

If she is a real chewer and bar chewer then plastic cages wouldn't be any good either (ego eco habitat).

Do you have a photo of the set up - am just wondering if there is something to suggest that might distract her out of this.