Socks: Mouseworks Dynamic Cardboard Redesign and Basic Tunneling

Maz said:
Oh goodness he has been giving you the run around! I couldn’t quite follow all that. So the new playpen does work attached to the other one?

It’s a great idea to have a huge one and leave the door open. I’m sure he’d have eventually gone back to his cage. Did you put some kind of ramp or cushion on the open cage door so he could climb back in easily? Climbing back up a cage door isn’t so easy for them.

I’m guessing you were worried about leaving him in the pen while you were asleep in case he escaped from it?
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Yes, I will take him out the top and put a cushion on the front ramp tonight to encourage him to climb back. I would worry about having him loose in case of accidents. As you say, I'm sure he will settle down soon enough 🙂
 
He might not like being lifted out of the top and get stressed again. What sort of time are you letting him out? It can be very difficult to catch some free roaming hamsters! Do you think he'd be able to escape from the playpen?
 
The playpen has square pieces for the floor and 40cm rectangular pieces for the sides. The clips join the pieces at each corner, but they have to be the same height. I thought I had ordered a playpen, but got the pieces for a storage unit instead.
 

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Maz said:
He might not like being lifted out of the top and get stressed again. What sort of time are you letting him out? It can be very difficult to catch some free roaming hamsters! Do you think he'd be able to escape from the playpen?
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Yes, he could escape by jumping. He comes out at about half past nine at the moment
 
Catching him is not too bad as there is no furniture in the pen other than his cage and I can crawl around after him. I will use the tube for transfers out of the cage, but he's already trying to climb up my arm to get out for a run!
 
Not secure enough to just leave him to his own devices all night then. Maybe it would be an idea to go back to the standard playpen for a while so he settles down again. Once they get a taste of freedom they get a bit of a personality change! I think chewing at the front door will stop once you turn the lights out and ignore him.
 
Maz said:
Not secure enough to just leave him to his own devices all night then. Maybe it would be an idea to go back to the standard playpen for a while so he settles down again. Once they get a taste of freedom they get a bit of a personality change! I think chewing at the front door will stop once you turn the lights out and ignore him.
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Yes, I might be able to buy some more long pieces. I only need 8. It's from China, so I'm not keen to send it back as it was only £17.
 
Maz said:
Not secure enough to just leave him to his own devices all night then. Maybe it would be an idea to go back to the standard playpen for a while so he settles down again. Once they get a taste of freedom they get a bit of a personality change! I think chewing at the front door will stop once you turn the lights out and ignore him.
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Yes, the answer is to be consistent. He is a good little fellow though and quite sporting.
 
Socks Mum said:
Yes, I might be able to buy some more long pieces. I only need 8. It's from China, so I'm not keen to send it back as it was only £17.
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Can I ask is it time consuming to put up and take down I'm still using a cardboard partion and it's a real pain because it is in sections to fit under the sofa when not in use
 
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Jain said:
Can I ask is it time consuming to put up and take down I'm still using a cardboard partion and it's a real pain because it is in sections to fit under the sofa when not in use
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The first time takes a bit longer to get used to operating the clips and keeping the puces facing smooth side in, but if your hammy is not a chewer you can have them facing with the seams in or out. Now it only takes a couple of seconds, but each piece has to be clipped in four places. The gaps are OK for Syrians, and I think Rainbow Bright uses it for Sprite. I had to watch Socks initially because they can chew through the plastic, but now he doesn't chew it, mainly because he knows I would interfere to stop him.
 
Sometimes a stern no does work :)
 
Yesterday I hamster proofed the room and fenced off the door, also blocking the other doors, raising electrical wiring and moving furniture to avoid blind spots. Then... we had a wonderful free roam session in the evening at about 9:30pm! Socks scampered about, testing the barriers and trying to nose past some. I followed him about with a torch, spoiling his fun here and there. He did look for ways of escape, but the boundaries are secure, although he does need careful supervision. He didn't stay out for long, and fairly soon settled in one of his concertina tunnels, having a nap and waiting for the transfer back to his cage. He went inside his MCH and was so quiet I got a bit worried, but he was happily tucked up in his nest, snoozing. He peered up affable and I carefully replaced the roof so that he could go back to sleep.
 
At 12:30pm he was up and using his wheel. Then he sat and meerkatted at the front door and on his MCH roof, gazing wistfully over the room. I had to go back to sleep and Socks did some wheel running. It all went very well from my point of view, and I think Socks enjoyed his first great free roam. He seemed calmer than the first time. He is very good at finding potential places to escape. His wheel was out, but he was more interested in scampering about, sniffing and exploring. It takes a bit of time to prepare the room, so on some nights we might have to use the playpen. It's nice to be part of his set up and encounter him in the room with me, in a controlled way.
 
That sounds like it went really well :-). They do vary but I do think they can have certain peaks of activity and dozy periods through the evening. With our first Syrian he was super active early evening around 6pm or 7pm and too fast to handle and wanting to be off/escape. Around 8 to 9.30 pm he was more relaxed and would even doze off. After 10pm onwards he was in “night mode” where their raison d’etre seems to be to escape and roam and forage far and wide!

They’re actually supposed to be crepuscular rather then nocturnal - so they do sometimes have peaks and naps during the evening and do have naps during the night sometimes as well - depending on the hamster.

Sounds like 9.30pm is a good time for Socks 😊

Raffy will also try pestering to come out again if he sees me but if I ho away or go to bed he also just gives up and runs on his wheel. So done is attention seeking if they see you but settles down.

It sounds like your place is becoming as Heath Robinson as our living room 🤣
 
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