I'm concerned

pinkneon · 03-28-2016, 10:29 PM

I've been watching Sweep playing in his cage, but for the past half hour or so he has been trying to climb the cage, which he couldn't do because it's plastic. He has also discovered the bars at thd top and has been monkey barring along them! I opened the cage to put out some food for him and he tried to escape!! This is all new behavior and I'm worried. I'm too scared to go to sleep now in case he somehow finds a way to escape. He's never done this before, but from just watching him I can see he is very determined to get out! I really don't know what to do now. He had chosen to sleep in his bigger bed, which is big enough to use as a platform too as I ordered it too big lol. I'm wondering if I should take that out and give him back the smaller bed so he can't reach the top of his cage? Now he's discovered the bars at the top he is trying to chew on them too. He keeps digging obsessively as though he thinks if he digs enough then he will find a way out. I'm wondering if I should get him a different cage, or even a sligtly bigger one? I could probably fit the Alexander cage or similar on the table, but that would be the max I think. Even right now as I type this he seems to be trying to get out!! I don't know why he is doing this as he has never done this before!

Nancy's Hamsters · 03-28-2016, 10:55 PM

He could be as they call it in Bambi Twitterpated. IOW he is in the mood for reproducing. His natural instincts will tell him to go seek a mate this time of year. Do you have any meshing about that you could attach to the bar top? Or a big wide thick book which would just cover the bars above the big bed for the night making it very hard for him to chew or monkey bar on the top due to the fact he wouldn't be able to grab on to the bar.

If he prefers the big bed over the past smaller one taking the big one away may upset him more.

pinkneon · 03-28-2016, 11:12 PM

He has aso been running around frantically which is unlike him!

Nancy's Hamsters · 03-28-2016, 11:22 PM

Just another check mark for him wanting to seek a mate

Your baby Boy is becoming a man ham

His hormones are in over drive. The mating drive is very strong in Hamsters and if in the wild the male will travels miles and miles locating females to mate with all night long.

souffle · 03-28-2016, 11:58 PM

What we do is to place a large tile or a book over the area where the house roof makes a platform which should prevent him at least hooking on to the bars to get a hold to pull up there. We don't tend to use high enough items so ours can climb on them and reach the bars so I would consider removing that as they can be pesistant once they know they can get up there to climb on the roof and theycan drop off and hurt themselves!

Pebbles82 · 03-29-2016, 01:19 AM

Also maybe not change anything in his layout just now. He might be a bit stressed if something has changed. I'm sure it will settle down. It won't be the cage. Charlie was like that after we left him somewhere else on holiday. Apparently he started like it the night before we came back and he carried on running round in circles and trying to get out of his cage for almost two weeks. I actually set up the playpen around the cage and left the door open during the evenings, so he could come in and out and burn up some energy but he just spent his time trying to escape the playpen. I think some of that might have been hormones. He had stayed somewhere with other hamsters where there was a female on heat who had apparently climbed the outside of his cage. It did settle a bit when I cleaned his whole cage with a vinegar solution and did a bit of a cage clean. But I think most of it was change. He got worse when I had to swap his wheel because he got trapped behind it while running frantically.

It can be a bit worrying seeing them like that.

But that isn't likely in your case if there are no female hamsters around. So mainly just let him get back into a routine and don't clean or change anything just now. You could let him out at the usual time for a play, but keep to that routine. Turning the lights out helped with Charlie - he seemed to want to get out more when he knew I was there.

CMB · 03-29-2016, 12:10 PM

He may have excess energy. Could he need extra out of cage time?

Check his wheel is working ok, as if he can't use it he may be frustrated and acting up.

pinkneon · 03-29-2016, 01:48 PM

His wheel is ok. He doesn't use it that much though. I've been scattering half his food in his cage to give him something else to do. He get up between 2 and 3am but am going to let him play in a plastic box I think seeing as he can escape the cardboard box! I haven't seen him yet today and am assuming he is still in his cage and hasn't escaped! Will be checking a little later

Rsclio197 · 03-29-2016, 01:53 PM

Poppy is always wanting to be out she just wants attention all the time. I don't think you should be worried pinkneon.

CMB · 03-29-2016, 02:23 PM

The fact he doesn't use his wheel much could mean he doesn't like it. He may have outgrown it or something.

Anyone else think this could be why he is behaving differently?