This is kind of long but please hang in there i really am at a loss and need some help. Bambi is about 3 or 4 months old. We got her on April 7th. Ever since, we have grown very close. Bambi is very sweet and basically never even shows annoyance (even when we accidentally wake her up from a nap). I have noticed one thing about her, she is very adventurous! She absolutely LOVES her ball (i know its not ideal but she loves it sosososoo much) and floor time. Whenever i put the ball in her cage for her to climb in, she jumps right in and when i put it back in for her to hop out, she never does and i end up having to take her out myself. I noticed that whenever we get close to her cage she squirms more as if shes trying to get me to not put her back. And when i do, she always stands up on her hind legs by the cage door and just looks at me until im gone. She always does this but ive noticed that recently she has been trying to get out of her cage more and more. For example she will literally chew on the bars of the cage door all. Night. Long. Keep in mind her cage is big enough(i forgot the exact measurements but i did very extensive research about cage sizes and what to put in them) and there are plenty of toys in there for her. Ive even tried to block the place shes chewing multiple times but she chews right through it every night. She has even chipped the paint off the bars quite a bit. And her cage is in a different room than the one i sleep in so its not just because im in the room.(I think im going to switch to another bin attachment instead of this cage) And if shes not chewing, she will just wait by the door with her paws tucked under her body. Even though we play with her SEVERAL times a night she never seems contend, But last night was the worst display of this behavior since we got her. What happened was i was putting her back in her cage facing away from the door and next to her water so she could drink but when she found out what was going on she BOLTED (probably one of the fastest times ive ever seen her run )to the door and desperately was searching for a way out for about 2 minutes. Ive never seen her look this desperate to get out and she looked so panicked and it made me so sad
but it was like 1 am and i had to sleep so i just watched her to see what she would do this time. this next part kinda scared me: she stopped, stood there for a second on her hind legs and looked me dead in the eye and then plopped down on her behind and started cleaning herself REALLY. REALLY. REALLY fast which i know is a sign of stress so i just gave in and opened the door and she went back to normal???? I played with her for another 5 minutes, this time i gave her a treat to distract her when i went away but she didnt even pay any attention to it which was really strange considering this was like her favorite treat! I mean she prefers being out of her cage much more than a treat anyways but not to this one! So i put her back and the cycle started all over again like 5 times until i was just too tired and had to go to bed. except after cleaning herself she started chewing on the cage again because i didnt open the door. Please help me! What is going on?? Shes never acted like this before and nothing in the environment has changed. Not even room temperature. I feel like a monster watching her try to get out so desperately but doing nothing!! Especially knowing its her instinct to sleep, wake up, explore the world around her until her little legs cant run anymore and then sleep again. I know what it feels like to be deprived of something i know i was made for. I compare her need for adventure to my need for preforming, and knowing im taking that from her, and knowing that she knows it and that it bothers her absolutely breaks my heart. What do i do please help. (Note: she does not act this way during the day. If her cage is open and shes tired, she will merely look in the direction of the the open door, yawn, and then lie back down. Doesn't even sniff my hand if its in her cage or anything)