[Pebbles82]

Three weeks is not very long And they can easily get scared and spooked. It sounds like she was a bit spooked by the playpen.

Is there anything else that could have stressed her as well? A bit of a cage clean or spot cleaning possibly? It's still very early days and she'll have only just settled into the cage.

Newt was a bit like this when a baby - wanting to be out every night and trying to escape the playpen - just let them! (I mean let them try not let them escape). Did you sit in the playpen as well (I had to be really careful there as Newt tried to use my foot and shoulder as an escape route.

It was suggested to me at the time, that the playpen may be a bit of a large space at first and actually regressing any taming, but we just carried on and he started enjoying it. In it I had a wheel - and he just liked hopping on and off that and running through a tunnel. I then added a flying saucer and he had great fun trying to run up that to use it as an escape route!

When they're young and very active like that they're probably not interested in sand baths and houses - although if you you have a large sputnik I used one of those upside down as a hide in the playpen and he was hilarious - moving it around while he was inside it (to stay safe?).

They are only babies and get scared and excited easily. So I would just persist using the playpen.

They do need a lot of nesting material to forage for at this time of year when it's cold - they instinctively need to keep lining their nest as they sense it's not warm - that could have been the cardboard box shredding.

The bar chewing I would put down to cage stress - if something has moved or changed - is that the case? Either that or it is just wanting to be out and to escape again.

This will settle down - as she gets a bit older by a few months old, and as she is more and more tame. In my experience, until they are fully hand tame and trust you, all they want to do is run away!

So I don't think it's about the size of the cage but more just being a baby and being scared - and possibly something in her cage that has made her feel insecure if anything has been moved or cleaned. Shredding the box could be for nesting material. Does she have a house big enough for a very large nest and/or a large nest - they really feel the cold at night - our hammy has stuffed his house full of bedding and is in foraging mode when out and about.

Throw into that mix that she is female and on heat every four days! I believe that can make them more hyper.

Would suggest not cleaning or changing anything in the cage for at least another couple of weeks. And keep using the playpen for her, with a wheel and a tunnel in as well as other things - and a chew stick and the odd treat scattered here and there for her to forage (food is often a good distraction).

Then when she is a few months old and fully hand tame, see if the cage seems big enough for her or not.

They just dig in anything to see if there's a way out

Have added a couple of videos of when Newt was a baby in the playpen. To show how whizzy he was! And using the flying saucer to try and get over the top. They can be quite savvy - he used to run up my sleeve if I leaned over to stroke or handle him and in a flash he'd be round the back of my top and down my back and out! I had to get in the playpen quick so he didn't escape!

After a few weeks he stopped liking being in the playpen and just used to sit in the corner and didn't seem to happy. So then I started having him out on the sofa and he would enjoy climbing over the cushions or even just sitting for a nap He was fully hand tame at that point and less whizzy.

This is him hiding in the sputnik and moving around in it. They will chew absolutely anything to test it.

Last thought - is her wheel spinning ok?




I'd had him a few weeks when this was taken



This was one of his first times in the playpen when he was only 6.5 weeks old. They do like a wheel to run in!