Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Hamster Chat

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-08-2020, 08:25 AM   #1
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Drama at dawn

It was early morning when my OH informed me of cluttering noises coming from Clarissa's house. I never thought much of it because hamsters wrestle with their Whimzees and chew sticks inside their houses sometimes.

When i later checked on the hamsters i found Clarissa lying outside her house not moving.

I moved the substrate aside, touched her and saw her tiny paws twitch.
To my horror i noticed that her head was stuck in one of the small holes of her house!
By gently pulling and twisting her body i managed to manoevre her head out of the hole to free her.

Needless to say that i'm absolutely furious with myself for not realizing that a dwarf with a narrow head like Clarissa would be able to get it through one of those holes.

Clarissa run into her sandpit and kicked the sand about, had a drink, foraged for some food and went into the temporary house until i've sorted her bigger one.

I'm really worried about how the stress and trauma of this unfortunate event could have affected her but will have to wait and see.
She appears to be unhurt physically.
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2020, 09:25 AM   #2
LunaTheHamster1
Cosmic Hamsters
 
LunaTheHamster1's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,593
Default Re: Drama at dawn

Oh no Ria, that must have been a shock, I'm glad you found her in time.
What was the house you was using? Remember that story I told you about that poor girl losing her hamster because it got stuck in a window with the wooden cross in it. I would never have thought of that, as my syrians are fine with them. I think you stuck a wooden holly leaf on yours. Seriously, these little hamsters will try to get into everything if they can.
The fact that she has eaten and had a drink all sounds good.
__________________
Cosmic Hamsters YouTube Channel
LunaTheHamster1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2020, 09:28 AM   #3
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Drama at dawn

Lucky escape. A large Syrian on here got stuck in a house window and had to be sawed out. I think there is a guide somewhere for minimum diameters for each species. I think it’s 4cm for dwarf hamsters. I am sure she’ll settle down ok.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2020, 10:57 AM   #4
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Drama at dawn

Update from my OH as i'm on a 24hr shift:

Clarissa is running around and in and out of her current house which she seems to prefer he said in a text.

The house she has now is the one where i took the cross out of the window and covered it with a wooden leaf after reading Luna's story about the hamster that had to be put down.

I gave her the big Ferplast house because she had never had a house before so i thought i'm doing her a favour. The front holes i had covered with a wooden leaf to keep the light out. I actually had a very close look at the holes at the side wondering if a dwarf could get through it then concluded, nah, no way!

Clarissa was so excited and running around yesterday, probably because it was the first time she was able to run around that maybe she got a bit overexcited thinking she's superhamster and can get through a small hole.

I thought they're meant to use their whiskers to judge dimensions......must mention that to Clarissa.
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2020, 01:36 PM   #5
LunaTheHamster1
Cosmic Hamsters
 
LunaTheHamster1's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,593
Default Re: Drama at dawn

Main things is it turned out ok and we all learn another lesson about what these little creatures can get up to. I will be extra careful what I put in my robos cage.
__________________
Cosmic Hamsters YouTube Channel
LunaTheHamster1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2020, 02:34 PM   #6
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Drama at dawn

If a window is ever a bit small an east fix is glueing wood dowels over it. It’s what people do with the knuff magazine rack shelves which have a small hole in. As long as theft are tightly glued on
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2020, 04:45 PM   #7
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Drama at dawn

Yes, i've learnt my lesson but am still amazed that she managed to get her head through it. I'm going to p@h after work tomorrow to stock up on wooden leaves or use dowels as suggested, thanks.

One thing is for sure, windows on hamster houses will be barricaded from now on.
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2020, 04:20 AM   #8
LunaTheHamster1
Cosmic Hamsters
 
LunaTheHamster1's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,593
Default Re: Drama at dawn

I'm going to stick one of those leaves on a house I had just for free roaming, I thought it would be safe if I was watching, just not prepared to take that risk now. Do you just use wood glue?
Hope Clarissa is fine today.
__________________
Cosmic Hamsters YouTube Channel
LunaTheHamster1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2020, 08:16 AM   #9
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Drama at dawn

Quote:
Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1 View Post
I'm going to stick one of those leaves on a house I had just for free roaming, I thought it would be safe if I was watching, just not prepared to take that risk now. Do you just use wood glue?
Hope Clarissa is fine today.
I use the Elmer's school glue recommended by Serendipity which is surprisingly strong for a non toxic school glue.
Great stuff.
Clarissa seems fine and had a very busy night going by the state of her cage and sticky wheels. She made another nest behind the cardboard sandpit surround and chewed a round hole in the cardboard so she can go from the nest into the sandpit without having to go all the way round.
I've adjusted her cage to accommodate the smaller house better with a bridge running above it like she had with the bigger house and added more things with big enough holes to go in.

I've scrutinised the set up and cannot identify any safety issues. I just hope that i didn't overlook anything.
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2020, 08:43 AM   #10
Petite
Senior Hamster
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Scotland
Posts: 501
Default Re: Drama at dawn

Thanks for highlighting this issue, Ria. I will have a check on Freya's window when she gets up later. It's buried in substrate, but if I remember rightly it is a window with a cross in it. I'm really glad Clarissa is okay.
Petite is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
house, head, clarissa, hamsters, holes, sandpit, run, kicked, dawn, foraged, drink, sand, realizing, morning, furious, absolutely, dwarf, narrow, early, affected, wait, physically, unhurt, appears, event

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:11 AM.