How often to change cage setup?

[madkatherine]

Hi guys!
I was just wondering about the frequency of setup changes. So not to stress a hamster too much, but also give him some stimulation and changes in life, hehe. To your mind, what is the perfect balance? Once/month?

Thank you

[cypher]

Never
I find that once things are set up in a way that works for both your ham & you it's best to leave things be, they get upset if we mess with their cages, I usually keep a bit of space where I can swap one or two things around but the main set up stays the same.

[madkatherine]

Oh, okay. Good to know!

But it's okay to change toys/chews from time to time without changing the main setup, isn't it?

[cypher]

If they get bored with something & aren't using it which isn't always easy to tell as you don't really know what they get up to at night then it's fine to replace it with something new, if a chew is just about finished then putting a new one in is fine too but I wouldn't change things if they're being used.

[madkatherine]

Thank you for your recommendations, @cypher!
I'm so glad I found this forum

[velma]

I think it depends on the ham. Some of my hamsters have had the biggest sulk if you change even one tiny thing around (not including chews etc) so like cypher's ham for them it would be never and I've had others who got bored quickly and liked the change. I think for a lot of hams then if you do want to change something it's best to make gradual little changes so you don't stress them out.

[IamKat]

I agree that change isn't necessary unless there is something wrong with the set up! Cage too small, wheel too small, not enough toys etc or toy needs replacing. Otherwise leaving it is probably the safest bet not to stress your ham out unintentionally