New House

[Amy S]

Hi All

I have recently moved Sooty from the Rosewood Pico cage to the Alaska Cage. The Pico Cage came with a little house which Sooty slept in, so I decided to move this into the Alaska cage until he settled in. He seems to be comfortable in the bigger cage now apart from the odd bar chewing so I am not sure whether it is worth taking out the old house and either making Sooty build a nest to sleep in or buy a new bottomless house.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks
Amy

[Drago]

If she's completely adjusted, I'd get her a new house without a bottom. Bottomless houses allow for better ventilation, more bedding, and a more comfortable place to sleep.

[Pebbles82]

I would also get a new bottomless house, or better still just make one out of a shoebox. Cut the bottom out, a hole in the front for a door and use the lid as a lift-off roof so you can check inside without her nest falling apart It's a good size for them to build a big nest in in winter weather as well.

But I would leave the old house in as well, as it will smell familiar - it could be a hidey place. If you put a bendy bridge over the new house door it will tempt her to go in there to nest, because it's a tunnel leading somewhere dark and spacious

If it's just odd bar chewing it should settle, and having the new house might help. Try not to disturb or change things round for the first couple of weeks at least, although adding the odd new thing is ok and adding a bit of extra substrate is ok. But don't do a cage clean for at least two weeks. They settle in better then and are less likely to bar chew (ie get stressed and want to escape).

You could also scatter feed a bit which will distract her from bar chewing as well. I used to scatter half the usual amount and put the other half in the bowl, so our hammy had options and didn't worry that his bowl had nothing in Hiding the odd treat around the cage will be fun for her too, foraging and finding them.

[Amy S]

I like the shoebox idea. I like to check on him so the lid would be brilliant.

Well I hope that it is odd bar chewing as I think he only does it when I am there for attention.
Tonight for example, Sooty has been up and about and we decided to get him out in the ball to have a run around. He had been out for around 10-15 mins and then urinated in it so I put him straight back in his cage so he wouldn't get any more stressed. Once back in the cage, he is now having a mad half hour running about and biting the bars behind his wheel. I have now left him and switched the light off and hopefully he will stop biting. I don't know whether he is urinating because of excitement or he is scared?

[Pebbles82]

I think it's just something they do when they're young They just pee whenever they feel like it lol. I found as our Syrian got a bit older he only ever pee'd in his potty litter tray and had much better manners

A potty litter tray is a good investment. You put chinchilla bathing sand in it and the first time, put a tiny piece of pee'd on substrate on top. They tend to use it, but only if you put it in the corner of the cage chosen as the toilet corner.

I have this one - it's simple to clean and a good size for a Syrian - not too big not too small. Charlie used to pee carefully in the back corner then sit in the front for a wash - his little ensuite bathroom.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Houses-Ha...=Hamster+potty

He probably chewed the bars because he wants to come out again. Next time, rather than put him back in the cage, you could take him in his ball (carrying the ball carefully) up to the bath (dry bath), and put the plug in, then gently put the ball down in the bath and take the lid off. And let him run around in there and it's also good for taming. It helps to have a couple of toys in there - something he can hide in if he feels a bit scared - a tube or a mug on its side eg.

This is how we tamed our Syrian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjyEme2xcq4

[alpacassei]

He's probably just peeing everywhere because he's so young (my hybrids were like that). A litter tray is a good idea, though not every hamster uses them so it can be a bit of trial and error. Just make sure you get bathing sand not bathing dust

The best thing I've found for houses is just small cardboard boxes, they're especially good if your hamster pees in them because you can just throw it out and replace it easily.

[Amy S]

Hi

Sooty had a toilet and some myimr he uses it and then other times he doesn't. I have got potty litter to go in rather than the sand. I was thinking about putting sand in one side of his cage so he can dig in it, or is it better to put it in a ceramic dish would you say?

Next time I will try him in the bath and see how we get on. Would you suggest getting in the bath with him or letting him in on his own for the first couple of times to get used to it?

[cypher]

Sand works better than potty litter generally & is easier to clean, you can just scoop out any damp clumps & most hams do seem to prefer peeing in the sand.
Some people section off an area of the cage with things like bendy bridges to make a large sand area (I would imagine it makes cage cleaning a bit of a pain but I haven't tried it) it would probably be best to begin with the sand in a dish or container of some sort & see how much Sooty enjoys it first.

[AmityvilleHams]

Clay based litters are definitely not a good option.Chinchilla sand or sterilized children's play sand would be much safer,and most likely a lot cheaper

Making a sand area isn't necessary,and if it generated a significant amount of dust it would be bad for the delicate respiratory systems of hamsters.A large enough ceramic bowl or jar would be just fine,or even potentially making a use out of the cruel and otherwise useless fishbowls if you had some available at a reasonable price.

[Amy S]

Great thanks. I will give it a go and see how the little one feels. He seems to have a very picky nature so It has been trial and error with everything. It's unbelievable how expensive every thing is for them. I used to get everything from p@h but now go on zoo plus as it seems to be better value for the quality.

With regards to the bath taming, would you suggest to get in the bath with him or let him have a run around first?