Hamster Central - View Single Post - 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

Pebbles82 · 03-12-2022, 04:43 PM

That sounds typical hamster - not interested in anything but food

I think they vary in personality but most of them do like everything to stay the same and don't like things being moved around. It's like it's their world - and everything needs to feels secure and stable. It must be like there's been an earthquake to wake up and find everything has moved! also they scent mark things to claim their territory and find their usual "routes" round the cage (with not seeing well).

I find they can enjoy a new item being added but hate anything being moved or taken away. What really stresses them usually is cage cleans, so it's usually suggested to only do partial cleans - not everything at once. Eg not replacing all the substrate in one go and doing any other items another week and spot cleaning mostly.

Sticky eyes are very common as they get older yes, and if it's just that it's sticky then no he doesn't need to go to the vet. If it's cleared next day it's ok but after two or three days it's more comfortable for them if you can free it up. So just gently dabbing it with a bit of saline to help unsticky it is the thing to do. You just put a teaspoon of salt in a pint of boiled water, mix it in well and let it go cold - or very nearly cold. I use the corner of a soft cloth - not really wet or he;ll get soaked. Sort of squeeze it out so it's just damp and dab it and wet it a bit more and so on. Some people use q tip cotton buds (but be careful bits of cotton don't come off and get in his eye,

It takes a bit of patience as it needs to be done a bit at a time. But they are usually much happier when it's done.

Assume the dogs aren't in the room when he's out! The scent of other animals and the noise of barking nearby can stress them. And maybe he is just wanting a bit of attention.

03-12-2022, 04:43 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure That sounds typical hamster - not interested in anything but food I think they vary in personality but most of them do like everything to stay the same and don't like things being moved around. It's like it's their world - and everything needs to feels secure and stable. It must be like there's been an earthquake to wake up and find everything has moved! also they scent mark things to claim their territory and find their usual "routes" round the cage (with not seeing well). I find they can enjoy a new item being added but hate anything being moved or taken away. What really stresses them usually is cage cleans, so it's usually suggested to only do partial cleans - not everything at once. Eg not replacing all the substrate in one go and doing any other items another week and spot cleaning mostly. Sticky eyes are very common as they get older yes, and if it's just that it's sticky then no he doesn't need to go to the vet. If it's cleared next day it's ok but after two or three days it's more comfortable for them if you can free it up. So just gently dabbing it with a bit of saline to help unsticky it is the thing to do. You just put a teaspoon of salt in a pint of boiled water, mix it in well and let it go cold - or very nearly cold. I use the corner of a soft cloth - not really wet or he;ll get soaked. Sort of squeeze it out so it's just damp and dab it and wet it a bit more and so on. Some people use q tip cotton buds (but be careful bits of cotton don't come off and get in his eye, It takes a bit of patience as it needs to be done a bit at a time. But they are usually much happier when it's done. Assume the dogs aren't in the room when he's out! The scent of other animals and the noise of barking nearby can stress them. And maybe he is just wanting a bit of attention.