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Old 03-12-2022, 04:06 PM   #1
HamsterNewB
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Cool 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

Hi all,

My 2.5 year old Syrian is in a Ikea Detolf with high safe bedding, a big wheel, the proper dry and fresh food, water, sand bath, etc.

He has loved his enclosure for the past 2.5 years but has suddenly started to climb on the lid, like he's trying to get out.

Any idea what causes this behavioural change?

Not sure how to make him comfier as he's quite old now and was happy before.

Just to add the behaviour isn't excessive, just strange.

Thanks for any ideas or insights!
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Old 03-12-2022, 04:19 PM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

Hello. What a grand age he is! When you say he's climbing on the lid - how does he get up there?!

Presumably he is climbing on something to get to the top and then what? He won't be able to get out of the lid - is he monkey barring?

Have there been any changes recently in his environment? A full cage clean or change of house or something, or the cage moved to a different room or something else different in the room? These are all things that can make them feel like trying to escape and feel unsettled.

It sounds like he is still fairly active at least. But it's risky as he could fall and hurt himself.

Does he seem ok in himself generally? He is very old for a hamster. Sometimes when they know they are nearing their time they can abandon their nest and want to go somewhere else in the cage - as if preparing to die. But that's usually just in the cage, not trying to get out.

Also sometimes they can suddenly have a really extra active time just before they start fading - as if clinging onto life.

But I think it's sounding more like there has been some kind of change recently. How often does he have out of cage time usually? And is it free roaming or just a bit of time on the sofa with you eg.

Other things - new pet? (Smell of cat or dog). Eating in the living room? (food smells).

It can help to work out the cause to get things right, but if not possible then suggest adding some extra enrichment - ie some new ground level things he can enjoy and maybe a treat parcel or hiding treats in different parts of the cage - something to make life more interesting.

When one of our Syrians was this age, He had a cage with a shelf and I removed all the levels but added more at floor level so he could still enjoy things and be active. Although with a detolf I guess more things are at floor level anyway.

So I added the extra tunnel and a corner hide thing and some wood fruity chews and gave him an egg cup with a bit of baby food in each day (as well as his normal mix).

Actually - are you sure he can eat ok? Because another thing the behaviour can be is trying to get your attention to tell you something is wrong. eg water bottle not working properly, wheel stuck - or maybe a broken tooth? So maybe check his teeth. By this age they often can't manage hard food any more - and need softened hamster mix plus baby food (but still put the hard food out as they like to pouch and hoard it).

If still no reason found then it may be just he knows he's getting old and won't be around forever and has an urge for more freedom. I found our elderly syrians seemed to love being out more even when starting to fail a bit and it was easier to let them free roam a bit (as they were a bit slower!). But still check the room is hamster safe - might mean blocking off some areas).

Last edited by Pebbles82; 03-12-2022 at 04:26 PM.
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Old 03-12-2022, 04:25 PM   #3
HamsterNewB
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Default Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

Thank you so much for your reply and so quick too.

Yes, monkey barring is what you'd probably call it. He climbs up from his bedding as his bedding is really high in 2/3rds of his enclosure. There have been no changes like you've mentioned or anything else I can think of except foe the fact that we did get dogs and they stay in the same room, but we got the dogs three months ago and the behaviour seems to have only changed this week.

So strange... maybe he really is just nearing the end.

Thanks again!
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Old 03-12-2022, 04:28 PM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

Sorry we posted at the same time - I added a bit more to my post above if you read back .

The dogs could well be bothering him. But check his teeth and everything working ok in the cage and maybe there is just some basic thing like he is wanting a bit more freedom in his old age.

Is there any way the dogs could be kept in another room?
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Old 03-12-2022, 04:28 PM   #5
HamsterNewB
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Default Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

Also one og his eyes has started gunking up a lot more. It clears by itself normally but it seems to be getting s bit worse lately. I atteibuted it to old age and didn't want to bring him to the vet for it as it does normally clear by itself but then it just happens again and the trip to the vet to have it cleaned would be so stressfull for him and not a long term solution anyway.
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Old 03-12-2022, 04:33 PM   #6
HamsterNewB
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Default Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

Teeth and everything look fine, he wont be able to fall and hurt himself as it's not much of a drop to his bedding and it is all soft. He's always been a shy hamster and not too fond of handling and bath tub free roam time but he runs around the sitting room with us a few days a week. He is easily stressed though. Even when we first got him and I tried to change his enclosure set up around so he wouldn't be bored he'd freak out. He was never very interested in toys either except when they'd have high value food inside.
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Old 03-12-2022, 04:38 PM   #7
HamsterNewB
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Default Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

Sorry, I just refreshed and saw your edited post. I will clean out his burrough tomorrow to see if he's been eating the food. I thought he had. He also gets fresh veggies etc. almost daily and his teeth look fine but I'll check it properly tomorrow.

His wheel isn't stuck and he has a water bowl that's always clean and full so no issues there.

Thanks again for taking the time to read my post and respond so in depth!
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Old 03-12-2022, 04:43 PM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

That sounds typical hamster - not interested in anything but food I think they vary in personality but most of them do like everything to stay the same and don't like things being moved around. It's like it's their world - and everything needs to feels secure and stable. It must be like there's been an earthquake to wake up and find everything has moved! also they scent mark things to claim their territory and find their usual "routes" round the cage (with not seeing well).

I find they can enjoy a new item being added but hate anything being moved or taken away. What really stresses them usually is cage cleans, so it's usually suggested to only do partial cleans - not everything at once. Eg not replacing all the substrate in one go and doing any other items another week and spot cleaning mostly.

Sticky eyes are very common as they get older yes, and if it's just that it's sticky then no he doesn't need to go to the vet. If it's cleared next day it's ok but after two or three days it's more comfortable for them if you can free it up. So just gently dabbing it with a bit of saline to help unsticky it is the thing to do. You just put a teaspoon of salt in a pint of boiled water, mix it in well and let it go cold - or very nearly cold. I use the corner of a soft cloth - not really wet or he;ll get soaked. Sort of squeeze it out so it's just damp and dab it and wet it a bit more and so on. Some people use q tip cotton buds (but be careful bits of cotton don't come off and get in his eye,

It takes a bit of patience as it needs to be done a bit at a time. But they are usually much happier when it's done.

Assume the dogs aren't in the room when he's out! The scent of other animals and the noise of barking nearby can stress them. And maybe he is just wanting a bit of attention.
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Old 03-12-2022, 04:46 PM   #9
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: 2.5 year old syrian suddenly trying to climb lid of enclosure

The dogs shouldn't ever be in the same room at all - they need to be kept completely separately at all times just as any predatory animals(cats and ferrets too for example should also never be in the same room as prey species). They can cause extremely harmful stress to prey animals and even if it isn't obvious or you don't see clear signs of stress, it can even lead to illness or become deadly.
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