hamster cage help?

[KRADFORD]

plz delete or move if this is not the right area to post.


hello im very new to owning a hamster and have made a mistake already and am trying to rectify it. Me and my family went to go look at hamsters 2 days ago and were intending at only going to go look buuut my son got so excited about the hamster he saw so we decided we would get him. So we made the mistake of fully trusting the staff at Petsmart and going fully off there advice befor doing are own intel gathering. so c as u probly can tell we got a cage that was way to small for the little guy. we got one of there tiny tales space craft cages. so we got home built the cage for mokey. and i starting watching some videos on hamsters as i knew i didnt know much and about them and realized theres alot more to them and such. fist think i realized is mokey i believe hes a Syrian short hair. all petsmart said is he is a short hair hamster. Needs at minimum 450 inch floor space and the space ship even tho is was multi level was barley over 150-200 ish. So i knew i neede to fix this so i looked up some videos on DYI tub cages and next day went and got all the stuff need to fix the problem so i went and got a 18X33 inch tub so about 590" of floor space and decorated it up for him (2 vids i watched said to not throw to much stuff in and slowly add toys and such so hes not over whelmed) and i thought it couldnt hurt i even got tube so we could connect the space shit to the tub so he could have some multi level play and a big flat area.


so now to the problem im having had had a small 6" wheel in the space ship which is to small so we went and got him a 8" wheel cause it fits the the tub but the second i took the smaller wheel out he started baring (chewing on his bars i believe thats whats it called) like really really bad. like non stop for 2-3 min so we decided to put him just right into his tub house and block off the ship so prevent him form baring till at least hopfully he would calm down and get used to his new wheel and larger home. but when in his tub he seemed very panicy and was just trying to get out there the tub to the ship. we were planning on adding it back later. he would run around try to pry the cover i have the for hole and run around a bit more. then with a treat we got to to realize he had a wheel in the new tub he started to run a bit on it but only for like 2 seconds then he would seem like he would get angry at the center post the hold the wheel on. after about 10 min of trying that he went back to the hole prying again then just layed down in the center of the tub and didnt move for like 20 min my wife got scared that he was way to stressed and upset that we reattached the space ship and put the smaller wheel in and he instally went back to there and ran on his smaller wheel for like hours. he also sleeps under his while i believe cause its at the bottom of his ship cage.

so my thing is i wanna get him not useing the 6" wheel and hopfully use a hide in the bigger tub. should i just eliminate the ship entirely ? i want him to get used to the tub but its seems likes hes already attached to his ship and were he sleeps there and i dont wanna stress him panic him to much. so any advice would be great.

i attacked a pic (i think) of hos tub right now i need to do more mesh on top but ushually the lid stays partly off till i get he mash done (local hardware store was out) and a towel is laid over the house side of the tub to provide a dark spot during the day. and i do plan on moving the set up later today to some were the light wont shine in like in the pic just waiting for him to wake up tonight.

[cypher]

As you’ve only had your ham for a couple of days I would remove the attached cage & start from scratch with the bin cage, it can take them a couple of weeks to settle into a cage sometimes often less but it’s important to just let him settle & not disturb him with cleaning (other than spot cleaning any pee you f ind, or changes in the cage for a while.
If he really seems to like that wheel then it should be ok to leave it in for a little while, it might be difficult with a small bin like that but you could give him two wheels for a while until he gets used to using a larger one.
Give him a good size house with no base, something like a shoebox would do fine, with lots of shredded toilet tissue as well as a good depth of substrate underneath so he can make a proper nest.
It’s ok to give him plenty of toys, chews etc so he has plenty to explore, that won’t overwhelm him, having a lot of open space in the cage is much more of a problem.
You may need to upgrade him again when he gets bigger as syrian hams do need quite a lot of space.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Hi, looks like you are trying to sort things out for your hamster. I am sure you know by now you arent the first person this has happened to, but good for you trying to fix it. Personally, I would get rid of the space ship attached to his new bin cage. You could maybe use it in the future if you choose to free roam your hamster but they arent the most secure cages and there are chances your hamster could escape from it. Hamsters are notorious for looking for places to escape so I think that is all he was trying to do whe you moved him into the bin cage. I would get rid of the small wheel alltogether if he is a syrian. You may find you need to upgrade again from the 8 inch to an 11-12 inch wheel.

I am not sure what you watched where it said not too put too much in a cage so they don't get overwhelmed, I would not agree with that at all, they need things to keep them from getting bored and like Cypher says so they feel safe, plenty of tunnels or hides to play in. So feel free to add more things, but once that is done leave things alone for a while so he can settle in and get used to things.

Also if your hamster is a syrian you may find as he gets bigger those tubes are too small and he may get stuck just something to bear in mind. As Cypher also said you may need to upgrade the size of the bin cage in the future if this isn't possible, it's not ideal as they really need continuous floor space but you could attach another bin the same size as what you have, just with a bigger tube.
Hope this helps and not too overwhelming.
If you want confirmation of what type/species of hamster you have do post a pic and I am sure we can help you.

[KRADFORD]

hey thanks for all the advice. so we took the wheel out and i moved his green house from the top to the bottom. and he seems to be enjoying it all really well (hasent climed on the bars are chewed on them at all and seems way more active) at least from what i can tell. looks like he using the ship part as his hide cause in the bottom now that i have moved the house seems like hes made a burrow and has moved most of the bedding around and during the day it pretty hidden in the bottom. we moved his food to the bin to encourage him to come out there which he has been. all last night he was digging running on his wheel and looked to me like playing. his ears have perked up and he dosent seem to be keeping low to the ground as much as he was befor.

i wanna try and make the ship work as my son picked it out and is really sad that i told him we might have to get ride of it. so im looking into making the tubes bigger from the ship to the tub. and as your advice i went around the ship and buttoned up any spots its looks like he might be able to get out so that shouldn't be a problem. and im planning on building a shelf for him in the near future so when i do that ill upgrade him to a bigger bin as well.

[Pebbles82]

Same thing happened to me at the start . Although in my case it was a rotostak set up. It’s hard when the child really likes the fun cage but I just explained it wasn’t good for the hamster and we could make the new cage fun instead. Of course he was disappointed at first but we had plenty of out of cage fun taming the hamster in the bath with an Octopod toy instead.

I also did the cold turkey move first time and it does cause then a lot of stress. Any cage change is stressful for them. I think it’s better to take the old cage away - even out if the room or they can still smell it - when you move then to a new one. Because however unsuitable it is, it’s home. And they keep wanting to go back.

So I agree remove the rocket and add some enrichment to the bin as cypher has suggested. If he ever goes in the rocket again he’ll get upset. Our hamster even used to keep going over to the spot where his old cage was as if still looking for it.

It’s like us moving house really. It’s hard to leave the old one, which is home and you are attached to. But once you move into the new house you settle and it becomes home and you soon stop missing the old house. But just imagine if you kept going back to the old house and reliving those homesick feelings - you’d never settle in the new house.

Normally when changing cages you move everything over without cleaning anything so it still smells familiar and they settle quicker. Keeping a similar layout helps too. Although in this case it needs to be a new layout.

He’ll need two weeks to fully settle, once the rocket is removed. Just give him lots of nesting material and a house like cypher mentioned and he’ll start building a nice big nest and bury hoards under it. Plenty of floor toys like tunnels and hidey places. Hide a few treats around the cage every couple of days - he’ll have fun finding them. A good chew stick helps as well - whimzees are popular.

A litter tray really helps - you can get corner ones. They often choose a corner of the cage as a pee spot and you just put the litter tray where they have chosen to pee. Put chinchilla bathing sand in it (sand not dust). Then you just empty the litter tray every few days and the cage stays clean and dry a lot longer. Which is good because full clean outs really stress hamsters. Best to use a litter tray and partial cleans. Eg if you need to change the substrate then don’t clean anything else at the same time- you can do the wheel a different week, any toys a different week again. With enough depth of substrate and a litter tray I go about 2 months before needing to change the substrate. They are quite clean little things and groom a lot. Don’t throw away the nest and hoard either at clean out time or he will go frantic. Only if they are pee’d on. Then put new food back to replace the hoard in the same place. Torn up strips of plain white toilet paper is best for nesting.

An 11” wheel works best for a Syrian - if it will fit. You may find he enjoys it more as a bigger wheel is easier to run in.

There is actually a good sized barred cage available in the US (there aren’t many) and it’s not too expensive. It’s called the Prevue hamster cage. Amazon sell it. But you want him fully settled in the new bin before thinking about upgrading again.

Have a look on the “let’s see your cages” section for cage set ups. You can also make some toys and boredom breakers which your son might enjoy to make up for losing the rocket. Check out 10 toilet roll toys on YouTube- by Erins hamsters.

[KRADFORD]

Ok took the ship away . Hope he seems better tomorrow. Hes just laying in the open like hes sleeping but normally at this time hes going lots of his wheel 11:30 PM. Moved his house and most of the bedding from the ship over to help. Is that normal for a hamster to just lay in the open like that am I worrying for nothing?

Also I watch a video from Victoria saying children's play sand works well if u bake it and sift it. And you get alot more for cheaper is that ok? And u don't wanna use dust or powder cause it can cause respiratory infections right ?

[cypher]

What kind of house does he have at the moment? I couldn’t see one in the photo.
If the house isn’t big enough or has a base he may not use it, he needs to be able to burrow under it.
You could try adding in a large bendy bridge if you have space in the bin, he may sleep under there.
Best to just let him settled & not be tempted to make changes as long as he has most of what he needs now.
Play sand is fine, not sure about in the US but here in the UK it doesn’t need sifting, just baking in the oven to dry it out as it’s usually damp when you buy it.

[AmityvilleHams]

Play sand regardless of country needs to be rinsed, sifted, and baked. Ants for example can and will get into play sand bags and many other types of packaging so it really isn't worth the risk, plus the rinsing helps to guarantee removal of fine dust. Even play sand labelled as rinsed/washed/etc still must go through all the processes for safety!

[Pebbles82]

Yes he just needs time to adjust now. Hamsters don’t cope well with change but when it’s done they will start to settle and make new habits in their environment. It is worrying I know. I also moved our hamster cold turkey to a very different cage set up when we first had one and he would come out of his house and sit and just shake . He was scared of anything that wobbled or wasn’t that stable (eg his ladder to his shelf). And jumped at the slightest noise. After a few days we were so worried we nearly put him back in the old cage. But stuck it out a bit longer. We put a blanket on top of the new cage in case the extra space was making him nervous. We sat there every night worrying about him! Then on day 10 he suddenly looked happy - hard to explain - and was really enjoying his new cage - he would run on his wheel and then throw himself out on to the substrate and just chill - looked like he was sunbathing .

Also your hammy is probably just a baby . They are like little toddlers or children when they’re young. Easily alarmed until they bond with you and develop trust.

It has probably been a bit of a trauma but he’ll bounce back. He now needs to decide where to build a nest. And will probably do that in the next day or two. Just leave everything as it is in the cage for now and just put food and water out daily. He will start to scent mark his new cage and claim it as his territory. They leave scent trails - this also helps them find their way around as they don’t see very well and rely on scent a lot.

If the house is a bit small for nesting he might build an open nest. Just a pile in one corner and sleep under it.

Is there enough ventilation in the bin though? Because they really do need good ventilation - I’ll check out your photo again. It will
need a lid or he will escape (and they can manage it! Even by scaling the back of a wheel or pushing the substrate into a slope and climbing up it!).

If it’s going to be a case of having to add more mesh to the bin and lid then I would seriously look at getting a new bigger bin cage made with lots of mesh panels (most of the front, back and lid). Or buying a cage like the prevue. It would be better to move him again than have lots of new disturbance again in his current cage - it can be done carefully so he asjusts better next time. I let them play in the new cage a couple of times - once a day - all set up with substrate, a house, some new toys tunnels etc. Then pop them back in the old one. Then move everything over in the second or third day (depending how he reacts to the play time). And they settle much quicker as it’s already familiar and has their scent.

[Pebbles82]

Ok checked the photo- do there we all were saying remove the rocket and it was the only ventilation to the bin! I can see the bin was a kind of temporary add on and doesn’t actually have any ventilation panels. So laying there could be lack of ventilation. To minimise stress now I would get another cage or bin cage with ventilation ASAP. What you could do meantime is put the bin in an enclosure he can’t escape from and leave the lid off for ventilation. Moving the cage to a different area also stresses them but might be necessary for now unless you can build a kind of secure playpen area around it. If you have a bath you could put it in the dry bath for now with the lid off.