Advise on new hamster

[stellakts]

Hi All,

We got our first hamster 2 weeks ago. We originally kept her in a savic cambridge and after doing research we ordered a Barney cage for her and moved her into it on Saturday night. Previous to this it took her about 2 days to settle into her old cage then she could not wait to come out. Since we put her in the Barney she is mainly staying in her nest and only coming out for food and drink. Upon putting her into the Barney on Saturday she seemed excited and used her sandbath and wheel but since them I have not seen her use the wheel, just going into it and taking two steps literally then back into her nest.

When she does get out for food she is ok with me stroking her back and takes treats from my hands easily.

Is this normal behaviour after 3days of changing her to a cage 3x bigger?

Also we did keep some her old nest, food stash and substrate.

Thank you in advance!

[missyme]

hello

Don't worry too much, it can sometimes take hammies a while to get used to their new environment, especially if it is bigger. My rescue hammy has a 4 level imac hamster cage and it's huge, she never goes on the 4th level whatever I do!!, but she is happy so I don't try and force her.

You did all the right things by putting some of her old bedding in there, and its great she has a bigger cage.

Just continue to do what you are doing, giving her treats, talking to her and stroking her. Make sure the cage is in a quiet place, anyway from too much noise, this will help her too. Also try hiding some of her favorite treat around the cage, that may help her to venture out!

Hope that helps

[Pebbles82]

Hi. It takes them a while to get used to a new cage. Charlie was a nervous wreck for about 10 days. The only thing he liked was the new big wheel and seemed overwhelmed by the space. In fact even my partner was worried about him and suggested we put him back in his old rotostak, but we couldn't because he was getting stuck in the tubes! He would sit and shake and edge nervously if he did move. But on the 10th day he suddenly started exploring and having fun and then he loved it. Just give him a bit of time and space. Hide a few treats around the place that might distract him too. They need to feel safe (there might be something lurking in all that space!) and make their own new little patterns in there when they get the hang of where everything is and scent mark it. he should be fine in 10 days, but I know it's worrying - we worried every day! Partner even suggested putting a cloth over the cage like they do with budgies, because he seemed scared of being exposed. But we didn't in the end. Hopefully yours will adjust quicker because he's gone from cage to cage, rather than solid plastic to cage like ours did.

[stellakts]

she seems a lot better I stayed up tl 1am last night with tv and lights off and she came out yay! I've put some pillowcases on the top part of her cage and that seems to have encouraged her we are going to get her even more toys today and some more treats

[Nibbler]

Glad she seems better already. Moving into such s big open space can be daunting, as missyme and serendipity suggested. Until you get some new toys it could be worth putting some empty cardboard boxes and tubes around so there's plenty of hiding places if she comes out to explore.