New Syrian hamster angry I removed her penthouse!

willy_wonka · 02-18-2016, 01:26 PM

Hi I am a new hamster owner and have just picked up my Syrian baby girl Pippa last Saturday. She has the hamster heaven cage and has made a nest in penthouse on the first day. However, she has also been peeing/pooping in it and has since chewed a crack in the penthouse. I was worried about her sleeping in her own urine and the condensation in the penthouse, and that she could chew through it and escape, and so I decided to remove the penthouse and the tunnel last night. Pippa has been angry/stressed since then and has been chewing her cage frantically. I have searched the forums and noticed that other hamsters often react the same way but tend to calm down in a few hours. It has almost been a day now but she still seems angry, and she also woke up a lot earlier today then previous nights. It breaks my heart to see her like this. Is this something I should be worried about and is there anything I can do to help soothe her, apart from putting back the penthouse and tunnel?

I left all her bedding and hoarded food on the cage floor last night, and she has collected all the food but not all the bedding. She seem to have made a new nest in one of the igloo houses. There are plenty of wood chews in her cage already. Pippa has not been handled yet, apart from hand feeding, and she is still willing to take food off my palm. I have just put a section of the tunnel back in her cage on her floor but it doesn't seem to help. She goes in and out of the tunnel occasionally but still chews the bars frantically and occasionally makes hissing and chattering noises

She has been in her hamster ball a few times but not sure if I should try that tonight or just leave her alone.

I appreciate any advice from more experienced owners! Thank you!

**Cinnamon Bear** · 02-18-2016, 03:28 PM

Sounds like she's trying to make a home for herself in her new surroundings & that got disrupted so she will adjust but I'd give her more time to make the cage her territory so she will feel more secure, hope that helps?

It's been not quite a week so I'd leave her alone for a few more days, if she will take treats from you maybe continue that until she calms down. She just had her territory taken away & she's mad, it will pass though.

willy_wonka · 02-18-2016, 03:58 PM

Thank you will try that and just keep an eye on her. She's chewing right now and wouldn't take any cardboard I try to pass through. Hopefully will calm down soon! Would hate to see her hurt herself from the climbing and chewing!

Pebbles82 · 02-18-2016, 04:41 PM

Do you mean she is chewing the bars? If so, she is probably stressed at the change in a new environment and just wanting to escape basically. Ours was a bit like this the first few weeks (for a different reason - his cage was too small) and I used to let him out in his ball every evening and he settled down when he went back in again.

I think it's a good idea to remove the Penthouse and block the tubes off. The cage is much better without it for the reasons you've mentioned. They can block up tubes as well or nest in them - did you take the tubes out too?

Apart from letting her out in a ball (she'll probably jump into it if you open the cage and hold it in the right place), maybe leave her alone for a few days now, other than to put food and water out. It's usually recommended not to do any cleaning for the first two weeks with a new hamster to let them settle in, but the odd bit of spot cleaning would be ok if really necessary (ie take a handful or two of wee'd on substrate and replace it with another couple of handfuls and mix it in so it still smells familiar. They scent mark everywhere at first to help them find their way around the cage.

I'm sure she'll be fine when she's settled in a bit. To distract her from the disruption you could scatter some hamster food around on the substrate, give her a couple of chews and hide a couple of treats. That'll keep her busy finding things and foraging.

I can recommend using a potty litter tray - helps keep the substrate dry and less cleaning needed (cleaning stresses them and best not to clean everything at the same time). I think the hamster heaven comes with a potty litter tray doesn't it? Put it in the corner or area she has chosen as a pee corner and she should just start using it. Ours started using his straight away and doesn't pee anywhere else which is nice of him! I clean out and refill the potty every 4 or 5 days and occasional spot clean and only need to do a full clean about every 3 months - and even then just do a partial clean and leave half the substrate (the bottom half).

If she is really stressed and rushing around climbing and chewing, then sometimes turning the lights out and leaving the room helps I found - depends which room she's in as to how easy that is!

**Cinnamon Bear** · 02-18-2016, 04:43 PM

I like bin cages & tanks, all 4 of my dwarves don't have bars for that very reason. You could always put her in a bin cage?

Pebbles82 · 02-18-2016, 04:46 PM

It sounds like it's just a temporary thing due to the change in the cage I think

willy_wonka · 02-18-2016, 05:02 PM

Thank you! Will wait and see how she gets on. I have removed the tubes and blocked the openings so she's still quite confused and tries to poke her nose through it. I have filled up the litter tray with chinchilla sand and she seems to use it as a sandbath at the moment rolling around and digging in it. Will try moving some soiled substrate into it and see if she learns to use it as a potty.

CMB · 02-19-2016, 01:33 AM

Does she have a house/box for a nest. She may be happier to nest inside where she feels less exposed.

Jeir · 02-19-2016, 05:10 AM

I removed the penthouse as well due to my hamster using it as both a nest and a toilet, the little butt. It also tends to get very damp in there from condensation in the summer. But, without it, I felt the cage was too small if I had to put a house inside. =/

If you can spare the £20-ish, grab a Savic Spelos from P@H. It's big enough to hold a wooden house (like this one) and a potty, although my furball is happy enough with a huge pile of tissue instead of a house. You can donate the extra stuff they give back to them as you wont need anything but the cage itself and perhaps the connectors and caps.

Here's how mine looks. I used two of the elbow connectors from the HH to make it easier for him to get in/out, and the sandpit/toilet is a ceramic baking tray from Poundland. For those worried about the blankets, he doesn't chew cloth, and those have been there for more than a year. I make a couple of folds in it so it doesn't lay against the bars on the front-side to ensure he gets enough air.

Pebbles82 · 02-19-2016, 11:32 AM

I think a house is maybe something to think about in time, but the priority is her settling in now if you got her recently. Our hamster also opted for one of those Savic pod houses for his nest (like yours). He loved it but it wasn't quite big enough for him lol! He's a big Syrian and he stuffed it full of food and bedding and the top kept popping off and falling off the shelf. Eventually I got him a good sized wood house, but he still loves the little Savic pod house, it's his favourite toy and also goes in his pet carrier.

I should just let her get a routine and get used to the cage for a couple of weeks. As for the litter tray, our hamsters also used his as an ensuite bathroom

He would pee in the back corner then sit in the front and have a wash and dig a bit. Putting a bit of wee'd on substrate near the back part of it is a good idea

But the potty tray has to move to the wee corner - the hamster won't move his wee corner to where you put the potty lol.

You can get a fair house in the hamster heaven if you remove one of the shelves - and a flat roofed one will provide a shelf as well. In time - for now, just let her settle in x