Hamster Central - View Single Post - What to do with a terrified hamster in a small cage?

Pebbles82 · 01-27-2021, 11:10 AM

Hello. That sounds like a very good move to get him an 80 x 50 cage. The important thing will be setting it up to encourage normal behaviours. Ideally they need a large ish house at floor level, open underneath and sat on top of the substrate, a shelf, a 28 cm wheel and a few tunnels and floor toys. Something to sit under so they feel secure (eg a shelf and it hanging rat Sputnik). And 4 to 6” depth of substrate at least.

He’ll be able to bury hoards under his nest then and his house should stay clean and dry so won’t need spot cleaning very often.

When moving him over it can work really well with a nervous hamster, to let them play and explore the new cage the day before moving. So put substrate in it and any new items you have - and maybe one item from his old cage. And scatter a few treats and bits of food. Tempt him out ( a tube over his house entrance with a treat at the far end should do the trick). Put your hands over the ends of the tube when you lift him out in it and don’t carry him too far like that. If you need to carry him any distance then put the tube down in a box and carry that instead (high enough he can’t jump out).

Then put him (in the tube maybe) in the new cage. He might explore it and check everything out or he might just dive into a hide. If he does the latter, leave him there for a while and tempt him out again to go back in his old cage.

Next day move everything over to the new cage. You’ll need somewhere to put the hanster while you’re doing this - eg pet carrier.

The key is to not clean anything first. So take all his old substrate out of the old cage and spread it on top of the new substrate in the new cage. Then move all his toys, wheel etc over abd try and set them up in the same place. Eg wheel back left, shelf back right, house front right etc.

This helps then adjust much quicker and avoids the stress. Because everything still smells familiar and is in the same (or similar) location.

If his current house is unsuitable then I wouldn’t move that across but add a new house instead. A shoebox makes a good house/nesting box of you cut the base out so it’s open underneath. Keep the lid as a lift off roof and cut a hole for a door.

They like to build really big nests, especially in winter and they also need somewhere dark to retreat to so the house needs to be big enough and dark inside. If you have a bendy bridge you can put that over the house door which makes it dark inside , provides a tunnel entrance which they like and also makes a ramp onto the roof.

If you can save his nest and some of his dry hoard from the old cage, put that inside the house in the new cage (but not inside the house). But also put a big pile of toilet paper strips near the house in the new cage so he can build a new bigger nest. Just a few sheets of plain white toilet paper torn into strips. That pile should go down gradually - they pouch it and take it to the nest. So keep topping the pile up.

Make sure he can reach his food bowl and water bottle easily (eg suitable stable ramp to any shelf where they are).

He could be hiding away so much because he’s cold. They really feel the cold in winter so need big cosy nests. And they do generally stay in the house more of its colder - in spring they can start being out more with the lighter nights and when it’s less cold.

It could still be posssible to take him but the most important thing is to get him familiar with your scent, the sound of your voice and your presence so he learns to trust. So talk to him through the cage a bit every day at first. I just chat abd say what I’m doing, use his name and tell him he’s clever. They respond to tone of voice as well.

He will be a bit scared abd skitty at first - change of location and owner. And you’ll need to give him about 10 days to two weeks in the new cage without cleaning anything - to give him time to settle in. But after that period their behaviour can change noticeably and he should be out more, a bit more confident and looking happier.

Do a set time for feedibg - eg early evening and make a little bit of cage noise when doing it and he’ll get used to getting up earlier for feeding. He’ll go back to bed again and get up late at night probably but it gives you chance for some interaction and chat to see if he approaches you or shows signs of wanting to come out.

During that first two weeks you can just spot clean the pee area once a week or so - if you can see where it is. If not - don’t worry.

First few days in the new cage just leave him alone to settle in and just put food out.

Which cage did you get? It can really help getting the set up right before moving them so feel free to ask for advice on here as to what works or have things looked over first! I made a number of mistakes at first - insuitable toys, tunnels too small , wobbly ramp!

01-27-2021, 11:10 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: What to do with a terrified hamster in a small cage? Hello. That sounds like a very good move to get him an 80 x 50 cage. The important thing will be setting it up to encourage normal behaviours. Ideally they need a large ish house at floor level, open underneath and sat on top of the substrate, a shelf, a 28 cm wheel and a few tunnels and floor toys. Something to sit under so they feel secure (eg a shelf and it hanging rat Sputnik). And 4 to 6” depth of substrate at least. He’ll be able to bury hoards under his nest then and his house should stay clean and dry so won’t need spot cleaning very often. When moving him over it can work really well with a nervous hamster, to let them play and explore the new cage the day before moving. So put substrate in it and any new items you have - and maybe one item from his old cage. And scatter a few treats and bits of food. Tempt him out ( a tube over his house entrance with a treat at the far end should do the trick). Put your hands over the ends of the tube when you lift him out in it and don’t carry him too far like that. If you need to carry him any distance then put the tube down in a box and carry that instead (high enough he can’t jump out). Then put him (in the tube maybe) in the new cage. He might explore it and check everything out or he might just dive into a hide. If he does the latter, leave him there for a while and tempt him out again to go back in his old cage. Next day move everything over to the new cage. You’ll need somewhere to put the hanster while you’re doing this - eg pet carrier. The key is to not clean anything first. So take all his old substrate out of the old cage and spread it on top of the new substrate in the new cage. Then move all his toys, wheel etc over abd try and set them up in the same place. Eg wheel back left, shelf back right, house front right etc. This helps then adjust much quicker and avoids the stress. Because everything still smells familiar and is in the same (or similar) location. If his current house is unsuitable then I wouldn’t move that across but add a new house instead. A shoebox makes a good house/nesting box of you cut the base out so it’s open underneath. Keep the lid as a lift off roof and cut a hole for a door. They like to build really big nests, especially in winter and they also need somewhere dark to retreat to so the house needs to be big enough and dark inside. If you have a bendy bridge you can put that over the house door which makes it dark inside , provides a tunnel entrance which they like and also makes a ramp onto the roof. If you can save his nest and some of his dry hoard from the old cage, put that inside the house in the new cage (but not inside the house). But also put a big pile of toilet paper strips near the house in the new cage so he can build a new bigger nest. Just a few sheets of plain white toilet paper torn into strips. That pile should go down gradually - they pouch it and take it to the nest. So keep topping the pile up. Make sure he can reach his food bowl and water bottle easily (eg suitable stable ramp to any shelf where they are). He could be hiding away so much because he’s cold. They really feel the cold in winter so need big cosy nests. And they do generally stay in the house more of its colder - in spring they can start being out more with the lighter nights and when it’s less cold. It could still be posssible to take him but the most important thing is to get him familiar with your scent, the sound of your voice and your presence so he learns to trust. So talk to him through the cage a bit every day at first. I just chat abd say what I’m doing, use his name and tell him he’s clever. They respond to tone of voice as well. He will be a bit scared abd skitty at first - change of location and owner. And you’ll need to give him about 10 days to two weeks in the new cage without cleaning anything - to give him time to settle in. But after that period their behaviour can change noticeably and he should be out more, a bit more confident and looking happier. Do a set time for feedibg - eg early evening and make a little bit of cage noise when doing it and he’ll get used to getting up earlier for feeding. He’ll go back to bed again and get up late at night probably but it gives you chance for some interaction and chat to see if he approaches you or shows signs of wanting to come out. During that first two weeks you can just spot clean the pee area once a week or so - if you can see where it is. If not - don’t worry. First few days in the new cage just leave him alone to settle in and just put food out. Which cage did you get? It can really help getting the set up right before moving them so feel free to ask for advice on here as to what works or have things looked over first! I made a number of mistakes at first - insuitable toys, tunnels too small , wobbly ramp!