Hamster Central - View Single Post - Pees in his house bedding and more nourvis.

Pebbles82 · 09-28-2015, 04:41 AM

Hi. Sometimes they do pee in their nest. Most of the time ours uses his potty litter tray but occasionally he pees in his nest. I am thinking maybe the two things are connected - the peeing in the nest and him becoming more nervous of you. Presumably when he has pee'd in his nest, you have had to remove all of the nest. This is necessary (although I try to leave a little bit of the old nest behind even if it is stinky so it still smells familiar to them). So it's necessary to remove the pee nest, but this stresses out the hamster who just thinks someone has been in his territory and stolen his nest! So to deter intruders he pees in it more lol. Sometimes they pee on things to scent mark them. I had this problem recently - the more I had to change his nest and remove his pee'd on hoard, the more he pee'd on them! Somehow you have to try and break the vicious circle but it's not always possible.

I ended up putting a new bigger house in for our hamster, with his potty tray inside it and still plenty of room for a nest - and it seems to have worked (fingers crossed).

So the first thing I'd say is - get a potty litter tray if you haven't got one already. They tend to just use them if you put it in the corner of the cage where they normally pee (hamsters usually choose a corner somewhere as a toilet corner).

I have this one - it's simple, fits in a corner and easy to take out and clean and pop back again. You can fill it with hamster potty litter or Chinchilla bathing sand, put a little bit of the wee'd substrate on top so it still smells like his wee corner and he should just start using it. And might stop peeing in his nest. Or he might still pee in his nest, but at least the rest of the cage will stay cleaner!

Hamster Potty corner Litter Tray for Mice Hamster Gerbil Cage House. Size: 16 × 7 × 12/12 cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

I use this potty litter - it seems to attract them to the potty. Once he was using it regularly I switched to Chinchilla bathing sand but he kept kicking that out so I went back to potty litter lol. If they eat it it isn't good for them but most hamsters wouldn't eat it. Ours tried it the first time and spat it out again.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interpet-100...RGD26FKB07E60B

So start with the potty tray and litter (sorry if you've already done this). Then think about the cage cleaning routine. Cleans always stress hamsters - they hate it, they leave little scent trails everywhere in their cage so they can find their way about because they don't see very well, and when everything has been cleaned and substrate replaced in a cage their scent trails are gone and they feel like they are in a strange new place - and also get nervous thinking someone has invaded their territory. So how you clean and how often can make this less stressful for the hamster. I found this video from Erin's Hamsters really helped with cage cleaning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

You can't avoid removing his nest if he pees in it, but you can lessen how much you clean the rest of the cage and/or do it in stages. I only remove the top third of substrate now and mix the new in with the remaining bottom 2/3, plus I don't clean the wheel at the same time as changing the substrate. But always try and leave part of the old nest behind. Sometimes there are some dry parts - sometimes the whole lot is wet and stinky and then just leave a little tiny bit of it behind and put a load of new bedding/nesting material out.

Not sure what substrate and nesting material you are using, but torn up strips of white toilet paper is best for nesting material and never use any 'fluffy' bedding as that is dangerous.

I don't know what kind of house he has to nest in, but you could try making a shoe box house - an upturned shoe box with a door cut out - it should be big enough to put the potty litter tray inside - it does sound like his wee corner is in his house! With still enough room for a nest. Also putting a bendy tunnel or tube over the door will make him want to go in their and nest as it will be darker inside.

A month isn't that long either. Generally it's recommended not to do any cage cleaning for the first 2 or 3 weeks until they have had chance to settle in. So maybe get him a bit sorted now and then just spot clean (ie remove the odd handful every few days if it gets stinky) for a couple of weeks without full cage cleans. He probably isn't tame yet either which will make him nervous of you. Ours wasn't tame when we got him and we did the bathtub taming which worked well. I would put a tube in his cage with the other end in his ball. He would walk into the tube and into the ball, then I'd pop the lid on the ball, let him have a run for 5 minutes or so, then carry the ball up to the (dry) bathtub - and put the plug in. Make sure it is dry and no water. Then we'd put the ball inside the bathtub and take the lid off - with a couple of toys or tubes in the bath. He would run up and down the side of the bathtub for ages! we couldn't touch him or pick him up as he was nervous and would wriggle and leap away. Next time we put him in the bathtub one of us got in first, so he would run all over you while in the tub and get used to your presence and smell. Gradually we were able to start to stroke him on the back with one finger and he stopped jumping, and we then moved onto cupping a hand under him and lifting him just a centimetre or so and letting him walk away and not try and hold him. Once we got to this stage he was used to touch and we could pick him up easily and he was quite tame. But always handle them over something soft and where they can't fall too far as they can still suddenly leap or run off and injure themselves. I used the sofa and barricaded the edges with a blanket and had a tube on the sofa he could hide in if he wanted.

The tissue trick is also suggested sometimes for getting them familiar with your scent - put a tissue or some white toilet paper up your sleeve, against your arm for a couple of hours or more, then tear it into strips and put it in the cage for nesting. The hamster will probably use it for nesting material and it will smell of you so become a positive thing for them.

Hope this helps!

09-28-2015, 04:41 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Pees in his house bedding and more nourvis. Hi. Sometimes they do pee in their nest. Most of the time ours uses his potty litter tray but occasionally he pees in his nest. I am thinking maybe the two things are connected - the peeing in the nest and him becoming more nervous of you. Presumably when he has pee'd in his nest, you have had to remove all of the nest. This is necessary (although I try to leave a little bit of the old nest behind even if it is stinky so it still smells familiar to them). So it's necessary to remove the pee nest, but this stresses out the hamster who just thinks someone has been in his territory and stolen his nest! So to deter intruders he pees in it more lol. Sometimes they pee on things to scent mark them. I had this problem recently - the more I had to change his nest and remove his pee'd on hoard, the more he pee'd on them! Somehow you have to try and break the vicious circle but it's not always possible. I ended up putting a new bigger house in for our hamster, with his potty tray inside it and still plenty of room for a nest - and it seems to have worked (fingers crossed). So the first thing I'd say is - get a potty litter tray if you haven't got one already. They tend to just use them if you put it in the corner of the cage where they normally pee (hamsters usually choose a corner somewhere as a toilet corner). I have this one - it's simple, fits in a corner and easy to take out and clean and pop back again. You can fill it with hamster potty litter or Chinchilla bathing sand, put a little bit of the wee'd substrate on top so it still smells like his wee corner and he should just start using it. And might stop peeing in his nest. Or he might still pee in his nest, but at least the rest of the cage will stay cleaner! Hamster Potty corner Litter Tray for Mice Hamster Gerbil Cage House. Size: 16 × 7 × 12/12 cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies I use this potty litter - it seems to attract them to the potty. Once he was using it regularly I switched to Chinchilla bathing sand but he kept kicking that out so I went back to potty litter lol. If they eat it it isn't good for them but most hamsters wouldn't eat it. Ours tried it the first time and spat it out again. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interpet-100...RGD26FKB07E60B So start with the potty tray and litter (sorry if you've already done this). Then think about the cage cleaning routine. Cleans always stress hamsters - they hate it, they leave little scent trails everywhere in their cage so they can find their way about because they don't see very well, and when everything has been cleaned and substrate replaced in a cage their scent trails are gone and they feel like they are in a strange new place - and also get nervous thinking someone has invaded their territory. So how you clean and how often can make this less stressful for the hamster. I found this video from Erin's Hamsters really helped with cage cleaning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww You can't avoid removing his nest if he pees in it, but you can lessen how much you clean the rest of the cage and/or do it in stages. I only remove the top third of substrate now and mix the new in with the remaining bottom 2/3, plus I don't clean the wheel at the same time as changing the substrate. But always try and leave part of the old nest behind. Sometimes there are some dry parts - sometimes the whole lot is wet and stinky and then just leave a little tiny bit of it behind and put a load of new bedding/nesting material out. Not sure what substrate and nesting material you are using, but torn up strips of white toilet paper is best for nesting material and never use any 'fluffy' bedding as that is dangerous. I don't know what kind of house he has to nest in, but you could try making a shoe box house - an upturned shoe box with a door cut out - it should be big enough to put the potty litter tray inside - it does sound like his wee corner is in his house! With still enough room for a nest. Also putting a bendy tunnel or tube over the door will make him want to go in their and nest as it will be darker inside. A month isn't that long either. Generally it's recommended not to do any cage cleaning for the first 2 or 3 weeks until they have had chance to settle in. So maybe get him a bit sorted now and then just spot clean (ie remove the odd handful every few days if it gets stinky) for a couple of weeks without full cage cleans. He probably isn't tame yet either which will make him nervous of you. Ours wasn't tame when we got him and we did the bathtub taming which worked well. I would put a tube in his cage with the other end in his ball. He would walk into the tube and into the ball, then I'd pop the lid on the ball, let him have a run for 5 minutes or so, then carry the ball up to the (dry) bathtub - and put the plug in. Make sure it is dry and no water. Then we'd put the ball inside the bathtub and take the lid off - with a couple of toys or tubes in the bath. He would run up and down the side of the bathtub for ages! we couldn't touch him or pick him up as he was nervous and would wriggle and leap away. Next time we put him in the bathtub one of us got in first, so he would run all over you while in the tub and get used to your presence and smell. Gradually we were able to start to stroke him on the back with one finger and he stopped jumping, and we then moved onto cupping a hand under him and lifting him just a centimetre or so and letting him walk away and not try and hold him. Once we got to this stage he was used to touch and we could pick him up easily and he was quite tame. But always handle them over something soft and where they can't fall too far as they can still suddenly leap or run off and injure themselves. I used the sofa and barricaded the edges with a blanket and had a tube on the sofa he could hide in if he wanted. The tissue trick is also suggested sometimes for getting them familiar with your scent - put a tissue or some white toilet paper up your sleeve, against your arm for a couple of hours or more, then tear it into strips and put it in the cage for nesting. The hamster will probably use it for nesting material and it will smell of you so become a positive thing for them. Hope this helps!