Help!! Stressed rescue

Cosmic · 05-29-2016, 05:22 AM

I posted about having a cage on order for a particular rescue.

I was going to wait and get the cage first obviously. But I've been back today to see the little girly at pets at home and she awake and looked so stressed

She's frantically chewing the metal around the water bottle and just has one small hidey place.

Would you stick her in a storage box for a few days and wait for the cage? Or live her in situ until the cage comes? I was set on leaving her but is she more stressed where she is?!

**Cinnamon Bear** · 05-29-2016, 06:13 AM

You could make a temporary bin cage, using a storage bin. You attach a water bottle wit velcro (industrial strength) also, somebody might buy her if you wait. If it's only just a few days, then I would make a bin cage & upgrade her when her cage arrives.

PositiveParsley · 05-29-2016, 06:46 AM

I was in a very similar situation to you last year! I did end up adopting the hamster and keeping her in a storage box for a few days (for ventilation I just bent mesh over the top of the box in place of the lid) whilst I waited for her cage to arrive.
I feel that although moving her twice (from pets at home to box, to new cage when it comes) will be unsettling for her that she'll be better off coming home now than staying in pets at home for a few more days if she is clearly bored and stressed.

Pebbles82 · 05-29-2016, 07:50 AM

That's a tricky one. Ideally you let them go straight into their new home to settle in - and a temporary cage for a few days would be a lot of change and also be a bit stressful. Unless you got a cage at Pets at Home and cancelled the Alaska order (they are ok about cancellations and just tell you not to accept delivery then it gets sent back to them).

But you'd spend more on a cage that way. Pets at home have the Hamster Heaven which is a similar size to the Alaska - did you see that when you were there? It's about £60 I think but it does have a lovely big front opening door and it's a well built cage. You can use as much or as little of the supplied contents as you want, but at least it is kind of set up and ready to go.

I ended up cancelling a cage from Zooplus recently, because I didn't want to wait for it and got one delivered next day by Amazon instead.

Amazon sell the Savic Ruffy but it costs about £61 as well on there. Still wouldn't arrive till Wednesday or Thursday as well.

I think I would be tempted to get the hamster heaven now and take her home.

cypher · 05-29-2016, 08:52 AM

Some people start their hams off in smaller taming cages then move them into a larger cage once they're more confident so I don't see that putting her in a temporary bin cage would then moving her would be too much of a problem, if she's stressed so much already I doubt very much you're going to make it worse by bringing her home early.

Cosmic · 05-29-2016, 09:22 AM

Meet Annie!

I couldn't leave her there. Got them to open the tank and her little face lit up. She's clearly desperate for some love and attention. She was climbing out into my hands before I knew what was happening! So I told them to find a box!

Our pets at home don't have the Hamster Heaven in store unfortunately. So we are making do with the Alaska that's already on order. Fingers crossed it doesn't take too long.

She's already gone through two cages since she's been home. I popped her in our old gerbilarium without ladders thinking that'd do as a tank for a few days. She's clearly part spider as she was able to jump and grab a bar and was up the top within 5 minutes

So I've had to put her in a storage bin for now!

She's a real character!