Potty training in a Hamster Heaven

[gcwebbyuk]

Coco lives in a Hamster Heaven cage.

She hasnt used either of the small houses, however she used to use one in her Peggy Metro cage. She lives upstairs in the Penthouse (classy huh?).

The problem is she sleeps, stores her food and wees up there (she poos in her bedding too ).

She has the loo that came with the cage but she seems to use it as her chill-out zone and has a nap in there occasionally! Or she just plays in the litter.

I have tried mopping up her wee with a tissue, and then putting a bit of it in her loo, to try and get her to think of the loo as the loo - but it didnt work... I even tried picking up some of her droppings and putting them in the loo - that didn't work either!

Today I have bought a little dish and put chincilla sand in it to see if that gets her out of her loo and into the "sand pit" - fingers crossed this will work.

So how else can I get her to be a lady and go to the toilet in her loo?

I have seen some people remove the penthouse, but she likes it so much, it would be a shame.

Am I going to just have to clean her wee area every day - or is there a cure?

[Holly's Mum]

You could try taking the penthouse away just for a few days, see how she reacts and where she moves to after that. If she does choose another corner for her loo, then you could try carrying on putting bits of dirty bedding etc there, then see what happens when you put the penhouse back.

Don't give up though - I have just succeeded in getting Holly to use an old plastic box in one corner for a loo, and he is 9 months old!

[AliKati]

I had this problem too. Penthouse...not outhouse!

I took out the penthouse and eventually, he went back to using his potty in the corner of bottom level. Currently, his igloo is on the second shelf and he's still good about using his potty. I think he was just too lazy to move from the penthouse. Having said that, now that he's settled, I might try sticking the penthouse back on, and see what he does.

[Quedos]

I just clean Sammi's every other day. I have drilled holes in the Penthouse however to aid airflow. I don't think I could take away the penthouse as Sammi loves it and loves hiding in the tubes. to get away from the hoover!!

[StarlightSerenity]

Originally Posted by gcwebbyuk

Coco lives in a Hamster Heaven cage.

She hasnt used either of the small houses, however she used to use one in her Peggy Metro cage. She lives upstairs in the Penthouse (classy huh?).

The problem is she sleeps, stores her food and wees up there (she poos in her bedding too ).

She has the loo that came with the cage but she seems to use it as her chill-out zone and has a nap in there occasionally! Or she just plays in the litter.

I have tried mopping up her wee with a tissue, and then putting a bit of it in her loo, to try and get her to think of the loo as the loo - but it didnt work... I even tried picking up some of her droppings and putting them in the loo - that didn't work either!

Today I have bought a little dish and put chincilla sand in it to see if that gets her out of her loo and into the "sand pit" - fingers crossed this will work.

So how else can I get her to be a lady and go to the toilet in her loo?

I have seen some people remove the penthouse, but she likes it so much, it would be a shame.

Am I going to just have to clean her wee area every day - or is there a cure?

Until I took away the penthouse and the tubes Luna wouldnt use the toilet - as soon as I removed them she started using it and hasnt stopped since. Except for this little pile of poo she makes next to her bed (she chucks it out of her bed when she's sleeping...).

Other than removing the penthouse there isn't much you can do IMO.

[gcwebbyuk]

I removed the Penthouse, and left the tubing, but angled the section that connects to the penthouse down over the lower level (removed the long section) so she still has a chance to run in the tubes.

Since then, she seems to be using the loo!

I will put the penthouse back at some point, but not sure what will happen to her toilet duties...

[SnickersTheFirst]

Tbh, the penthouse really is best removed anyway. Even from them sleeping in there, condensation builds up and it can lead to respiratory issues.

I had it on for Snickers and she loved it but I had to remove it for her health.