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Old 02-21-2019, 12:53 PM   #1
cracker
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Default Hamster Concern!

Hi!
So I have a Russian dwarf hamster that I got in December and everything has been fine and she’s tame and everything.
Recently I have noticed that she has been climbing her cage! Her cage is larger than needed and she hasn’t been chewing but she has been climbing on top of toys and her house and climbing up and on the roof! Is this normal? I don’t have a picture right now but next time she does it I will take one!
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Old 02-21-2019, 01:44 PM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

It sounds like she is looking for a way out! It can be risky if she could fall from a height. If you could add a photo of the cage we could advise on how to avoid fall risks. Is the cage particularly tall? A cage taller than about 38cm could have risks involved with height unless it's set up to avoid the risks.
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Old 02-21-2019, 02:11 PM   #3
cracker
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

Her cage is about 30cm y’all but she hasn’t falling! I have a think layer of bedding at the bottom so hopefully that will help!
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Old 02-21-2019, 03:03 PM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

30cm high is quite low so she should be fine - and with plenty of bedding as you say. Although make sure she can't fall on anything sharp or hard. Is it 30cm high in total or 30cm from the height of the bedding.
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Old 02-21-2019, 05:04 PM   #5
cracker
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

30cm in total
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Old 02-21-2019, 05:36 PM   #6
alpacassei
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

Some hamsters dont do well in low cages, I think it makes them feel claustrophobic? She could be stressed by the low cage height

Female Russians tend to cage climb when they’re bored though which is the most likely possibility so try changing around her setup and giving her some puzzle toys and new chews, extra out of cage time is always good too!

My Russians love millet sprays and those wicker ball toys (trio of balls, I think its called?), the millet sprays encourage natural foraging behaviour and the balls make great chews and I like to push seeds between the layers of wood stuff so they have to work to get the seeds, sunflower seeds a a good size/shape for this. If you don’t already, I recommend scatter feeding as well.
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Old 02-22-2019, 01:32 AM   #7
cracker
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

Perfect! Thank you so much! I’ll try that out
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Old 02-22-2019, 02:08 AM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

How big is her cage, length and depth? Also how long have you had her? When they first move into a cage they do a lot of exploring. But need two weeks to fully adjust and settle in and it's best not to clean out during that first two weeks while they're settling in and scent marking to find their way around. If it gets a bit whiffy after a week you could "spot clean" the pee area - ie just take a handful of damp substrate out and replace it with another hanful of clean and mix it in a bit, so it's not 100% clean and still smells familiar. If you can't find a pee area easily then no rush and just wait longer

If you've recently cleaned her out that could cause her to feel a bit stressed and want to escape. So when doing cleans, try not to do them too often - weekly isn't necessary if you have enough substrate in there. And do partial cleans - eg substrate one week, wheel another week, toys a different week again - so something always smells familiar. They also don't like change so try and leave things in the same place and not move them around.

Which cage is it? I know the Ferplast Kios is about that height.
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Old 02-22-2019, 07:52 AM   #9
cracker
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

I got her in December so she’s been here a wee while! I can’t find the exact name but I looked up the one you mentioned and it looks basically the same! I actually cleaned her cage out yesterday, before this started happening, so maybe that is why! I haven’t noticed her do it today and her behaviour is completely normal so hopefully she was just exploring a bit! I also only clean her cage roughly one every two or three weeks depending on stench. Thank you so so much and I will keep you updated!
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Old 02-22-2019, 07:53 AM   #10
cracker
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Default Re: Hamster Concern!

Although my cage has a ledge^^
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