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Originally Posted by Serendipity7000
He'll take a bit of time to get over that deep clean - which was necessary but unfortunate, but I'm sure he'll bounce back. What can help them get over it is a bit of distraction. Eg scattering some food as well as just putting it in the food bowl. They like foraging for it and it helps them start using the cage again. Also keep talking to him gently. Hide a couple of special treats each day in different parts of the cage - eg one in his wheel, one somewhere else in the cage. It'll again help him want to use the cage and distract him from the upheaval and changes. Eg a tiny bit of cheese (smelly - he'll find it). Or his bit of daily veg in the wheel instead of the food bowl.
What cage is he in at the moment? A good option for a dwarf hamster is the hamster heaven - but without all the colourful plastic stuff (most of which isn't suitable for dwarf hamsters). But it has a nice big front opening door and that helps with taming and interaction - and less nerve wracking for them than having things coming from the top.
It's not a cheap cage but sold in a number of different places (pets at home, Amazon, Zooplus) - and you can also find second hand ones on Gumtree and ebay to save money.
It seems a shame to not use all the colourful plastic shelves, tubes and penthouse but they really do more harm than good and are just throwaway things to sell the cage! Starting with an empty cage and the tubes blocked off with blockers is the best way - and keeping existing items and adding a few more (cardboard is your friend - you can make houses, floor tunnels etc).
Zooplus is probably the cheapest place and they give you a choice of couriers to use at Checkout.
Hamster Cages | Buy the ideal cage for your hamster at zooplus
I worried myself stupid over every little thing when we had our first hamster. But don't worry - you'll start to bond over time and things will get easier. I made some big mistakes at first. Moved him cold turkey from an awful little plastic cage into a bigger one and it really stressed him. I felt so guilty. And realised in that moment that he wasn't just an item to be moved but a little thing that need nurturing and was dependent on me to be more careful and considerate. And I think at that moment I fell head over heels in love with him! |
Yes, that's probably it, but today I cleaned his house too, which he did not seem to like. When I tried to move his house he jumped onto it and he was probably trying to stop me from moving it, but I'm glad I cleaned his house, because as soon as I moved the house I felt the smell of urine. I didn't deep clean the house, but I was digging around in the bedding as well to see if I notice any bugs ( I did not ) and he probably did not like it. He didn't attack me or bite me, but he was either curious or trying to stop me. I do speak to him a lot and I do it very calmly.
My cage is small. It doesn't even meet the minimum requirements, but it's the biggest one I saw at the store and I've been looking cages at my local pet shop and their cages are a lot smaller than my current one. My hamster does not chew on the bars yet and doesn't run around in circles, but he does other weird things, like knocking over the food dish. I can even hear him doing that because it takes some effort to knock it over.
I took all of the colourful stuff out and I bought a bigger wheel and a wooden house and I have given him unscented toilet paper, which I rubbed on myself first.
He's also rolling on his back a lot, but tonight he did something weird as I was looking at him. He squeezed himself between the house and the cage's wall and was lying there for good 15 minutes eyes opened. I even took a picture of him to ask if there's something wrong with him:
(Apologies for using an external site. I have no idea how to upload / insert images here properly)
I was trying to Google to figure out what's wrong with him and I read everything from such behaviour being a hamster behaviour to his dying or just hibernated, because he's too hot or cold / the room temperature has stayed the same ever since I got him and this is the first time ever I've seen him doing that. I didn't want to turn the lights on to check on his breathing, because I've read somewhere that turning the lights on in the middle of the night can confuse hamsters. I'd also like to point out that I've changed water today three times and he has food and even ate a cucumber today. When I got back to the living room (where my hamster is at) he was already eating and he's in his house now, but yeah I worried a lot, because to be honest with you, I don't know his past or even how old he is. There were way skinnier and way smaller dwarf hamsters at the store, but I picked him, because my gut feeling told me that we'd get along great and so far he hasn't attacked me or bitten me or hissed at me, because I've read many forum posts of hamsters biting their owners, but so far he hasn't bitten me. I do let him sniff me when he wants to, but I feel like after doing the full clean to his cage we are pretty much back to day 1 and I think I also stressed him out today with cleaning his house. He seemed to protect it.
Isn't it bad for hamsters to have multiple floor cage? I read somewhere that it is, since hamsters are almost blind. The good thing is that I found the cage in my country's store as well. I haven't given cheese to my hamster yet, but thanks for the tip. He absolutely loves cucumbers. I've also tried to offer him an apple, but every time I've offered it he has just sniffed it and not eaten it at all. I've also noticed that he's a 'picky eater' and doesn't eat everything.
I'll probably keep the bath, since I've been trying to find a bath for my hamster for awhile now and in pet shops there's no sand for hamsters. I saw sand for mice, rats, degus, but not hamsters. On Monday my playpen should arrive and I'll try to start the taming process. I hope he'll come out of the cage, because today he didn't no matter how hard I tried and what treats I tried. Probably remembers that coming out of the cage means full blown cleanup.
If I were to buy a new cage how should I move him? I think I would've moved him cold Turkey as well and currently I am probably over worrying about everything. Like him laying on his side, eyes fully open. I'll keep a very close eye on him and on his cage.
I want him to be happy. That is the most important thing to me and I know he's new and has been through a lot (mites in his cage etc) and today I cleaned his house and added more bedding. I hope he's fine and happy though.
Edit: I was told that my hamster might be 'shy' and not confident around me. Now that I think about it he has been more active when I'm in bed and sleep. One person had a hamster that was sleeping 24/7 as well but then after 4 months he started being very active around 9pm. I might worry too much and my hamster probably just needs time to get adjust to everything.