Agitated Hamster

2dwarfs · 03-07-2016, 09:28 AM

Hello there, I'm new here and apologies for coming straight in with a question, but I'm concerned about one of our russian dwarf hamsters and this seemed like a great place to get some advice.

So we have two rd hamsters, brothers who are caged separately due to fighting after we brought them home. The more timid one of the two, Fudge, has been behaving strangely for a few days now and I could do with some reassurance.

The thing he's doing is going crazy biting the bars, banging on one of his ramps by lifting it up and dropping it, scrabbling at the floor and climbing up (and falling down) inside his cage. He seems absolutely desperate to get out, but if I do get him out he tries to tear the sofa apart - he's not at all interested in being cuddled or held (although to be honest he never was - the only person he really relaxes with is my husband (who has been away for 6 days and is due back tomorrow - maybe related?)). I have also tried putting him in his playbox, but he jumps at the walls and still seems agitated.

I am concerned that he may hurt himself with all the climbing and falling, and also that he just seems agitated and anxious, when obviously I want him to be happy! Whenever I open his cage he comes straight out, whereas in the past he was more timid, so I feel like he definitely wants out, but when he is out he still can't relax and I can't afford to let him tear my sofa to bits.

I should also say that we got the hamsters (our first) in mid December, and they were 7 weeks old then. Any help or advice would be much appreciated, thank you.

CMB · 03-07-2016, 01:24 PM

If you use exercise balls. He may burn off some excess energy in one exploring.

**Cinnamon Bear** · 03-07-2016, 01:32 PM

Bathtub is a good playpen I heard? I was going to say exercise balls too but maybe you might be able to bond with him using the bathtub as a play pen as well?

2dwarfs · 03-07-2016, 01:35 PM

Thanks for the replies. We do have an exercise ball which he goes in, but I will try to use it a bit more than before. Will try the bathtub too, which we did when we first got them. Thank you for taking the time to reply

cypher · 03-07-2016, 10:14 PM

Please don't use an exercise ball for a dwarf ham, it's far too dangerous!
The play bin may be too small, if they feel trapped in a small bin they can get quite frightened, wire playpens work well for dwarf hams as they can't climb out but you do need to put lots of toys in there to give them plenty to explore, it helps if things have a familiar scent too so maybe take some toys from the cage.

Have you been doing much cage cleaning? If you over clean, that is do more than daily spot cleaning & the very occasional partial clean they can get very, very stressed.
How big is his cage? Does he have plenty to do in there with lots of nice hideouts & deep substrate to dig in?
What size wheel does he have & does it work OK?

2dwarfs · 03-08-2016, 07:42 AM

Firstly thank you so much for the reply Cypher.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Please don't use an exercise ball for a dwarf ham, it's far too dangerous!

Oh no, really? Why is that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

The play bin may be too small, if they feel trapped in a small bin they can get quite frightened, wire playpens work well for dwarf hams as they can't climb out but you do need to put lots of toys in there to give them plenty to explore, it helps if things have a familiar scent too so maybe take some toys from the cage.

We did have a very big one but it took up too much space in our small flat, but we replaced it with a box which is also pretty big (to my mind) for a dwarf. But good advice about putting some toys from his own cage in there, thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Have you been doing much cage cleaning? If you over clean, that is do more than daily spot cleaning & the very occasional partial clean they can get very, very stressed.
How big is his cage? Does he have plenty to do in there with lots of nice hideouts & deep substrate to dig in?
What size wheel does he have & does it work OK?

I've tried not to overdo it with the cleaning with this in mind, and have only done spot cleaning this week, nothing extensive at all. The cage is a Rosewood Pico Extra Large, which he has to himself, which has a little "penthouse" cubby hole, and I've included a wicker wigwam, some card tubes, a little sort of fabric sleeping bag and a card box to hide in as well. PLENTY of wood shavings to dig in as I bought an enormous bale when we got them! The wheel is about 15cm across - do you think it could be too small? He doesn't often go in it recently but yes, it does work.

cypher · 03-08-2016, 08:14 AM

Dwarf hams can easily injure their feet or legs in balls, also they're more easily hurt if they bump into things than a syrian might be.
When they run in the ball there's no sure way of knowing if it's because they enjoy it or if they're trying to find a way out, often it's the latter.

I know playpens can take up a lot of room, it's hard to get around my living room without falling over one

Play bins can work well for some hams but I've always found mine just tend to run around the edges looking for a way out & do better in a play pen, if you can make the bin more familiar with toys & even some substrate from the cage he might do better though.

Your cage if quite small & very tall so not ideal.
They do better with a larger cage with most if not all of the space on one level, with a cage that tall it's easy for them to fall & injure themselves either from a level or from bar climbing.
With a cage that small there really isn't much space for them to do the things that come naturally to them like digging or burrowing & nest building.

You are doing the right thing with keeping the cage cleaning to a minimum, if you just spot clean as needed you never really need do a full clean (never use any scented cleaning products btw) just a partial clean maybe once a month, always leaving some substrate, nest material & food hoard.

Your wheel probably is too small, it may be ok for a very young one but most dwarfs need a 20cm wheel to run comfortably with a straight back.

His behaviour is most likely down to having an unsuitable cage tbh.
There are quite a few good cages around if you do think about changing it.
Zooplus is always a good place to look at cages, something like the Alaska, or the Hamster Heaven (without the tubes & penthouse bit which aren't needed) both make good cages or some people prefer to use tanks.

Pebbles82 · 03-08-2016, 08:38 AM

I agree with Cypher and think the cage is the problem unfortunately. At 50cm wide it's half the size of mine, which is a 100cm cage and one that many owners use for a single dwarf hamster. The RSPCA minimum guideline is approximately 70cm by 40cm of continuous floorspace for one dwarf hamster. but that really is a minimum and 80 to 100cm is much better.

You are not alone! We also bought a cage that was far too small to start with and had behavioural problems with our hamster. I upgraded him to an 80cm cage and wish I had got a 100cm cage to start with as I've just upgraded him again.

The cages Cypher mentions are good, and the Duna tanks are also popular with dwarf hamster owners - they're a safe enclosure that isn't too high. Glass tanks are popular too.

It's a total pain that people are sold cages that aren't big enough and are also too tall (hamsters can have serious injuries falling in a tall cage)

You could also make a bin cage if you're diy minded. Ikea sell a Samla bin for £10 but it's only just the minimum floor space and you'd need mesh and probably a hot knife to put ventilation in. One of the cheapest diy options, if you have the space, is a Detolf Hack - and Ikea cabinet turned on its side with the door left off. It makes an amazing tank if you have the space - costs £40 but really needs something to stand on, which could add another £10 (for a couple of Lack coffee tables eg), plus a lid making from wood and mesh, which in my mind is easier than making a bin cage! There are lots of tutorials for making the lid and it's not as bad as it sounds.

Here are some examples of hamster detolf habitats. One little Robo could happily run the length and back dozens of times

It can also be divided with a piece of wood as a partition, and make two 80cm habitats (in case one of your other hamsters needs rehousing too

).

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ha...peACgQ_AUIBigB

If you have a look on Zooplus there are some good priced hamster cages on there - not all are big enough but quite a few are - eg the Alexander, Barney and Alaska, the Kerry Terrarium.

I did a video of my favourite ten hamster cages recently, all of which meet the minimum required size if that helps - with pros cons and dimensions - I've added it below.

It's amazing how much the hamster's environment can affect their behaviour. Our hamster was aggressive and depressed in his 3 tier rotostak thing, and also biting at the bars. Once in his lovely new Savic cage he was visibly happy and perky and having a grand old time. Not for the first 10 days - he was nervous and freaked out until he settled in and it felt more familiar, but after that, he had little hidey places all over, liked to lie on the substrate and chill, had space for a large nesting box/house and lots of toys. But I find 100cm floor space just right for a hamster (or more!).

Your current cage could be a good play cage, or somewhere to put your hammy while you are cleaning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSKzn0g3sVk

I've also added Erin's Hamsters cage cleaning tips video which has some really good advice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

And this is the Zooplus link - the Barney cage is reduced at the moment and on at £44.99 which is a good price for a large cage and it comes with a good house as well. It's quite tall, but not quite as tall as your current cage, and has a good deep base that can be filled with substrate which can help lower the height. The deeper the substrate, the more your hammy has the chance of digging tunnels - which is a natural behaviour for them. With a tank you can have 20 or 30cm deep!

Hamster Cages | great selection at zooplus

2dwarfs · 03-08-2016, 09:47 AM

Wow! So much info here from you two, thank you so much. I'm going to have to research all this to figure out what we can afford. I hadn't realised the floor space and the burrowing capacity were quite so critical.
I hadn't heard of Zooplus before either, and am so pleased to have been shown it. Great that the Barney cage is on offer, that might seal the deal for me.

Thank you again. (Rushing off to make the kids' dinner now!)

Pebbles82 · 03-08-2016, 02:05 PM

I hadn't heard of Zooplus till I came on here either! It's a good buy at that price

I love my Barney cage! I nearly choked buying a second cage after spending £40 on a useless 3 tier rotostak unit - I realised afterwards it was almost as bad as a tupperware box for ventilation! But it was worth it and a 100cm cage with 7mm bar spacing is pretty futureproof for any hamser.