Strange Noises??!!

[ellieandfig]

Morning all.
My hamsters name is Fig, and she is a syrian less than a year old. She is a very happy girl, and have had no problems with her whatsoever however recently one has cropped up that is rather alarming.

After I clean her bed out, and put in her fresh bedding, she makes loud noises when crawling into the bed through her tube. The noises almost sound like the screeches hamsters sometimes make when they are scared: however I don’t have to be anywhere near the cage for it to happen and in fact have been woken up by it tonight. This isn’t the first time she has done it, but my dad put it down to having a bit of dust in her nose from the fresh bedding. However this evening after i cleaned out her bed she started doing it and hasn’t stopped. she started at about 11PM and it is now 3AM.

She is not in any sort of distress. She does not seem to be in any sort of pain and is eating and drinking fine. I am just concerned as it is a horrible noise and I want to make sure everything is ok as you can imagine.

Thank you ever so much,
Lots of love from Ellie and Fig.

[hammyhomer]

I think she’s cross because you’ve messed up her nest. My female Syrian used to do the same when I did something she didn’t like.
Do you change everything in her nest? If so try mixing some of her old clean bedding with the new stuff. Hammies do most things by smell. Her nice clean bed just doesn’t smell like home anymore!

[Ria P]

Hi and welcome to HC!

I also wonder if she's angry.
Hamsters don't like it at all when we clean their nests. If she wees in it then you'll have to clean it but if its dry, i'd leave it well alone.

If her house is big enough like a guinea pig sized house then you could put an en suite toilet in it.
Or put a sand filled corner toilet near her house and put some peed on substrate in it.

It is important for a house to be bottomless so they can build a big nest and keep a hoard underneath it.

Enclosed houses aren't much good, especially plastic ones because they start to smell quickly and then they'll need cleaning which can result in a grumpy hamster.

If she's been screeching for hours i'd check her over to make sure that there's nothing wrong with her physically.

[ellieandfig]

Originally Posted by hammyhomer

I think she’s cross because you’ve messed up her nest. My female Syrian used to do the same when I did something she didn’t like.
Do you change everything in her nest? If so try mixing some of her old clean bedding with the new stuff. Hammies do most things by smell. Her nice clean bed just doesn’t smell like home anymore!

Hi,
Unfortunately Fig uses her entire nest as a toilet, so unfortunately the whole thing has to be thrown out and cleaned as i don’t want to risk her getting poorly or living in unsanitary conditions.

I have taken the tubes out of the cage altogether as my parents seem to think she was getting stuck. I haven’t heard anything since.

Thank you.