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Quedos
06-17-2011, 03:34 AM
I've had a quick search but just a wee bit concerned. Squeak has been with me for a week and in her new cage for that. To start hse was a wee bit timid but curious. Happy to come out and be handled.
Last night I noticed she's moved his house toe the corner of the cage under the shelf and burying under the shavings.
If she's being picked up ( walking on my hand) she's also started to biting me (thankfully it ain't sore) but totally unsure why as nothing has really changed in the week.

She's been burying her self in the shaving s generally kicking/piling the shavings of the cage which I expected coming from Rota***
but this change has me a little worried

anyone got any ideas/advice

TIA

racinghamster
06-17-2011, 04:07 AM
Hi Abby. Prinny loves doing this tunneling aswell and I just leave her to it! She actually formed a large pile of shavings half way up her wheel the other night! :mad: Since she`s been here, I have just let her come to me, rather than me picking her up. I like to give them the time that they need to settle and get used to me and their new cage/surroundings. Not knowing how stressed they can be by being picked up or placed in a ball, I prefer not to approach these methods.

The biting could be anxiety or fear, so it might be worth just taking off the lid of her cage and sitting talking to her and allowing her to sniff your hand, or place a sunflower seed on your hand and sit still. This is a better way to approach them I feel. Prinny has sniffed my hand more than a few times and never attempted to nip at all. I tend to take the hands-off approach with newbies and don`t attempt to handle them unless it`s within their cage and low down and on their terms.

Who knows what life they had before we took them on? Maybe they were kids pets who were not handled too much, or they were used to being played with? But because they have suddenly left that home and are now in a different envionment, it`s understandable that they might act strange or start to nip if they are unsure. :)

I would just sit with Squeak and talk to her while she`s in her cage and allow her some time to get used to you. This is what I`m doing with Prinny and she`s a little darling. x

Small&Sweet<3
06-17-2011, 08:27 AM
Hi Abby. Prinny loves doing this tunneling aswell and I just leave her to it! She actually formed a large pile of shavings half way up her wheel the other night! :mad: Since she`s been here, I have just let her come to me, rather than me picking her up. I like to give them the time that they need to settle and get used to me and their new cage/surroundings. Not knowing how stressed they can be by being picked up or placed in a ball, I prefer not to approach these methods.

The biting could be anxiety or fear, so it might be worth just taking off the lid of her cage and sitting talking to her and allowing her to sniff your hand, or place a sunflower seed on your hand and sit still. This is a better way to approach them I feel. Prinny has sniffed my hand more than a few times and never attempted to nip at all. I tend to take the hands-off approach with newbies and don`t attempt to handle them unless it`s within their cage and low down and on their terms.

Who knows what life they had before we took them on? Maybe they were kids pets who were not handled too much, or they were used to being played with? But because they have suddenly left that home and are now in a different envionment, it`s understandable that they might act strange or start to nip if they are unsure. :)

I would just sit with Squeak and talk to her while she`s in her cage and allow her some time to get used to you. This is what I`m doing with Prinny and she`s a little darling. x

I completely agree with this, hamsters are tiny and we are like giants to them. When hamsters were in the wild they were hunted and therefore it is natural for them to feel like that. This is why going in the cage and picking them up at first is very daunting to a hamster as they may think you are like a bird sweeping down and grabbing them. As racinghamster says let them come to you and let them know you are there.

Quedos
06-20-2011, 01:53 AM
I'm starting to despair with Squeak. She's not using her wheel. and refusing to come out. I'm not forcing her to come up but I've not seen her for a few days. the food is going down in her bowl though discovered last night the water bottle wasn't working fantastically.
The last time I took the top off the cage and let her run about happy to jump down on to my legs and walk over my hands and then while on the floor walked into the open ball ( sitting there at back of cage) and had a run about iun that but not seen her since friday! I can hear her scratching about and the shavings are all over th place so i know she still alive but should I try and disturb her just to do a quick check on her

racinghamster
06-20-2011, 03:23 AM
If your water bottle was dodgy Abby, I would use two bottles just incase. This weather can make bottles drip and expand, so tap the ball-baring on the end a few times a day to check that it`s working well. :)

I`m finding that Prinny sleeps a lot, but she does come out for a wee drink, a quick check around her tank and then goes back to her tea box! I tend not to interupt hamsters during the day and wait until they are actually awake around 9:00/10:00pm ish....

This is when I take the tank lid off and allow her to interact if she wants to. I don`t let her use a ball or get near the floor though as it could stress such a small hamster if it`s used to living in a small cage!

Is Squeak female or male? I`m presuming female? :mad: Her/his behaviour sound fine. Maybe it`s just her adjusting to her new home Abby having been in different circumstances before they came to us? If she is otherwise active, eating and drinking, I would`nt be too concerned. What wheel do you have? I recommend a regular silent spinner wheel (6.5" inches across the middle) and there are a few on ebay (Hamster section) right now. ;)

Katarina
06-20-2011, 03:24 AM
It could be just a new-by behavior as other people said, but I've said this in your other thread, and I'm going to repeat this again - I think she might be pregnant or already had her pups. It sounds like a pregnancy issues to me. (I've bought a preggo syrian without knowing it and everyone kept telling me that she is just nervous etc when she started hiding a lot and biting - I've discovered babies 7 days after buying her) Can you see into her bed/nest? they often scratch in the nest when pups are there - they are moving them around and cleaning them, and spend loads of time with them in the nest, which means you don't see them much. they also dig a lot a day or so before delivery, too.

racinghamster
06-20-2011, 03:31 AM
Your going to give Abby a heart attack! :mad: If Squeak is a female, I`m pretty sure she was living with my female Prinny before they were split up for arguing, so I doubt they were in with any male chinese as they came from a private home situation where the teenager got bored with them. Unless they had more than one chinese....:???:

Katarina
06-22-2011, 12:42 PM
Your going to give Abby a heart attack! :mad: If Squeak is a female, I`m pretty sure she was living with my female Prinny before they were split up for arguing, so I doubt they were in with any male chinese as they came from a private home situation where the teenager got bored with them. Unless they had more than one chinese....:???:

LOL, I hope you are right about this one!

Sorry for scaring you like this, I just wanted to make sure that the signs are there ;) Please keep us updated on her settling in and all!

I hope she is getting better for you and that you are making friends!