[Pebbles82]

Hello. What a grand age he is! When you say he's climbing on the lid - how does he get up there?!

Presumably he is climbing on something to get to the top and then what? He won't be able to get out of the lid - is he monkey barring?

Have there been any changes recently in his environment? A full cage clean or change of house or something, or the cage moved to a different room or something else different in the room? These are all things that can make them feel like trying to escape and feel unsettled.

It sounds like he is still fairly active at least. But it's risky as he could fall and hurt himself.

Does he seem ok in himself generally? He is very old for a hamster. Sometimes when they know they are nearing their time they can abandon their nest and want to go somewhere else in the cage - as if preparing to die. But that's usually just in the cage, not trying to get out.

Also sometimes they can suddenly have a really extra active time just before they start fading - as if clinging onto life.

But I think it's sounding more like there has been some kind of change recently. How often does he have out of cage time usually? And is it free roaming or just a bit of time on the sofa with you eg.

Other things - new pet? (Smell of cat or dog). Eating in the living room? (food smells).

It can help to work out the cause to get things right, but if not possible then suggest adding some extra enrichment - ie some new ground level things he can enjoy and maybe a treat parcel or hiding treats in different parts of the cage - something to make life more interesting.

When one of our Syrians was this age, He had a cage with a shelf and I removed all the levels but added more at floor level so he could still enjoy things and be active. Although with a detolf I guess more things are at floor level anyway.

So I added the extra tunnel and a corner hide thing and some wood fruity chews and gave him an egg cup with a bit of baby food in each day (as well as his normal mix).

Actually - are you sure he can eat ok? Because another thing the behaviour can be is trying to get your attention to tell you something is wrong. eg water bottle not working properly, wheel stuck - or maybe a broken tooth? So maybe check his teeth. By this age they often can't manage hard food any more - and need softened hamster mix plus baby food (but still put the hard food out as they like to pouch and hoard it).

If still no reason found then it may be just he knows he's getting old and won't be around forever and has an urge for more freedom. I found our elderly syrians seemed to love being out more even when starting to fail a bit and it was easier to let them free roam a bit (as they were a bit slower!). But still check the room is hamster safe - might mean blocking off some areas).