Escape Artist !

SugarFairy123 · 12-25-2015, 03:51 PM

Help ! Minnie just wants to escape all the time

She was bar chewing this afternoon (she lives in the Alaska Cage so its not a cage that's too small ) so I decided to take her out into her cardboard playpen . She explores around and takes a good whiff at everything but then goes back to trying to chew through the cardboard . I'm a bit scared to let her free range as she she is so determined at escaping . There's like a million different ways she could escape . She has a hamster ball but I only put her in there when i'm cleaning her cage out as I think it's kind of cruel (no offence at all to those who use hamster balls regularly ) .
Anyway is there any ways to break her boredom ? Like any toys you guys would recommend maybe ? Or should I just make the playpen bigger as it is quite small (it's a big pain to make though

) So like I was saying any suggestions ? (p.s sorry if this was a ranty post

) Oh yes and she is so determined to escape that she REFUSES (

) to get back into her hamster ball so I can get her back into her cage (#diva!) no matter how much food I put inside it . In fact the only way I could get her back into the ball was by waiting (a long time ) for her to get into her tubes and block one end and put the opening of the hamster ball onto the other end (if the made ANY sense at al

) Any way back to my point , any suggestions about the situation ??

Tyrion Hammister · 12-25-2015, 04:09 PM

Hi, I know you said you're worried about free ranging and her getting lost. I let mine go into our bathroom, as it's fairly open and I can safely block the toilet area with a playpen and he can explore pretty much everywhere else (I tuck a towel under the door crack). If you can find a more open room, that would work so long as you stayed one step ahead of your girl!

In regard to being unable to get her to go back in her ball, have you tamed her enough to hold her? You might be able to take her back that way if she is good in your hands, which mine is. I've also taken a plastic dome hut that Tyrion likes, tipped it upside down, and just kind of scooped him up

SugarFairy123 · 12-25-2015, 04:18 PM

No unfortunately we're still working on taming . But the hut/hidey house idea is pretty good . I actually never thought about the bathroom (stupid me ) and I will probably try that along with shoving a towel under the door crack

But i'm concerned about the germs in the toilet and on our toothbrushes etc.. Will the germs harm Minnie ? Thanks for your help though !

Tyrion Hammister · 12-25-2015, 04:32 PM

I mean I would not let her near your toothbrushes of course

as for the toilet, i block mine off and clean the floor before I let him into the bathroom. I guess it all depends on how worried you are about the germs! I would work on taming her maybe, depending on the size of your tub you may be able to actually clean THAT out and work on letting her get accustomed to you that way. If the tub is big enough, sit in it with her and let her crawl on you (but keep the ball or a hidey hut nearby if she's an escape artist haha). Just make sure to cover any kind of open drain if you do something like that

Pebbles82 · 12-25-2015, 04:39 PM

I think they tend to be a bit like this until they are fully tame

I would stick to the ball, and bathtub for now rather than a playpen.

cypher · 12-25-2015, 09:56 PM

She sounds like a normal, healthy young ham lol! They do like to explore
Have you thought about making a plastic playpen? It's a bit more chew proof & easy enough to fold away if you need to, Serendipity posted a vid on how she made her which might help. How to make a Corex Playpen
I would steer clear of free ranging unless you're absolutely sure it's safe, just try to make the play pen as interesting as possible, you can make simple toys from cardboard boxes & tubes for her to explore & chew, maybe make something like a dig box to go in there too.

Bertiebobbins · 12-26-2015, 12:59 AM

I agree your ham just sounds like a normal hamster! When she's a bit older and more tame I'm sure she will settle down a bit.

I would steer clear of free ranging just now too, mine started just playing on my lap and getting used to being handled and having some time in the ball, to playing in a playpen, to playing in my hallway (with doors closed, it's totally hamster proof) to having the run of much bigger and more exciting rooms in my flat as they got tamer and easier to catch hold of. Now, Nibble is allowed pretty much where he likes and I don't need to pay too much attention to what he's getting himself up to as he's quite a chilled out ham, but Glowy needs a bit more supervision as he is wont to get himself in mischief!

For free ranging, make sure you check the room you pick is hamster proof - they really can get through very small gaps and will sniff out gaps you didn't even know were there, we lost a hamster this way in what I thought was a hamster safe room. Be warned, bathrooms will usually have plenty of escape opportunities where the pipes leave the room. Also bathrooms can be really quite dirty if you don't close the lid every time you flush the toilet.... Also kitchens will usually have plenty of escape opportunities. Gaps you won't see in rooms that they will might be things like floorboards loose, radiator fittings, untamed hams hiding behind book cases, in sofas.......

SugarFairy123 · 12-26-2015, 03:55 AM

Well i'm glad to hear that she sounds like a normal & healthy ham . I will definitely be checking out Serendipity's video too. I will take cypher's & Bertibobbins' advice to stay away from free - ranging until Minnie is tamed . I can't really do the tub idea (pity because it was a great one )as I don't have a bathtub, I have showers . I will actually go and inspect my bathroom to make sure it is ham - proof straight after this . Thank you to everyone that replied .

Pebbles82 · 12-26-2015, 04:09 AM

Our bathroom isn't ham-proof - there are gaps in the floorboards behind the toilet where the pipe goes down. I would also say stay off free ranging for now too. A large cardboard box could do for taming/out of cage time as well - if you don't have a bathtub. Some people use the box the cage arrived in.

racinghamster · 12-26-2015, 10:40 AM

Be careful with bathrooms as sometimes the soil pipe (leading from the toilet) or other pipes can lead into walls or have gaps we can`t see hidden behind the toilet itself or other units, so unless you can actually see/feel behind these things, I wouldn`t risk plonking the hamster on the floor because if one finds even a small crack, you may never find him again.

My theory is, if the cage and the wheel are both large enough, a hamster doesn`t need floor time. Handling and `play` can be done inside the cage while spot cleaning or just as a play time session. Keeping the lid off but lower the cage base so the hamster doesn`t climb over the edge and fall off the table or unit to the floor. Placing the cage base inside the playpen is also a good idea as it lets the hamster decide if he wants to come out or go back on again if a ramp is provided. Use a large under bed storage box to contain a hamster while cleaning if needs be, but a ball isn`t necessary. x