Tuppence has buried her house!

[JackieS]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone could advise me regarding Tuppence who I have had for 2 months. She is a very fiesty, confident girl who enjoys all the usual things like treats and a run out. She is in a large cage (Alaska) and her house is largeish. When I first got her, she slept wedged behind the house, but soon started sleeping in it which was fine. Then she started building a layer of substrate around the house, which I supposed was her wanting to have more insulation. Then yesterday, I noticed she has covered her house completely and is sleeping in a large play tube instead! I am worried she has been upset in some way, and when it comes to giving the cage a full clean out, what should I do? Surely it will freak her out if I dismantle all her hard work? She has a sand bath where she goes to toilet which I change daily, and I have also cleaned sections of the cage which are more dirty. Any advice gratefully received, as usual. Jackie x

[Drago]

It's normal for hams to do some rearranging in their cages, but I'd take out the tube if she's sleeping personally. The tube can get a bit too damp and stuffy which isn't all that good. For cleaning, just remove 1/4 to 1/3 of the bedding at a time. Try not to remove the nest/hoard as this can upset your ham, but a small cleanout won't stress them too much. To summarize, remove the tube if you can, clean any soiled areas (only 1/4-1/3 of cage) and just relax! Renovations to nest boxes and houses are normal, and not usually a sign they're upset

[cypher]

I'd agree about removing the tube, it really isn't healthy for them to sleep in those, she will probably be a bit upset by that but soon find a better place to sleep.
It may be that her house isn't large enough, you could try using a cardboard box with the base cut out & a hole for a door & see how she likes that.
Burying the house or making huge mountains of substrate in front of it is totally normal!
If she pees in the sand then you won't need to clean her nest out often at all, just check it now & then to see if it's getting a bit smelly or has too much old food stashed in it & if so do a partial clean, probably not more than once a month if she hasn't peed in it.
As Drago said no need to do a full cage clean at all, just do partial cleans & when you clean any areas like the nest or food hoard always put some of the old back.
If you're changing the sand completely each day she might not like that too much, you can just sift out any damp clumps but still leave the rest which will have her scent. If you can't always get the damp clumps out you still don't need to change it daily, I'd leave it at least a week or even two.