How do I get Beanie out?

Esmy · 04-22-2014, 08:48 PM

I put a cute ceramic mushroom house in Beanie's (Chinese hamster) cage and he loves it! He stuffed it with bedding, but he won't come out when I'm around. I have to pull some bedding out of the house at night just to get a peek at him to see if he's still alive. If he were ever to get sick, I'd never know! He did come out a few times for sunflower seeds, but not anymore. He waits til I leave. Same with veggies. I don't even know how to clean out his house! There is just the main opening and a tiny window he can crawl in and out of as well. I hate to think I'll never get to bond with him.

Ideas are appreciated, thank you!

souffle · 04-23-2014, 12:42 AM

You need to stop him sleeping in there because it gets very condensed up in the ceramic and will be damp!. I'd suggest you stay up till he is out then quickly slip a bit of card in front of the doorway and remove the mushroom house. Get a cardboard box or something like an igloo with no bottom. (We use a bent log bridge for Chinese as a house) but it must have no bottom on it so you can simply lift it up to tame them. Chinese are best encouraged into a tube or box to get them out but take care as they are speedy. I wouldn't give him the house back as they do tend to set up home in there - sorry! We had this issue with a critter bath and it was soaking inside when we got him out eventually!

racinghamster · 04-23-2014, 01:25 AM

Agree with soufflé. A cardboard tea box or any square shaped food box would make a better, roomier sleeping area for Beanie. Remove the lid of the box and cut a few exit doors on either side. Turn the box upside down so there is no solid floor and put his nesting material in this box. Chinese hamsters love to be able to dig downwards and make a ball nest. Try not to clean this too often as it just upsets the hamster. It`s their `den`. I used to only remove part of the old bedding and replace with some fresh and place the box back over the nest area. I only done this once a month or more. Spot cleaning the cage too rather than removing all the shavings is better way of cleaning. It reduces stress.

Beanie being a Chinese hamster won`t appreciate being disturbed too much because Chinese hamsters are shy naturally and like to approach their owners. He needs patience and allowed to slowly adapt to you and his surroundings. Try and keep his habitat accessories in the same place too as he will get used to the layout. x

Esmy · 04-23-2014, 05:21 AM

Thanks! Now to entice him out. So sad cause he loves that house and it's cute, but big mistake. I'll have to see what I can come up with for cardboard. No tea boxes here. lol Or empty tissue ones either. What if I make him a small coroplast house with no bottom and escape windows/ventilation? I'm guessing he'll revert to sleeping in a tunnel like he was before the mushroom house.

I haven't done any cleanout since I got him yet. I will save some of the bedding though.

Esmy · 04-23-2014, 06:32 AM

I got Beanie out of the house. He dug to the bottom for sleep. I know dwarfs wake up throughout the day. Do Chinese? He's in a room I go in in the evenings mostly when they are awake. The Syrians are loud on their wheels at night so I do worry the noise might bother him. Should I be trying to wake him up and interact with him during the day, or stick to nights? Thanks!

souffle · 04-23-2014, 06:58 AM

I'd go with whenever you see him out and about really and what suits you. They do tend to run and hide so it is handy to have something to put over the nest so they cannot run in there. We use a cardboard tube and Boblet usually runs in there then we pick it up

Esmy · 04-23-2014, 07:33 AM

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. He has entrance holes all over the place. lol What do you do with him once he is cut off from his tunnel? Are there any videos you know of that would help? I've looked but it seems like the ones I've seen, the hamsters are already partly tamed.

I have turkey and beef baby foods (for when cat got her teeth cleaned). I've read a lot on here about people giving it to their hamsters but I've never tried it. Do you think he would like it?

racinghamster · 04-25-2014, 12:25 AM

Don`t feed hamsters food made for humans or other, larger animals. Chinese hamsters are quite delicate and they are best kept on a seed/grain diet with some added protein like a mealworm as a treat. Alternative foods are only usually offered if a hamster has been ill or has tooth problems and even then, I would try and process the food they usually have but break it into smaller pieces. You can safely add a small teaspoonful of DRY porridge oats to his mix as this is a nice fibre source and hamster love them.

Did you manage to find, or buy a box for Beanie`s nesting area? All you need to do is remove the mushroom house (too small) and replace it with a roomier box with no floor and put the used nesting material inside. He will do the rest.

Try not to put too much emphasis on coaxing him to do things. He will tell you what she wants. x

Teddy001 · 04-25-2014, 02:48 AM

Hi Emsy.. long time...
Don't stress.. Beanie will be fine

.. here are a few houses/sleep huts my dwarfs used, and love. I have not tried the tissue box, but that sounds like a good sleep nest as well.. It took, about 6 months until Toby my Chinese ham, was tame. It takes a while.. they are very different from other hams, in that, they are on the shy side, and burrow a lot.. I've only owned 1 Chinese ham, female.. she was skiddish for at least 4 good months, never bit, loved my daughter & lived in two cages connected, then, after tame I added the tubes. She was in my daughters bedroom, so there was foot traffic and somewhat "noise", (tv, stereo) but the room was very quite while my daughter was at school. My daughter would catch her when she did come out, but only at first to speak softly to her, and offer treats. we didn't handle her for a good while, to build her confidence then let Toby come to us..(walk out of her cage) onto our hands. I recall, after Toby was tame, she would come out randomly during the day, around sunset, (7ish pm), and sometimes, early mornings, however she was out late night, eating, drinking and exploring. There's a photo of my 8 y.o's bedroom of Toby's set up. Yes, lots of tubes, but that was after she was totally tame.. Not sure I'd ever use tubes or Critter Trail Cages again, but at that time, that was all I knew would work for Toby.. and she LOVED her set up.
There's photo's of my little girl handling Toby as well.. they are very much worth the wait.

.

Teddy001 · 04-25-2014, 02:58 AM

We were told "she" was a "he".. LOL.. had no idea the males, look distinctively different than the females.. (male parts) lol.. So, my daughter named "her" Toby, after "Toby Games".. 6 months later found out Toby was a girl. My daughter wanted to keep her named, "Toby.".
All the ham houses/huts have easy access to checking on your ham. The yellow house, the roof comes off, all others, do not have bottoms. I have another one, that I'm recycling for Teddy, but Toby loved that house, the most and it's 2 levels, no bottom floor- I'll search for it, think I bought it from Amazon.