Update on Cage Renovations

[JuniperLoki]

Hi everyone,

Here's the latest on Cinnamon's cage - we updated it with some accessories for her to explore. The little yellow thing is supposed to be a sand bath but as we have no sand, and I'm not sure it's necessary? we put some bedding in there for her to explore.

I'm trying very hard to be patient because Lord knows after I moved into this new apartment it took some time to adjust...she is still out and about at night, on her wheel, and she'll still take a treat from my fingers.

BUT....should we take her house away to force her to interact? It seems awfully harsh...but I don't know...

[Cinnamon Bear]

No I wouldn't recommend taking away her house! She needs a house or you might have an unhappy hammie. Her house is dark which helps her sleep & is her refuge. She just needs to feel secure since you've made some living changes. If you had multiple hiding spots for her I'd say it would be ok to take one away, like tubes for example to give the hammie a gentle nudge in a more social direction but not their whole house!

[CMB]

There is a lot of open space, which can make a hamster nervous. Adding more tubes and hides may encourage her to explore more.

Shelves will also provide cover overhead and once your hamster is more settled. It will probably like sitting/ walking on top of the shelves.

[Thin Lizzy]

Don't remove anything, this will only upset her. I would add more hidey places, hamsters like plenty of cover and places to hide.

[JuniperLoki]

Ok, that all makes sense. We do have a shelf we were going to put in that came with the cage...we were waiting for a wood bridge and seesaw to arrive, should be here today. that way she'd be able to get up and down.

I guess I thought hamsters wanted a lot of space to move around, but since they're prey to most I can understand a preference for tubes. I'm sure I have some more around the house. She did seem to love her other tube.

Plus her house will fit under the shelf, so it'll be nice and dark and quiet.

Is there a prevailing opinion on sand baths?

[CMB]

Syrians may just dig and use it as a toilet rather than rolling in it like dwarfs do.

[JuniperLoki]

Bridge is up to shelf, at least three official hidey holes but multiple possibilities otherwise, and lots to chew. Plus I used up more papertowels so I have more tunnels I can make.

She's still taking treats from my hand but will not come out until we go to bed, but it's all good. As long as she is happy and adjusting I will be patient.

[Pebbles82]

It can take a good couple of weeks for them to start feeling confident after cage changes. I think it's just patience now Yes they do like lots of ground area - but they like things over their head as well sometimes. As prey they instinctively fear things from above and feel safe if they can dive under something - like a shelf, tube or tunnel. Just a suggestion but you could maybe put the house next to the shelf - it's easier to spot clean the house if it's more accessible and also might make a bit of a step up to the shelf.

I've found putting a bendy bridge tunnel over the house entrance makes our hamster happy - it makes the house darker inside and is a bit of an entrance, plus it acts as access to the house roof as a bridge.

The cork tunnels/tubes are good - they are quite large so sit quite high and can be a good long tunnel to give head cover, but also add to the floor space as they give a natural texture to climb over - so it's like a hill on the floorspace I'm really happy with the one I got - I didn't have the space for one before. I use ours as access to the shelf instead of a ladder, so it has one end partly under the shelf and the rest on the floor beyond the shelf. He can run through it to be under the shelf or climb over the tunnel to get onto the shelf. I always put cork things in the freezer for a couple of days in a plastic bag though, just in case there's any tiny little things living in it as it's a natural tree bark.