Hamster house

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PuddingBear

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Hello.
I posted a few days ago about our dwarf who was kicking paper into his sand bath. Since then his behaviour is what i can only describe as different

I’ve been observing him for 2 days now ans noticed that his large wooden house which we noticed he was using as a food hoard is now not being used. He is coming out sniffing near it like he can smell something he doesn’t like and then he pokes his head in and darts out and starts kicking the bedding towards the door. He then goes to rhe back of the house and for the first time ever is biting the cage.

He is also not putting the food in there now either

Could there be something in there he doesn’t like? I didn’t want to disturb it all but he seems increasingly stressed by something

Thanks
 
Aw sorry to hear this. Did you recently do a cage clean?
 
Ok. Did you spot clean anything in the house? He seems to be acting like the house has been invaded :) No change of bedding or anything? Did you remove his hoard when you spot cleaned at all? Just trying to work it out.

If he's suspicious of the house, where is he sleeping at the moment? Sometimes they do move their nest somewhere else.
 
I didn’t touch his food just left that whole part of his enclosure, paper included

He is sleeping in a burrow at the opposite end of the enclosure

Could there be something in there he doesnt like?

Thankyou
 
Hmm. So he's just decided to sleep somewhere else and abandon the house. I can't think what would be in the house that he doesn't like. You could try putting a little pile of food inside it, a smelly treat (eg cucumber or cheese) inside it and a trail of sunflower seeds up to the doorway :-) That sometimes tempts them to move back in. I've had hamsters stop using a wheel after it's been cleaned, until they are tempted back into the wheel by a smelly treat.

Also put a pile of torn up strips of toilet paper next to the house entrance, so if he does move back in the house, he has some nesting paper to take in there. It'll be interesting to see if he moves back in if you do that :)

Do you have a photo of his cage or enclosure?
 
So we did try some new food around the samw time this started ans although he likes some of it he detests the rose and any strong scented leaves. Im wondering if some of it might have gone into his stash.

Attached is a picture of his cage. I am the person who tried to put him into a lovely big bucastate enclosure and he hated it and we had to move him back into it this one instead

IMG_8042.jpeg
 
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He sounds like quite a sensitive little boy :-) How long has he been back in his old cage now? Where is he nesting in there at the moment? I'm wondering what is behind the fence and the house? Those grey platforms are quite clever - did you make them? :-)
 
He is very friendly with us now and hops onto my hand whenever he has the opportunity to come out for a cuddle

But he is definitely sensitive

So its probably hard to see but he has a large sand bath front left and that wooden platform with the fence is raised slightly above the sandbath. He does circuits up the wooden ramp, up the two grey platforms and up onto the house room and then another wooden ramp takes him up to that fenced platform where he has a wooden toy which he loves.

His house is back left and there is a gap to the left of it so he goes behind it.

The grey platforms were just a purchase online and we connected them so he has some additional running space at night as he loves a play and as i said loves his wheel and circuits 😂

He has been back in this since the day it all went horribly wrong when we tried transitioning him to the bucastate. Which he hated.

Thanks for all the advice
 
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He has a nest under the first grey platform (front right) and also at the back right where all his connecting burrows are
 
That suggests to me that he wants a bigger house :-) If he's using the platforms as a large house basically. A smaller house won't have enough space to have nests and hoards. Or maybe he's just decided he prefers a burrrow :)

It might well be something he doesn't like about the house any more. Those bark wood houses can sometimes have nails or made with glue. Have you checked it inside in case there are any sharp bits or nails protruding? That can happen if they start chewing the house.
 
You were spot on, ive taken the house out ans one side along the bottom he had chewed to loads of glue!! Have taken it straight out and replaced it with a different type!
 
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So he was trying to tell you something :-) They are quite clever like that. Actually a shoebox makes a good house, but you might not have space to fit it - unless it's a smaller child's shoe box. You just cut the base out, keep the lid for a lift off roof and cut a hole for a door.
 
Thanks so much
I knew he was but didn’t know what it was
I would love to give the bucastate enclosure another go sometime soon as the space wouls be fantastic for him. but just dont want to stress him out!!
 
Perhaps it could be his play space (luxurious play space) for a while and take it from there. He sounds like a good communicator and you sound like a good listener.
 
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How long as he been back in his old cage? If you decide to try him in the bucatstate again, one tip that some people used to find worked with a cage upgrade was but the old cage in the middle of the new cage and leave the doors open. And let the hamster explore out from there gradually but still come back to his familiar cage. It would mean you couldn't fully set up the Bucatstate initially, but I'm sure there'd be space for a platform or two, some sprays and maybe a cork log. Or one platform and a multiroom house.

After a couple of weeks you could then remove the old cage but put the entire contents back in the same place. ie the old cage but without the base.

A sort of gradual adjustment.

Alternatively, as Tulsi mentions, you could do a gradual transition to the new cage (this is something I usually do) by having it all set up and letting him have a play in it maybe two or three times with space in between. Then maybe a few days later, on moving day, you move the contents of his old cage in (spread the old bedding on top of the new), and any other items you're keeping from his old cage, and move him in there. They tend to settle and adjust much quicker if they've been in it a couple of times before moving day and had chance to explore everything.

It helps if the layout is very similar to the old cage as well. Eg you'd need platforms on the right instead of the shelves on the right, and sand bath front left, but you could have a much larger house like a multiroom house, which would help fill the space up. And plenty of clutter at floor level so he can dive under things.
 
I think this sounds like a great idea ans im definitely going to try all of the above

It would give him so much more freedom once he was used to it
 
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If it doesn't work then maybe he just needs his current cage if he's happy :-) Almost like special needs :)
 
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