I'm worried - please help!
My syrian, Jenga, has changed her behaviour a bit. For me things have been really rough for the past year almost and, unfortunately, Jenga's suffered as a result. I'm going to start from the beginning and see how she's changed.
From August to October last year she wasn't with me as I had to go abroad. I got her back in October and moved to Manchester. So far so good and she's normal. Had to move back from Manchester to London in December. I didn't realise I was going to move back in December so when I initially came down I only had her in her travel cage which she, unfortunately, had to stay in for about three weeks. I think she's picked up her chewing habit from here. I'm back where I used to live and before moving to Manchester I had kept her in my room where I spent most of my time (outside of uni, work etc). In Manchester I kept her in the living room of my flat which I was also around in a lot. Since I've come back I've had to move her into my bathroom. Initially she was on the floor but I've put her in a better place in the bathroom now. My bathroom's big and airy. It's also kept warm in the winter and cool in the summers. Before I take a long shower/bath I take her cage and put it in my room to avoid damp.
Like I said I've been going through a really rough time lately and haven't been playing with Jenga as much as I normally do. I feel terrible for it but what's done is done. I normally take her out for a run around every day for an hour. From December to February/March I started taking her out two to three times a week instead and just generally spent a lot less time with her. I've gone back to my normal routine with her since though. She's still superbly affectionate towards me. She'll get in my hand when I offer it to her and she plays with me. That hasn't, thankfully, changed. I like to fondly annoy her when I play with her and she doesn't respond angrily but always affectionately as she has always done. She's never bitten me or anyone else for that matter. However she seems totally different when she's in her cage. All she does is chew now which she didn't really before. She used to run in her wheel, play on her toys, chew her toys but now I feel as if she's just constantly on the bars chewing. She used to play the monkey bars before and I don't even see her do that anymore. I get her to run around the bathroom for about half an hour to an hour almost every day but for the past week I've noticed she squeaks every now and then. I've heard these squeaks before but I know they're not her happy, content noises (which are a lot quieter) and I don't think they're her scared noises. I noticed it last Wednesday and today in particular. When I go to see if she's okay she seems completely normal. She's happy to see me and isn't agitated or frightened or hurt. This sounds like I leave her on her own during her out of cage time but I don't. I do go in to see how she's doing after a few minutes. Pick her up, hold her etc etc. The bathroom is totally hamster-proof for these sessions. Another thing I've noticed is that she sleeps a lot more. She used to be very active at night but now I'm not so sure anymore.
So it's the constant chewing and lack of interest in anything else in her cage, the squeaks and sleeping longer that I'm worried about. Do you think she's missing me? She's used to being either in my room or my sitting room and is used to seeing me around her. I've bought her some new toys and a new wheel which will hopefully stimulate her. I will move her cage into my bedroom for a few nights just to observe what she does.
Sorry for the long essay! I think those squeaks have really put me off even though she looks and acts fine. Any ideas or suggestions? Or will I just have to adapt?
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