Bar-cages and Aquariums Help

[alhallow]

Seeing as this is my first ever post on the site, greetings to you all! I will go to the proper forum and make an introductory thread after this, but I'm having some issues with my hammy, and I think this is more of a priority.

I've owned two hamsters in the past, but that was over 10 years ago, when I was pretty young, and my mom did all the cleaning and caring for them.

For my birthday a few months ago, my girlfriend got me a hamster. His name is Shade. He is all black, with white paws, a little white under his jaw, and a white line that runs down the center of his belly. He is a very sweet, cool, and adventurous hamster. I love him. But lately, to be frank, he has really been aggravating me.

Okay, so I initially put him in an aquarium, because it was all I had at the time of his purchase, and I figured if he showed signs of not liking it, I would buy him a new cage. Didn't have many issues with him until recently. Last week, he seemed to be trying to climb the walls (obviously he isn't going very far as it is an aquarium), but I just took that as him trying to climb and be more adventurous. Then a few nights ago, he pushed his igloo and his food bowl far away from where I had placed them, and pushed all the bedding away from a specific corner. To put a picture in your mind, picture a rectangle, with his igloo in the top-right corner, and his food bowl in the bottom-right corner.

He pushed all that and the bedding back from the walls, and was chewing on the sealant in the corner behind his igloo. By sealant, I mean the stuff they put along the corners of an aquarium in order to make sure it is absolutely sealed, and no water is leaking out.

This immediately alarmed me. I would guess that the sealant can't be very healthy for him. So I gave him some fresh food, in case he wanted more (even though he had some), and hoped for the best. He then repeated that process. So I thought to myself, okay, I'll go buy him a new cage tomorrow.

I did. I got him a bar-cage, but most of the cage is plastic, but it has bars encircling around the middle of it. Attachment has a picture of the cage.

It was $50 at Petco, and I figured he would enjoy it (despite possibly being a little claustrophobic, but maybe that is just what I would think if I were him lol). He is a pretty good size, but he can still in each tube and go all the way up to the tower, so it can't be all that bad.

Anyways, he has been chewing on the bars. Not all the time, not constantly, but enough for me to notice. Just today, I replaced a good amount of his bedding, because it was a little damp from his water bottle, and I also noticed he was just sitting somewhere either in the tower, or on the platform that goes to the wheel, and sleeping. So I thought, maybe since the bedding is wet, he is cold, and doesn't want to sleep there.

Well, he still isn't going to his bedding to sleep, and in fact, I don't think he has slept in over 24 hours (not that I've noticed).

Now, to be specific, he did sleep in his bedding the first night. He completely covered himself in a mountain of bedding (he typically does that, even in his igloo when he had it), and I didn't think much of it. Just last night, he kept me up until 5AM from not only biting the cage bars, but also biting the plastic hinges on the "front door". He gets on the green platform and then bites the plastic hinges, which is really loud. Last night when I was getting frustrated trying to sleep, I tried touching him and he bit me. This is the first time he has ever bit and broke skin, on anyone. Most of the time he bites is when he is waking up, and he'll gently just give you a nibble to see what he is dealing with. That is typical hamster behavior, especially after being woke up.

This morning, I replaced most of his bedding for fresh, non-damp bedding, and he still isn't laying in it. I've noticed him either on the platform or in the tower, sitting still in one place, with his eyes closed. I'm thinking either he is so tired, he is just falling asleep, or he doesn't want to lay in his bedding/cage, and thus sits in place and sleeps.

I realize this has been long, but all that I've typed is relevant. My problems are as follows:

1) Why is he biting the bars? I realize some people dismiss this behavior, but I do not. I recognize biting the bars repeatedly can NOT be good for your hamster, nor would I imagine it would be good. He has wooden chews in his cage, but as far as I've seen since he has been in the new cage, he goes for the bars.

2) I haven't seen him shrouded in his bedding in over 24 hours, which leads me to believe he hasn't slept, which can't be good. Why might he not be sleeping in his bedding, even after I replaced the moist, wet bedding he had?

3) He tries to climb up to the wheel without using the platform or the wheel itself. Looking at the picture, it would be as if the wheel is at one end, and he tries to climb into the corner of the other end. Which he is successful at, but once he gets up there, he sits there, or just falls back down. Maybe he thinks he can get out through the top, but once he gets up there, he realizes he can't?

In a broad sense, should I switch him back to the aquarium? I can still return the cage, and have the aquarium still set up. But again, I don't want him to chew on the sealant in the aquarium.

Any help is so much appreciated.

[kyrilliondaemon]

The first thing I'd do would be to put him back in the aquarium, aquarium sealant shouldn't hurt but bars might.

The second thing I'd do would be to look into a bigger cage, you'll find most (or all) on this forum use cages bigger than the one you bought and most of us find that bigger cages can deter bar chewing to some degree

Good luck with him

[BrainGirl]

Aquariums actually make great hamster habitats provided they've got enough floor space. What are the dimensions of your tank? Perhaps if you could add a few more toys to keep him busy he'd not be so interested in the silicone, though tbh some just like to chew silicone

[Sammypoo]

Lady shrek drives me crazy chewing the corner sealant on her tank she chews it off and spits it out I got really worried tryed her I. A barred cage she hated it and behaviour got worse so she's back in the tank and under vet advise I'm leaving her to it although I've but kiwi sticks along all seals to try and stop her but she just moves them we have realised she's very fitting of her name she is our little ogre but we wouldn't change her

[BrainGirl]

I just take a razor blade to all my tanks now before using them for hamsters. It's a little bit tedious to get started but the job goes quickly and then I don't have to worry about them chewing it

[Esmy]

BrainGirl the tank will hold together just fine if I scrape the silicone out then? I was thinking of doing that for Penny's tank since she's chewing the silicone also.

[BrainGirl]

It should, provided the tank was put together properly in the first place and you don't put a lot of weight against the sides. I wouldn't try it with a seamless tank but since most of the tanks readily available in N. America have frames added after assembly and they add a bit to the structural integrity then it should be fine for non-fish uses. Works for me anyway!

[Esmy]

Good to know, thanks!

[alhallow]

Before I respond to everyone, just a little update: Left him alone for a few hours now, and he is sleeping on the green platform, just below the tube that leads up to the tower. He has a little bit of bedding in front of his head, and that is it.

Maybe he is a bit too hot? Now that it is getting into spring/summer, I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case. But then again, if he were hot, why wouldn't he of cuddled up in the wet bedding?

Shade is a strange one, and I love him for it. Just concerned with his health, as I don't want him to hurt himself by chewing on bars, don't want him to be cold/hot, etc.

Now I shall respond to all of you. Thanks for all the replies!

@kyrilliondaemon
Thanks for the response.

Been thinking about putting him back in the cage, but I'm not quite ready yet to give up on the cage. It has only been two nights now. Another night or two, and I certainly will return the cage and put him back in the aquarium. As for the sealant, I never imagined sealant wouldn't be harmful, but hey, if it isn't, I will have less to concern myself with.

Moreover, I'd only have to make sure he keeps his bedding and igloo/food bowl in place. He moved everything around when he was going for the sealant. Lol crazy little guy.

I could have bought a bigger cage, but it was $70, and I wasn't too sure about it. The attachment has a picture of the one I am referring to. By the same maker, but different model. It is obviously much bigger, and has all the same stuff inside. Just differently organized, and more like a lighthouse.

@BrainGirl

Firstly, thanks for responding.

Second, the dimensions are 2FT by 1FT. I believe it is a 50 gallon tank, maybe 75 but I'm pretty sure about 50. It is a pretty big tank that I got for $15. He seemed to love it, all the roaming space, but the sealant alarmed me, and then he was trying to climb the walls. Shade lovesssss heights, and he loves to climb, as far as I can tell. He willingly jumps from my hands. He never cares. If he has a goal, there isn't much that will stop him.

No, I don't let my hamster jump from really high just to land on a hard surface. I mean I'll hold him in my hand, and he'll willingly fall off into some blankets or something soft. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he would fall even if there wasn't a soft surface beneath him, but I wouldn't let that happen. Dude is a daredevil.

Also, what other toys would you suggest? He has the wooden chews, I've also got alfalfa treats for him, but never see him even touch those. He certainly uses the wooden chews, just by looking at them I am certain of that. I used to have a toilet paper roll in there, but he never did much with it, whether it be chewing on it, or even going through it. So I removed it.

Lastly, I'll have to give that a try, thanks for the idea. I'll take a knife and try and scrape all of the sealant out, at least on the lower parts he can reach, before I put him back in the aquarium, if I do go that route. Thanks again!

Another random question for all of you, how picky are you about your hamster's bedding and objects in their cage? Me, I have OCD, and it drives me nuts seeing stuff out of place lol. I realize I shouldn't be so anal, for lack of a better term, about HIS living space, and let him do what he wants. I don't go all that far, I just always make sure you can't see the bottom of the aquarium, and that there is bedding in all the places there should be. Is this normal, or am I weird? Is it okay for the bottom of the tank to show, or should it always be covered? I've read elsewhere it should always be covered.

[alhallow]

Correction: I don't think it is that big of a tank, believe the aquarium is 10 gallons, but the dimensions are still 2 x 1 in feet.

Update for everyone: Last two nights, Shade has been sleeping on the same green platform, right underneath the tube that leads to the tower. For whatever reason, he doesn't seem to prefer cuddling up in bedding anymore. He stuffs his cheeks with a bunch of bedding, takes the bedding to the platform he sleeps on, then puts the bedding right underneath the tube. From what I can gather, he does this to block light from hitting his face/eyes. That is the only reason I can think of for him putting the bedding right in front of himself.

He then just lays right there and sleeps. Is this normal behavior? anyone else have something similar like this happen?

Again, I go back to my previous thoughts of thinking it is becoming warmer with spring/summer, and he doesn't need to be any warmer?

Would someone also kindly remind me the proper temperature for rodents, specifically for hamsters?