Rearrange cage for syrian hamster

pumpkin13 · 01-25-2017, 03:11 AM

Hi There
We have had our Syrian hamster for 3 weeks now. I haven't done a full clean yet as I wanted pumpkin to settle in. we are newbies to hamsters so getting as much advice as poss. we have bought her a new house that is bottomless now as her old house had a solid bottom in. She has the little pets Grosvenor rat and hamster cage with a shelf at one end. She has a Trixie 28cm wheel. She has made a nest under the shelf. It has been suggested that I put the new house over her nest which I think is a good idea. I thought I might take out her old house from under the shelf (at the other side from her nest) and section it off with a bendy bridge and fill it with substrate. Does this sound ok. will rearranging her cage after 3 weeks stress her out. I want to make it better for her. She has a potty in one corner which I filled with chinchilla sand. She emptied the sand out and somehow managed to get a pile to outside her nest at the other end of her cage. Worried she'd had it in her mouth to get it up there. Will she be ok? Any suggestions for a good layout? I have her wheel at the opposite end of the cage from her shelf. Thanks for sticking with this long post if you make it to the end.

Drago · 01-25-2017, 03:56 AM

She'll probably be alright with having a few things added, just don't change it too drastically. Perhaps adding things in little by little would work best for avoiding excess stress on her part

Pebbles82 · 01-25-2017, 07:02 AM

I agree. I think putting the new house over her nest is a good idea. Although - is her nest where you were going to put the house? If it was replacing a house she was nesting in then yes put it over the top of the nest. But I'm thinking what might be better is if you put the house where you were going to (I think it was part way under the shelf which would help with shelf access too). Put a bendy bridge over the door and a treat inside the house and she will probably move in herself and take her nest with her or build a new nest.

Also putting a new house over the top of the nest could freak her a little bit as it would smell different.

The only times I have put the house over the nest is when I'm replacing a house in exactly the same place. If adding a new house I've put it in the best position and the hammy has just moved in (I think she will if it's nice and dark inside and roomy enough - eg with the bendy bridge over). If it's a bit small she might ignore it - and then it's best to leave her as she is for now and she can use it as a hidey place.

I wouldn't change anything else in the cage just yet - needs a bit of patience

Adding a new toy or a potty might be ok at this stage, but slow steps just now. So I wouldn't do anything that rearranges the substrate. Adding a bit more (I push it underneath the old) might be fine if you do it a week or so after the new house.

pumpkin13 · 01-25-2017, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I agree. I think putting the new house over her nest is a good idea. Although - is her nest where you were going to put the house? If it was replacing a house she was nesting in then yes put it over the top of the nest. But I'm thinking what might be better is if you put the house where you were going to (I think it was part way under the shelf which would help with shelf access too). Put a bendy bridge over the door and a treat inside the house and she will probably move in herself and take her nest with her or build a new nest.

Also putting a new house over the top of the nest could freak her a little bit as it would smell different.

The only times I have put the house over the nest is when I'm replacing a house in exactly the same place. If adding a new house I've put it in the best position and the hammy has just moved in (I think she will if it's nice and dark inside and roomy enough - eg with the bendy bridge over). If it's a bit small she might ignore it - and then it's best to leave her as she is for now and she can use it as a hidey place.

I wouldn't change anything else in the cage just yet - needs a bit of patience

Adding a new toy or a potty might be ok at this stage, but slow steps just now. So I wouldn't do anything that rearranges the substrate. Adding a bit more (I push it underneath the old) might be fine if you do it a week or so after the new house.

Hi. thanks for the advice. I bought the house off amazon you recommended, the one that slots together. She doesn't nest in the existing house, she has built her nest in substrate next to it. I have added a bit more substrate and (mixed it with that already in) as one end of the cage is empty as she has moved it all up to the other end of the cage where her nest is. Do you think it will be ok to move the old house out and put the new house in its place not over her nest. I have put her in the bath a couple of times for a short time and put the new house in there with her so that she can get used to it a little before I put it in her cage. How long would you leave it before attempt to alter things a little. I think you advised me on the Trixie wheel as well. I have put the 28cm one in her cage and it is so much better that the silent spinner which was very stiff and she does go in the new wheel which is great. Would you leave a full clean until she has been in there a bit longer. Sorry to ask so many things, but I want pumpkin to be very happy.

pumpkin13 · 01-25-2017, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drago

She'll probably be alright with having a few things added, just don't change it too drastically. Perhaps adding things in little by little would work best for avoiding excess stress on her part

Thanks for the advice. I will take it slowly with her.

CMB · 01-25-2017, 02:29 PM

As she isn't using the old house, you could remove it and put the new house in. She may move her nest into it herself.

The old house could be used for playtime in the bath etc.

Pebbles82 · 01-25-2017, 02:34 PM

I agree it would be ok to replace the old house with the new one

You could do a bit of spot cleaning at the same time - ie remove the odd handful of soiled substrate and replace it with a new handful and mix it in a bit. I would leave it a little bit more before doing anything more than spot cleaning. If she pees in the wheel then maybe do that a couple of days later so it isn't too much upheaval all at the same time

I had an old little house from Charlie's cage and use it for playtime and also in his pet carrier.

pumpkin13 · 01-26-2017, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMB

As she isn't using the old house, you could remove it and put the new house in. She may move her nest into it herself.

The old house could be used for playtime in the bath etc.

Thanks for your reply, I will move the old house out and replace it with the new house.

pumpkin13 · 01-26-2017, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I agree it would be ok to replace the old house with the new one

You could do a bit of spot cleaning at the same time - ie remove the odd handful of soiled substrate and replace it with a new handful and mix it in a bit. I would leave it a little bit more before doing anything more than spot cleaning. If she pees in the wheel then maybe do that a couple of days later so it isn't too much upheaval all at the same time

I had an old little house from Charlie's cage and use it for playtime and also in his pet carrier.

Thanks for your reply. I will remove the old house and put the new house in her cage and leave everything else until she has been in there longer. I will use the old house for playtime in the bath.

Pebbles82 · 01-26-2017, 02:46 AM

If the substrate was a bit low at one end when she took it for her nest, and it got pee'd in there, I sometimes used to just wipe the base of the cage in one or two spots and spot clean. Does she use a potty litter tray? And does she pee in the same spot always, and does she pee in the wheel? That'll give an idea as to when she'll need a bigger clean out. Also depending on how deep the substrate is depends on whether the pee goes down to the base or not. If it's deeper, you can usually just spot clean the top half and the bottom stays dry.

Poops aren't really an issue by the way - their poops aren't smelly or dirty, they're like little black seeds and sometimes they eat them or hoard them because they can redigest extra vitamins second time around

So don't worry too much about trying to get rid of all the poops. Unless it starts to look like poop overload everywhere