Abby's Behaviour

[joves911]

Hey guys, I just have a few questions about my Syrian, Abby.

She's been with me for almost two months now and she's gone from being very curious and energetic to being a lot more reserved and lazy. She never goes on her wheel anymore (I have a 12" silent spinner) and I even put in her smaller old one to give her some variation but no luck. She used to run all the time but now she just stays in her nest all day and night. I know this because I've been waking up in the middle of the night without making any noise just to check on her and there's no activity whatsoever. Lately I've been going to bed around 1-2am and she's usually still in bed. Do you think she might be ill? How can I sort out her sleeping pattern? I would love to be able to play with her and with that I need her to be awake earlier in the evening not in the early hours of the morning. And even then she doesn't come out without being coaxed.

Her staying in her nest all the time means she's been urinating in there too and she stinks so much of pee when I took her out last night. Also her fur colour has changed from being pure white to being vaguely spotty cream which I think might just be dirty. I put a sand bath in there for her to use but she just digs in it. I don't think it helps her get clean. I don't know how to clean her as I still haven't tamed her. I've just recently cleaned out her whole cage but there's already a very strong smell of urine coming from her nest. Is there a way to fix this? She has a wooden house that came with my Alexander cage that she uses as a nest and I heard it doesn't go well being peed on. Would I need to change that to a plastic one too?

Also, about taming, do you guys have any tips? I've watched and read about pretty much all the tutorials out there but I'm getting nowhere. She's still so scared of me.

Thanks!

[SquishyHelium]

Looks like you've got a great cage there. There's a lot of things you've mentioned that I can't comment on, as I haven't had to deal with them before.
However, The things I would suggest maybe are getting some other toys and swapping them
In and out of the cage frequently so there's always something new for her to investigate when she's out.. On some toys you could even rub a small piece of veggie on there so it smells even more appealing.
As for weeing in the nest, it is hard to discourage this when its started. I would suggest removing all soiled bedding and placing it where you want her to wee instead- then wash sleeping house out very thoroughly with hot soapy water.
As for the wheel use- are you certain she hasn't weed in the wheel as well? I have had a hamster do this before and he was less keen on running on it when it smelled. Perhaps wash this thoroughly also if you find it's happening. That's all I can suggest- perhaps others will have some more ideas...

[SquishyHelium]

Oh sorry I missed the fact it's a wooden house, it's very hard to get
Smells out of wood, plastic is a lot easier for cleaning most definitely.

[joves911]

Thanks for the reply! I just checked the wheel and it has indeed been peed on. It was all orangey-brown though I don't know if that's normal? Her pee has been more orange lately as well and it seems concentrated.

[SquishyHelium]

That's most likely a fairly normal colour, it's quite dark and concentrated but even more so when it dries. Just check she's drinking and that the water bottle is working ok, you won't see a massive difference in the level as they don't drink very much- maybe 20-30ml a day.
If the smell is too much you could try beaphar cage fresh granules - which neutralise the odours from urine. You may have to wash the wheel quite a few times to fully stop the behaviour. I've found that disinfecting it just doesn't get the smell out enough for then to stop thinking the wheel is the loo.

[cypher]

I have a chinese who pees in her house & haven't been able to stop her, she has a wooden house too but I platikoted it so it's easy to clean, you can never really get pee out of untreated wood unfortunately. I just take out the wet substrate/nesting material each day & replace it.
You could certainly try putting some of the soiled substrate in a different place & see if she'll pee there, you've got a much better chance of success with a syrian I'd think!
Mine also pees in her wheel, I find it you clean it too much they just do it more so I give it a good wipe with a damp paper towel each day then clean with safe4 disinfectant which has hardly any smell about once a week.
I don't know about where you are but the nights have been really cold again here lately & I've noticed mine staying in their beds a bit more than normal so that could partly explain Abbey's behaviour.
Taming can take a lot longer with some hams than others so if you've been through all the tips you're probably doing the right things so don't give up just yet! Sometimes you have to take a step back but keeping at it slowly & consistently will work in the end.
Hope that helps a bit.

ETA If you really want to have a go at getting the urine odour out of the wooden house you could try this Safe4 Odour Killer - Ready To Use - £3.95 : ratRations.com (http://www.ratrations.com/safe4-odour-killer-ready-to-use-p-1090.html) I haven't tried it myself but have been impressed by the other safe4 products I have used.
I tried those cage granules when I got my first hamster, not sure if they were the same ones but they smelt so strong & gave me an asthma attack so I didn't want to put them anywhere near a hamster!

[Thin Lizzy]

The colder weather has mine in their beds more, I've given a load more bedding and left outside of their sleeping areas so they can add to it and it's nice seeing they're warm and comfy.
Maybe too comfy lol!
They still come out but for shorter periods.
As for the peeing on the wheel, the more you wash it, the more she'll pee on it and like the others have said,
try placing the soiled substrate in a corner.

[joves911]

I don't think it's the cold. I've been at home the last week and I've always had the heating on so she's definitely not cold. Since last night, she hasn't come out. Her food is untouched and the pieces of tissue I put in are still there. Would there be a way to stop her from peeing in the wheel?

[Thin Lizzy]

You need to check on her if her food is untouched.

[cypher]

She may be eating from a stash so you could check to see how much food she has hidden away but I'd also get her out for a full health check if you can just to make sure she isn't sick.
It can be really hard to stop them from peeing in the wheel & most will do it some of the time if not all the time, as I said before don't overclean it as that generally makes it worse, other than trying to encourage her to use a litter tray there isn't much you can do, hams will be hams in that respect!

[joves911]

Sorry for the late reply. I just cleaned out her nest and I checked on her. Her bottom looked soiled.. I think she might have wet tail?

[Thin Lizzy]

Can you post a pic so that others can determine whether it's wet tail or not?

[joves911]

It doesn't matter anymore. I took her to the vet and it turned out she had a tumour the size of a grape in her belly. I made the hard decision to have her put to sleep. It was most difficult thing I've ever done. At least now she doesn't have to suffer anymore.

[cypher]

I'm so sorry to hear that, I know how hard it is to have to make that decision so I really feel for you.

[Piebald]

Sorry for your loss. You are a good Hammie parent. RIP little Abby. :(

[Thin Lizzy]

Such sad news about Abby, you made the right decision. It's such a hard decision to make, but you done it out of love and she's now at peace.
My heart goes out to you xx
RIP Abby over the rainbow xx

[joves911]

Thank you for your kind words. I've only had her close to two months but she will be terribly missed.

[Hams4me]

I'm so sorry to read about Abby, it's never an easy decision to make xx