Night after 5.jpg
I dug out a carrier full of hemp substrate and that STILL wasn't all of it!
Tidied up.jpg
After clearing it all out to allow Tank another chance to figure out the art of burrowing I added a fence to separate the substrates to avert a repeat performance.
Second setup.jpg
The two sections are now divided by a bendy bridge, a sand-blasted grape vine branch, and a couple of stones. I had my fingers crossed that this would be a turning point. After a few nights in his nest behind his wheel Tank relocated... to a wood cabin on one of the shelves.
At 4.30am I was woken up by a tinny tapping sound...
Nooo.jpg
Noooo! Having the high substrate near the door was a mistake. Poop!! My little rascal got in touch with his wild hamster instincts... to ROAM!! *sigh*
Still learning.jpg
At 4.30 in the morning I found myself shifting substrate away from the front of the cage in the hope of preventing more damage.
So, it has been a week with the SPS paper based bedding and I like it, but Tank doesn't seem interested. Despite being compacted down the bedding is still springy rather than firm, which he doesn't seem keen on. Maybe it's just too hot to consider burrowing? Personally I find my room cold, but he is fluffier than I am so he may disagree.
If anyone has any tips on how to encourage burrowing I would really appreciate them! I hide food around the cage and in the substrates (in addition to a couple of cardboard boredom breakers) so he has to dig for his food but he doesn't seem interested in burrowing.