Male syrian hamster (6 months old) showing stress behaviors (trying to climb out of cage) only when we are interacting with him

[NuggetHam]

hi! We've had Nugget for 4 months and take him out every day or so in the morning to play in the tub or playpen. Very recently he has been running in his wheel a bit less and I notice he has been trying to climb out of the aquarium in the morning and seems stressed. He has not been eating treats out of my hand as often. However I watched the video from the last week or so and he seems to be fine during the night... running a bit on the wheel, taking more breaks in his peep shed and not seeming to want to escape other than the occasional climbing on his sand box. He might seem to want to escape more when my partner is in the room too, but I notice he is more skittish just around me too.

I am thinking of trying to give him more toys and enrichment in his tank as well as playpen, but after watching the videos it seems like maybe he just has a problem with me/my partner.
it is a 40 gallon, 7-10" bedding, niteangel large wheel, 3 hides including peep shed with privacy curtain, sprays, dig box with coco soil, sand bath, lots of platforms and cardboard tubes and food toys that he loves (puzzles I made). He really seems chill all night on the video.


It's been unusually cold around here too but it's hard not to notice that he only really seems stressed around me/us. He comes out of his own accord to visit us in the morning, but maybe I am overdoing it.

Thanks for listening!

 

[Maz]

Hi. So it sounds like he's having fairly normal behaviours at night after dark (via nightcam) is that right? When he's on his own. It is fairly usual that as they grow up, they only use the wheel at night in their "night mode" and not during the day, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

Does he show he wants to come out every day to the playpen area? If not then maybe try keeping that to 2 or 3 times a week so he gets some "me time" and routine in his cage. But if it's the case that he just wants out every day then that sounds fine.

There are a number of reasons why they can get stressed. The most common one is cleaning out a bit too much. They feel invaded and all their familiar scents removed or things moved around or changed. They basically like everything to stay in its familiar place. Although we have to spot clean occasionally obvious. Some hamsters will pee in a sand bath or sand toilet which makes it easier and less spot cleaning needed.

Other reasons can be - if they are trying to tell you something - eg the wheel is jammed and won't spin (doesn't sound like it's that), they can't reach food and water (eg a ramp has fallen down). Sometimes it's for attention when they see you - if they associate you with out time (and then stop when there's no-one around).

It could be an idea to do a health check next time he's out as well, just a gentle feel when handling and make sure he has no injuries or lumps etc. And try and check his teeth. His teeth should be fine at this age, but they can break one at any age. Easiest way to check those is to wait until he yawns! Make sure he has all four front teeth.

 

[NuggetHam]

Thank you so much for your help!

We scatter feed him for sure . It seems like he kind of wants to escape but he does crawl up our arms. Once he's in our hands he keeps trying to run away and doesn't sit still. It's hard to say! One day we put him in his playpen when he was doing that and he ran around and tried to escape that too but also ran in the tunnels we had in there. It's hard to know what is play and what is escape He's kind of a little Syrian really as far as size. Thank you!!! We'll do a health check. I scoop sand every day but hardly ever spot clean as he's super tidy. I try to keep things the same for him but also add variety with toys at times. His wheel pedometer shows him running around 3-4 miles a night recently although last month he was closer to 5 or 6. But, around that time he got his new custom platforms and peep shed and it's been super cold. I keep a hot water bottle warm by his bed all day.

He comes out most mornings to say hi but not every morning. If he doesn't come out for the treat I place in his cage in the morning I just do my sand bath clean and pedometer check and then leave the little guy be for the day.

We're building some new toys right now and are very open to ideas. He just ate most of his sprays lol. That is oat grass in coco soil. He adores his little walnut and egg crate food puzzles. We are getting him a new hide but he kept tipping the old one over so this peanut one is a temporary solution. Thanks! (Note privacy curtain for custom peep shed lol)


Thanks again for your help.

 

[Maz]

It looks great and I love the little peep curtains! To be honest it all sounds quite normal for a 4 month old syrian. It's nice he's so friendly and likes interacting. It's very common for them to just look for an escape all the time. Even if he had a whole room, he'd be trying to work out a way past the door! I think they can get a bit bored quite quickly in a playpen (unless there's a wheel or a chew stick in there) but it can be good for taming/handling sessions. He sounds far too energetic right now to sit for cuddles. And some hamsters never will - their personalities vary a lot. I have one cuddly one (if he's in the mood!) and one zippy darty one who never keeps still (although he does try and climb up my leg).

Adding new things to the enclosure is usually accepted ok, providing it doesn't mean removing something or moving other things around. They can get quite stressed if you take something away (sometimes you have to for safety). Again that depends on the hamster. I had one syrian who would throw an apoplectic fit if anything even moved two millimetres. He was good at black looks and sulks as well