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Old 03-20-2023, 09:51 AM   #1
patchoulicloori
 
Join Date: Dec 2022
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Default Unhappy hamster

Hi,
We got our hamster at Christmas and housed him in a Ferplast cage (99 x 51,5 x h 36) as recommended by many here. He has deep bedding of about 6 inches at least using the kaytee bedding and a very big wooden house which he uses to store his food in and where he sleeps. He has apple sticks, wooden carrots, a very large Trixie wheel as well as whimzees to chew on. He has reptisand to bathe in and coconut coir in a box to dig about in. He'll take food from our hand, but bites if there's no food (in an exploratory way rather than an agressive manner). We can stroke him, but understand if he doesn't want to be handled--it's no big issue to us. However, this is one unhappy wee man. He is just desperate to get free. I feel terrible for having ever got a caged animal and don't know what to do! He's bitten two holes in the base of the Ferplast, the last one almost big enough to escape before I blocked it. What can we do to make him happy? If we can't make him happy, is there a good place to take him where he he might find some sort of contentment. It's awful seeing him madly trying to escape. The wheel works smoothly. What else could be the issue? I do wonder if he perhaps just hates being a caged animal, which would seem like a normal response for what is really a wild animal?
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Old 03-22-2023, 05:20 AM   #2
Jeir
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Default Re: Unhappy hamster

Hamsters seem to have a mental age comparable to a human baby/very young toddler, at least from what I've observed with mine. They're not super intelligent, but recognise their humans/safe places, and can figure out very basic puzzles. In the wild, their focus would be on travelling to find food, digging deep burrows, and avoiding predators. Domesticated hamsters don't have to travel far for food, or avoid predators, and often their substrate isn't deep enough to make big burrows, so they need more mental stimulation in other ways.

For my hamster, I have a few toys in his cage to help, all of which are 'how to get treat' focused, as hamsters are very food motivated:
- A pine cone hanging from the ceiling, in which I can put treats in. It's only within reach if he stands on his back legs, so he has to work out how to spin/tip the pine cone to get the treats.
- A forage toy made of a low cardboard box and some cut wood branches. I bought mine from Pets at Home - 'Woodland Small Animal Snuffle Forest Activity Toy' - but you can make your own if you're fine with DIY. The wood pieces fit snuggly, but can be pulled out by a determined hamster, and you can put treats in the gaps to encourage it.
- The standard toilet roll tube toys. Take a toilet roll tube, cut slits into the ends so you can fold them in, put treats inside, and the hamster has to chew their way into it to get the treats.
- Scatter feeding! I usually just sprinkle treats he's piled up in the open around his cage to re-find and re-pile up.
- Coconut hide/ceramic salt pig/ceramic hamster hide filled with tissue (which can be carried back to his nest as extra bedding) and treats put right at the back/mixed in so he has to search. Straw/hay could probably also be used.
- Very simple sliding puzzle toys (from Bucatstate on Amazon). It came in two pieces; one a small triangle with a swivel cover over a recessed hiding place, and another larger one with a swivel cover, and two sliding covers. Treats go in the recessed parts, and the hamster has to move the covers out of the way to get the treats. BUT, this one comes with risks (hamster might get foot stuck; the covers aren't tight, but the risk is there), so please be aware that it might not be suitable for your hamster (or any hamster other than mine).

Sadly you might still have to set him up in a tank style cage; one made of glass so he can't chew his way out. Or, if you have the funds and would prefer to keep him in his current cage, you could see about getting acrylic screens to cover or replace the bars (I highly recommend Viking Laser for this).
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Old 03-22-2023, 07:42 PM   #3
lovehamsters01
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Default Re: Unhappy hamster

I also have a hamster who can't stand being in her cage. She's a Syrian hamster and I hadn't realized beforehand that female syrians are known for their energy. We kept upgrading her cage and when she was still unhappy in her 200 quart (50 gal) bin cage, I finally made peace that no amount of space or enrichment will be enough- she just hates being locked up.
so I decided to free roam her as much as possible. she lives in my bedroom, where I spend a lot of time in the evening/night, so whenever I'm in there and she's awake, I take her out. I also let her roam around a lot when I'm not there because she knows how to get back in her cage by herself so I dont have to worry about her needing to eat/drink/go to the bathroom. I put her back in right before I go to sleep and she usually ends up getting 1-3 hours a night out of her cage. By the time I put her back in for the night, she's pretty wiped, and isn't as desperate to get out. around once a week or so, I get rid of the pile of food she stores under my bed, and it all works out.
do u have any area in the house where you can close off any openings, and get rid of any wires, where it would be safe to let your hamster free roam without losing him?
A large part of why my set-up works is that my hamster is quite large (about the size of a baby guinea pig) and bright orange, so its hard to lose her. I don't know if this would work for your hamster but maybe you can try it?
If this isnt possible, maybe you can set up a large play pen area where he can spend some time each evening, or whenever he seems antsy to get out of his cage.
good luck!
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Old 03-23-2023, 12:39 PM   #4
otto
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Default Re: Unhappy hamster

Quote:
Originally Posted by patchoulicloori View Post
Hi,
We got our hamster at Christmas and housed him in a Ferplast cage (99 x 51,5 x h 36) as recommended by many here. He has deep bedding of about 6 inches at least using the kaytee bedding and a very big wooden house which he uses to store his food in and where he sleeps. He has apple sticks, wooden carrots, a very large Trixie wheel as well as whimzees to chew on. He has reptisand to bathe in and coconut coir in a box to dig about in. He'll take food from our hand, but bites if there's no food (in an exploratory way rather than an agressive manner). We can stroke him, but understand if he doesn't want to be handled--it's no big issue to us. However, this is one unhappy wee man. He is just desperate to get free. I feel terrible for having ever got a caged animal and don't know what to do! He's bitten two holes in the base of the Ferplast, the last one almost big enough to escape before I blocked it. What can we do to make him happy? If we can't make him happy, is there a good place to take him where he he might find some sort of contentment. It's awful seeing him madly trying to escape. The wheel works smoothly. What else could be the issue? I do wonder if he perhaps just hates being a caged animal, which would seem like a normal response for what is really a wild animal?
Hello!
Mine was the exact same. I was heartbroken. However as he’s got older he’s calmed down massively. Still tries the odd chew through and i’m sure if he could get the lid he’d try and get out but the constant jumping up the walls has stopped. Only thing you could try is getting a larger DIY cage (1000sq inches +, but if you’re going to bother DIYing, i’d go as big as possible) which have added height so you can try and direct his energy into burrowing? You can aim for at least 10 inches of bedding in these as the sides are solid. This helped mine. Unfortunately Syrian hamsters aren’t usually content with their setups, they simply need so much more space than most can give them. I think a study was done where 5000sq inches was where they started to calm down? Realistically who can provide that amount of space? Definitely not me lol.

You might just have to give it time. Upgrade the cage where you can, add more bedding height, get them out often and try and make some DIY boredom breaker toys such as toilet roll pockets stuffed with sunflower seeds, anything to get their minds off of escaping and onto solving some puzzles.
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