Hammy not sleeping in bedding/not burrowing?

[kittygirl]

Here's the issue. Apple Jack was kept in the Kaytee CritterTrail Two Level Habitat with ABSOLUTELY NO BEDDING with a BIT of timothy hay when I adopted her. I upgraded her from that to a 40 gallon breeder tank, then a couple days ago to the Large Niteangel Bigger World enclosure. She has very deep bedding with timothy hay mixed in to allow for more sturdy bedding to burrow in, but she doesn't seem to care for it. I've premade her tunnels in which she just covered up by kicking the bedding into them, gave her multiple hides and places she could sleep, but she CHOOSES TO SLEEP IN HER SAND BATH!!! She pushes her bedding into it to create a little place to sleep. She sometimes also naps in her wheel or in the middle of her sand bath.


I'm just worried if she's going to get cold as the winter time is coming up? I know some hamsters just don't burrow, but I'm also thinking I just need to give her time as she's 8 months old and never had bedding before. She's also a bit skittish at the moment. She doesn't even sleep in her hides either. I'm wondering if I should just wait? Give her more hides? Am I doing something wrong? Should I put a blanket over the enclosure so she doesn't get cold? ): This is my second hammy I've personally owned, I do lots of research but I'm by far not an expert. She also doesn't seem to explore unless she's looking for her food or water, she also likes digging in the coco fibre I got her!!! Open to advice/suggestions!!!

My first adopted hammy named Princess recently passed away, and I believe that she passed so I could give life to another hammy in need, which I did, and I adopted an 8 month old long haired girl Syrian 1 week ago and I gave her the name Apple Jack! (My Little Pony reference)

Her ad post: IMG-3732 hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB
Her NiteAngel enclosure: IMG-3809 hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB
Napping in her wheel: IMG-3812 hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB
Napping in the middle of her sand bath: IMG-3813 hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB
Napping in her usual corner of sand bath (Older photo in other enclosure but same idea): IMG-3814 hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB
Cute photo of her (Older photo in other enclosure): https://ibb.co/9v9n15B

[ChowDown]

Hi there!
I don't think you are doing anything wrong in this situation. You have to remember you've only had her a week, whilst she's gotten used to her old routine for the past eight months (which is a very long time for a hamster).

I would wait it out for a short while and see if she may eventually pick a hide out for herself. As long as they seem to be acting fine. However if she keeps sleeping in the same spot I would suggest perhaps moving their wheel and sand bath and placing a hide in that location. Or simply separating the wheel and the sand bath. Sometimes a change is all it takes for them to get going.

But I would still let them get used to their surroundings first. They have had two major changes in recent times so it may just be stress.
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