Dwarf behaviour

[PuddingBear]

Good evening
Our dwarf is 6 months old.
When i woke up this morning his entire sand bath was full of his paper bedding.

I didn’t have time to sort it before work and upon coming home little Pudding has come out to see me and then as i took a few pieces of the bedding out of the sandbath he started kicking more and more in and then filling his mouth with the bedding and taking it off to his nest in the opposite end of his enclosure.

Wondering if this behaviour means something?

Thanks

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome It sounds like he's decided to nest in his sand bath and then panicked at you removing his nest so started moving it somwhere else Sometimes they do things like that! Does he have a house at all? If they have a large-ish house that's dark inside, they usually make a nest there.

However they are very precious about their nesting area so if his nest got removed or disturbed during a cleanout, he might move it somewhere else to try and protect it. Not sure what cage or enclosure you have but I think it's best to leave their nest or burrow as long as it's not pee'd in and only do partial clean outs infrequently (just spot clean any pee).

 

[PuddingBear]

Hello. Thankyou!
I did wonder if he was nesting there! He has a large dark house which I’ve discovered is where he hoards all his food and then in the opposite corner he has his nest which is a burrow underneath one of his hides.

Normally he just baths and wees in his sandbath so was very surprised when i found all the paper in there today!

I always just do the partial cleanouts as he never pees anywhere aside of his sandbath so his enclosure stays really clean.

Just found it all very intriguing!

 

[Maz]

Another possibility is he was chucking out old bedding? Sometimes they clean out their own nests. But then he didn't like you taking it away so maybe not. I find it fascinating observing them and then you start to work things out and see what makes them tick - sometimes!

With our first hammy I did a lot of watching and listening and worked out what he liked and didn't like and what certain behaviours meant. It was a real education into how intelligent, and sensitive they can be. And even communicative. Some behaviours are obvious (black looks, turning back on you!), others you just can't work out for a while - then you realise. Sometimes we never know why they do a particular thing though!

Our first hammy taught us a lot - a lot of trial and error poor thing! But he had an amazing bond with the whole family - despite a few mistakes I made in the early days.

He was a Syrian though. Dwarf behaviour can be different. But I think they are all fussy! And also contrary.

 

[ilguy]

Sand baths are cooler than the rest of the enclosure, he is putting bedding there for when he rests in it.

Him immediately kicking more bedding in is a tantrum, he's not happy you're messing up his comfy rest spot.

You can get a cooling tile for him to sit on as an alternative. Hamsters take to them quickly, once he's used to one he might not mind the sand bath being cleared.