Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Housing

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-26-2019, 12:59 PM   #1
Popsbucks
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 1
Default When to move hamster?

Hi everyone, I'm hoping to her some advice!

My Syrian hamster is 2 years and 6 months, and is currently in a 120 x 30 x 30cm (lxdxh) tank cage, as we currently live in a studio flat.

We are moving to our first house (!!!) In 4 weeks and I have brought him a 120 x 60 x 50cm rabbit/guinea pig cage, and have added mesh to the existing cage bars so the Gap is 1cm wide.

My question is, as we can't move him into the new cage until we move into the house, as it's too big for the flat. Would it be worth moving him to the new house and cage all at once, or moving him to the new house, then a few weeks later changing his cage?

He is going blind and is a bit arthritic, but our vet has advised against medication as he had a funny reaction when he initially tried it. As such he isn't a massive fan of being handled anymore and prefers just to Potter around, thus the larger cage!

Any advice would be appreciated 😊
Popsbucks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2019, 12:11 AM   #2
souffle
Moderator
 
souffle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Yorkshire, UK but my heart lies in Scotland!
Posts: 28,184
Default Re: When to move hamster?

I really wouldn't move him at this age. It could stress him and tip him over the edge especially as he will me moving home already and there will be new noises smells and even water. Let him live out his time in familiar surroundings pottering about and feeling secure in his home. You can always add a new family member after the move who can enjoy the new bigger cage if you decide it is a good time.
souffle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2019, 12:47 AM   #3
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: When to move hamster?

I would agree to keep him in the same cage after you move. It’s a big upheaval time and can still be initially while unpacking etc. A good idea is to move his cage last and put it in a quiet room where not much will be happening while moving in and unpacking.

We had this with a two year old Syrian a couple of years ago. Popped him in his pet carrier with a blanket over the top in a quiet place, dismantled his cage but bagged all the contents up ready to put back without cleaning anything so it still smells familiar. Left him in his pet carrier at the new house in a quiet room until all moving finished on the day then set up his cage and left him in it in the quietest room for a week or so while unpacking was going on and banging about etc.

I was then worried about moving his cage again to the living room but decided to because the room he was in wasn’t very warm and he was used to being in the living room. He was fine with that and settled very well. So the main thing is to keep the noise and disturbance to a minimum in his location and to keep his cage contents familiar smelling and set up the same way.

Our Syrian was also a bit arthritic but very active on the flat and enjoyed running round the room in the new house, as the room was hamster proofed.

So I would play it by ear with the new cage personally. You could maybe let him play in it a couple of times and see how he finds it. Set it up with some new substrate and a couple of toys like cardboard tunnels etc and a familiar toy from his current cage and let him have some play time in it. The first time he may be wanting to come out again and go back to the familiarity of his old cage. The second time he may be more interested and explore it. And you can see whether he looks happy and approving.

If he really enjoys the space and new cage and you decide to move him in then again move everything across without cleaning anything and in a similar layout.

But reckon he at least needs a month or so to settle in the new house first. You would also need it set up to avoid fall risks if he’s older and arthritic with everything at floor level.

You would also need to check there are no sharp edges on the mesh. I believe people tend to mesh inside rather than outside the cage or they can get through the bars and get trapped under the mesh.

I upgraded our Syrian’s cage when he was nearly two and he loved the extra space. As he needed everything at floor level by then the space also helped to set it up for maximum enrichment and variety.

So I would play it by ear but not change his cage straight away and see how he goes.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
cage, house, moving, move, weeks, hamster, flat, advice, blind, arthritic, bit, changing, potter, handled, anymore, vet, larger, massive, initially, appreciated, medication, advised, prefers, reaction, funny

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:09 AM.