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CodeKirin · 06-02-2020, 10:30 AM

Hi, I recently bought a male Syrian hamster from a pet store about 2 weeks ago. I let him settle in for a few days while giving him tissues with my scent. After that I have been attempting to tame him by giving him treats in my fingers, which he will usually eat on the spot. A few days ago I put some of his hamster food in my palm to see if he is willing to eat from my hand. I think he might have been hungry, as he came up and started sniffing my hand, then proceeding to nibble my finger a little. After discovering my finger isn't food, he then noticed the seeds in my hand and began to eat them. Overall, he seemed happy in his cage, and has been running on the wheel most of the day.

However, 2 days ago, he began to display signs of wanting to escape, which he has never done before. He would try to climb the sides of the cage, go on top of some toys and hideouts and stand up, and frantically chewing on a hanging chew. Yesterday it has gotten worse, as he would now also attempt to climb the hanging chew, as well as his wheel, desperately trying to get out. He also started biting the metal support for the wheel.

I'm very worried about him, and is not sure what his intentions are. I took him out in a cup and put him in a playpen last week when I wanted to clean his cage, but he will climb the sides trying to escape. When I tried to get him back into his cage with the cup, he would ignore it completely and run around like crazy finding ways to escape. I was originally going to use a Detolf since I have 2 of them in my house for display purposes, but there's currently no room to set it up, and granted I'm planning to buy a house and move out soon, I figured I will use a bin cage for now.

FYI, the bin cage I'm using is this one. Which is around 770 square inches with a meshed top. I have about 7 inches of Kaytee Clean & Cozy bedding on one side, with 2 bendable bridges, the 12 inch silent spinner, a Zoo Med reptisand sandbath with a popsicle stick hideout, and 3 chew toys. I read that giving more bedding might help, but I'm afraid he would just try to climb out of the cage when I go to tame him.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ste...box/1001344076

I'm thinking of maybe let him run around in the second floor hallway of the house, with all the doors leading to other rooms closed. The gaps under the doors are no more than 0.4 inches tall, so I don't think he would be able to squeeze through. I would of course supervise him and block off the path to the stairs, but I'm afraid he would keep running around when I try to put him back into the cage again.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? (Sorry for the long post, it's my first time raising a hamster)

06-02-2020, 10:30 AM
CodeKirin Newborn Pup Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 1	Syrian hamster suddenly trying to escape Hi, I recently bought a male Syrian hamster from a pet store about 2 weeks ago. I let him settle in for a few days while giving him tissues with my scent. After that I have been attempting to tame him by giving him treats in my fingers, which he will usually eat on the spot. A few days ago I put some of his hamster food in my palm to see if he is willing to eat from my hand. I think he might have been hungry, as he came up and started sniffing my hand, then proceeding to nibble my finger a little. After discovering my finger isn't food, he then noticed the seeds in my hand and began to eat them. Overall, he seemed happy in his cage, and has been running on the wheel most of the day. However, 2 days ago, he began to display signs of wanting to escape, which he has never done before. He would try to climb the sides of the cage, go on top of some toys and hideouts and stand up, and frantically chewing on a hanging chew. Yesterday it has gotten worse, as he would now also attempt to climb the hanging chew, as well as his wheel, desperately trying to get out. He also started biting the metal support for the wheel. I'm very worried about him, and is not sure what his intentions are. I took him out in a cup and put him in a playpen last week when I wanted to clean his cage, but he will climb the sides trying to escape. When I tried to get him back into his cage with the cup, he would ignore it completely and run around like crazy finding ways to escape. I was originally going to use a Detolf since I have 2 of them in my house for display purposes, but there's currently no room to set it up, and granted I'm planning to buy a house and move out soon, I figured I will use a bin cage for now. FYI, the bin cage I'm using is this one. Which is around 770 square inches with a meshed top. I have about 7 inches of Kaytee Clean & Cozy bedding on one side, with 2 bendable bridges, the 12 inch silent spinner, a Zoo Med reptisand sandbath with a popsicle stick hideout, and 3 chew toys. I read that giving more bedding might help, but I'm afraid he would just try to climb out of the cage when I go to tame him. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ste...box/1001344076 I'm thinking of maybe let him run around in the second floor hallway of the house, with all the doors leading to other rooms closed. The gaps under the doors are no more than 0.4 inches tall, so I don't think he would be able to squeeze through. I would of course supervise him and block off the path to the stairs, but I'm afraid he would keep running around when I try to put him back into the cage again. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? (Sorry for the long post, it's my first time raising a hamster)