Hello I'm Liz - Page 2

Lizchewy · 11-11-2020, 03:42 PM

Thanks Ria. I did that last night when I first put the house in. He came out for a big play last night but tonight he wont come out and has been sniffing the paper and the house a lot so I'm hoping he will move in. His old house is still in there just incase as I don't want him to get cold. I'm hoping that his refusal to come out to play means he will be moving as the old house is too small I now realise.

Pebbles82 · 11-11-2020, 04:35 PM

Hopefully he’ll move in tonight but if not you might need to take the old house out if he’s fluctuating. If you do that then take his old nest from the old house and pop it inside the new one

Lizchewy · 11-12-2020, 03:22 AM

Hello. Well Chewy still hasnt moved in to his downstairs house even though there is a load of bedding outside and a monkey nut inside. He is still in the igloo on the shelf. The roof on it is going to pop off again soon I can see but he is asleep right now so I've left it. Luckily I'm home all day today so can keep checking to see whether its popped off or not. I have a new cardboard lid ready to go so if it comes off today I'll just pop that over the top rather than take the igloo out and fix it. I'll give him a couple more days to see if he moves to the ground level. He took 3 days to choose a home when we got him so perhaps he takes his time. Originally I thought he may be attached to the igloo but actually it may be the shelf he likes. I had forgotten that when we first got him the igloo was on the ground level along with a grass house and a second grass house was on the shelf and he eventually chose the grass house on the shelf. Then when he weed all over it I took it out and put the igloo on the shelf hoping he could move in to the grass house on ground level but he just moved in to the igloo on the shelf. The house I have made for him now at ground level is roomy, dark and on substrate which I thought he would naturally prefer but if he doesn't move in the next couple days do you think it could he possible that he just wants to live on the shelf no matter what house is there? I can either make a smaller ( but bigger than igloo) cardboard house for the shelf or I can move his nest to the downstairs house and leave the shelf with no house. Or I could move nest to downstairs house but leave small cardboard house on shelf empty just incase he is obsessed with the shelf being his bed. I'm not sure which optipn would be best for him. I wish he could speak English ha ha.

Pebbles82 · 11-12-2020, 03:34 AM

I wouldn't give him the option ha ha. If there is no house on the shelf he can't nest o the shelf really. It sounds a bit unusual as they tend to nest under a shelf or somewhere darker, but it may be he liked the house so nested on the shelf. It can get messy so I just train them to live elsewhere lol. That sounds a good idea to give it another day or so. I am not surprised he feels comfortable with the current house - it can help if the new house is "better" in some way - eg an upgrade for him -

Ria P · 11-12-2020, 03:55 AM

I don't have big shelves in any of my hamster's cages because i find that they take up too much space and restrict enrichment but that's just what i do and think.

I plonk a big house with an en suite and removable roof somewhere prominent in the cage as a main feature, add a good wheel and then arrange the rest to fit around it.

All the Syrians have always moved straight in. One uses the en suite toilet and the other and my hamster at the rainbow bridge use the toilets closeby outside their houses.

Lizchewy · 11-12-2020, 05:26 AM

Thank you both for your advice! To me the house looks like an upgrade but perhaps Chewy is fussy. Perhaps when I get my hands on a proper shoe box that will tempt him as the cardboard will be thicker. The box I made is slightly thinner cardboard and slightly smaller than a shoebox. I noticed he has done a bit of burrowing beneath the new house. I'll give him a couple more days and maybe put a very small piece of his bedding in the new house to give him the idea of moving. At least the wheel is a success. Its a hedgehog running wheel from Germany and he absolutely loves it. Its huge. The sandbath is also a huge hit with him. If he moves house in the next couple days I'll let you know! Thank you

Ria P · 11-12-2020, 05:36 AM

I've never seen the hedgehog running wheel from Germany. Is it a wooden or plastic one? Any chance of a photo? I use the inexpensive Ferplast guinea pig house and my Syrians seem to like them.

Lizchewy · 11-12-2020, 06:10 AM

Oh that's good. The wheel is not actually called a hedgehog running wheel but it was designed with hedgehogs in mind. I cant remember its proper name or the company in Germany I got it from! Also I cant seem to work out the photo link. Basically though, it is plastic and looks like a giant flying saucer but the base is non slip. It also seems to be at slightly more of an angle than the other flying saucer I had. I remember the description saying that it was good for hedgehogs, chinchillas and also Syrian hamsters because the way it is designed helps to mimic their running style in the wild, I guess because it's pretty flat. Looking up images of wheels on the internet it looks very similar to a giant silent spinner.

Lizchewy · 11-12-2020, 06:23 AM

Just looked up the house you mentioned. It looks nice, so will keep in mind if he turns down the shoebox ha ha!

Ria P · 11-12-2020, 06:46 AM

That's interesting. There's a 30cm Trixie flying saucer wheel which i want to buy for my Syrians as an out of cage play wheel. I'm just about to leave to go to an independent pet shop that stocks wheels big enough for Syrians.

As for uploading photos: scroll down to Manage Attachments, click on it then click on Choose File then Upload and wait till uploaded (a blue line runs across the top) then click on Close this window top right which takes you back to your post with the photo attached.