Misbehaving hamster!

ergonomics

Ok I know the thread title seems silly, and I feel silly posting but I am at my wits end.

I've had my hamster, Daisy, since June and she now lives with me in college. I share the house with three other people and at night time she stays in my bathroom which is out on the hall. Daisy is extremely tame. I had one hamster before her and he was currently different. If I'm awake Daisy generally gets up too for a while and has to come out and play. When I put her in her ball she stays close to me and often just comes and sits on my feet. When she's finished in her ball you *have* to hold her for a few minutes, otherwise she'll chew the cage for ages. If you do hold her she goes back into her cage and back to sleep without any trouble.

Now, if I decide to have an early night we have trouble. Daisy seems to get annoyed at not being let out, despite being out two or three times already earlier on. She knocks things over in her cage, wedges things under her wheel so it makes loads of noise when she runs and generally causes havoc and lots and lots of noise. Except this all happens at about 3am. I'm constantly getting up to sort her out, and if I can hear her, my housemates can too. I don't want them to say she has to go but short of taking everything out of her cage at night I don't know what to do. Any ideas?

Oh and she isn't bored. Her cage has 6 levels. On one level she has a wheel, on another a tunnel, on another a house to burrow in, on another a chunk of wood to chew on, on the other food and on the last one a sand bath (which she adores!) and the bottom of the cage is full of bedding to burrow and hide in. Maybe she's overstimulated? Ha!

I may as well share a photo while I'm at it...

Maggie.23

Congrats on having such a cool hamster! She is lovely.
She may have learned that when she makes noise you get up and give her attention! I had this problem with my rabbits - they used to get very active just before dawn and make lots of noise. I used to get up and give them a treat to distract them. Then I figured I was actually training them to make noise. I started ignoring them and eventually they settled down.
Good luck!

Sigma Force

She has a routine and she's sticking to it lol she's a gorgeous hamster but can understand how noisy she can be.

Changing the layout of the cage can help, using plain kitchen roll dotted around the cage..not ripped up so she can run about building a nest.
All in all she wants her cuddle time slowly changing her routine might help.
Bottom line is though hamsters are nocturnal and in general are very noisy at night, there are some new toys out for hamsters although it sounds like she probably has all the latest. I'm not much help I think it's cute but is not for someone who needs their sleep.

Check out zooplus.ie and brendaspets for hammy items.

All I can think of is to just slowly change your times as to when you give her attention.

NedKelly

Sounds to me like she needs a playmate, as far as i know its illegal to sell u just one hamster, gerbil etc because they can die of loneliness, no Im serious!! Shes lovely and Id hate to think of any animal being lonely so maybe another one of her kind to share her great cage would be kinder!!! Just make sure its another female!!!!

Fiii

NedKelly wrote: »

Sounds to me like she needs a playmate, as far as i know its illegal to sell u just one hamster, gerbil etc because they can die of loneliness, no Im serious!! Shes lovely and Id hate to think of any animal being lonely so maybe another one of her kind to share her great cage would be kinder!!! Just make sure its another female!!!!

Do not do this whatever you do.
I'm sure you know this already, but Daisy is a Syrian hammie, and Syrian hammies HAVE to live alone. If they live with another past a certain age,they will fight, and possibly/ most likely, kill.

My little one, Scout, is the very same! He's nearly 3 now (ancient for a hamster!) but loves his play time and gets annoyed if I don't play when he wants to.
best thing is to treat her like a child and just not give in! ha
She'll soon realise she can't get her way and quieten down.
Maybe bring her into your room for a while until she gets the message so you don't bother your housemates?

Fi

p.s this is scout...he rocks my world

ergonomics

She was much quieter last night but during the day I couldn't even keep her in my room. She was chewing away at the cage and if I moved she'd stop and run to the door of her cage, despite the fact that she was out for ages before that! I never let her out when she's chewing her cage. I don't want her to learn that behaviour but it doesn't stop her!

That's the thing about Daisy. I don't normally get up to her in the middle of the night, unless she's really pushing it! The other night it sounded like someone was in the bathroom hitting things with a hammer. Normally I just leave her be. Yet that doesn't stop her. She'll just keep making noise anyway.

We're all in the middle of our exams at the moment so quiet is a must but after that I'll be bringing her home with me for a month. She'll love that because her 'play cage' (a smaller cage with toys that she gets to play in during the day!) is there as well as my boyfriend and his housemate who adore her beyond belief. My dog doesn't share their sentiments so Daisy has to stay in their house!

@NedKelly, I dunno who told you that hamsters will die of lonliness but they are 100% wrong. Hamsters are extremely solitary creatures and will fight, often to the death, if left in a cage with another hamster. Certain breeds of hamster, like robovskis, are much more sociable, but Syrian hamsters must be left alone.

@Fiii - Scout is lovely, I love his colouring!

Fiii

The bar chewing is annoying alright, but unfortunately, it's just what they do...even when they aren't even looking for attention!
I think they are secretly trying to escape, hehe. I know my little guy is anyway...he's a right little escape artist! Often smashes his ball against the wall in order to crack it open and run free! Little scamp!

How old is Daisy, and how long has this been going on?
If she is young and it's only a recent thing, it could be that she is in heat.
Do you notice a stronger smell coming from her around the time she does it?

Fi

ergonomics

Well I assume she was a couple of months old when I got her, so we'll age her at...8 months? And she has done it since she got tame.

bigpinkelephant

OP, would you consider keeping her in a glass aquarium? It means she has no bars to chew. I used to keep my gerbil in one, she loved it. The only thing is that it's much harder to have a wheel in a tank because there's nothing to hook them up to. I tried about 4 different wheels, the free standing ones just get stuck because of the bedding under them.

She is a gorgeous hamster, really unusual colours.

Sigma Force

OP what type of cage is it? Thought is was like a habitrail because of the levels so didn't mention bar chewing but a habitrail or rotastak (sp?) or something like that would be better, they have rounded sides, you can see your pet but they can't chew bars depending on what model you get.
Check out ebay they might have some.
Aquariums are handy but some hammies don't like them unless you can put levels in them.
Bar chewing can also end up with damaged or broken teeth.

"Sounds to me like she needs a playmate, as far as i know its illegal to sell u just one hamster, gerbil etc because they can die of loneliness, no Im serious!! Shes lovely and Id hate to think of any animal being lonely so maybe another one of her kind to share her great cage would be kinder!!! Just make sure its another female!!!!"

It's not illegal to sell them on their own, they won't die of lonliness either. I have a lone gerbils in the past with no problems.
However gerbils should be really kept in bonded same sex pairs as can smaller hamsters but Syrian hamsters must no matter what be kept alone or they will attack and kill the other one.

bionic.laura

Your hamster is so adorable...

I had a hamster when I was in college who I kept in my room. Hampton did his best to keep me awake. I did find that giving him things to chew helped stop him chewing the bars. Hampton would chew even when he didn't want to be left out. He just liked to do it I think.

My current hamster Broc is in a Habitrail cage which he can't chew. He has a cardboard maze which you can replace and he can chew that all he wants.

Fiii

You have a beautiful hamster bionic.laura
He looks like a Campbells Russian to me, a breed of Dwarf Hamster. (You can tell by the dark dorsal stripe )

Unlike Syrians, Dwarf hamsters tend to be sold in pairs...always same sex pairs (unless they are being used for breeding) and it is best to have them from the same litter also.
Did you buy him as a single?
They tend to like having a partner, but some do live alone if they are prone to fighting etc
It's not an issue if Broc is happy, but if the pet shop you bought him from didn't inform you why he was being sold as a single, I would avoid that petshop, as they don't know what they are doing!

Rotastaks and Habitrails are good for Dwarf hammies, as because of their smaller size, they tend to slip through the bars of cages!
Not so great for Syrians, as they grow alot larger and can become stuck in the tubing etc etc.
I know my Scout would wedge himself in if he had one, the little heffer
They are also a pain in the butt to clean.
The Aquarium is a good idea if she just won't stay away from those bars Ergonomics!

bionic.laura

Thanks, he's a little cutie. He was named for his dorsal stripe! I've had two syrian hamsters over the years and Broc is my first dwarf hamster. I got him on his own. I know they can be kept in pairs but I didn't want to take the chance of them fighting or mating. He's a very happy hamster as his house is massive.
Yeah the habitrail would be too small for a lot of syrian hamsters, I know Hampton would never have fit in Broc's house. And yes it's a pain to clean as I have loads of parts and tunnels and sand baths. I usually take it all apart and dump it all in the sink.

lorna100

All of your hammies are absolutly gorgeous. Im so jelous, miss my little ones so much.

Firstly Op, Daisy isn't misbehaving. In fact, her behaviour is natural, it is however disturbing you. She does'nt, as you probably know, realise what she is doing is 'wrong' or that it is inconviencing you.

I would assume all she wants is to play and have fun at night, 'daytime' to her. I understand you're busy at college, but how about moving her 'day' (ie your nightime) foward.

Keep a log, or perhaps you know off the top of your head what time she (roughly) wakes at, does she wake upon your request or do you play with her when she is alreadly awake? If so, what time is this natural wakening at? What time is she fed at, and what is she fed? what are her 'toilet habits', ie does she ever have accidents when she is out of her home? When is she taken out of her cage, for how long?

Once these answers have been established, you can work on moving her 'day' foward. Many will disagree with me, however it is possible to move a hamsters 'day' foward and set them into a routine that is more convienent for you, while not inconvieniencing the hammie either.

Start by setting a routine now, if you don't have one already. Say Daisy normally gets up at ten PM and is taken out to play at quarter past, try to take her out at 5 past for a few nights until she has realised that she must be up a bit earlier. Move it backward a few minutes more, say to 9.45. If she is not already up, wake her gently and entice her out of bed with some tasty titbit.

Continuing in this way, until she is waking on her own at, say, 6PM, which means she can be taken out for longer, and be more 'tired' going back into her home. After a time of this she should settle into the routine and sleep more of the night.
It might be an idea to do this in the morning too - and keep a routine - feed at definite time, play at definite time, sleep at (hopefully after she is used to the routine) a definite time. Sounds a little daft, but I have found it highly sucessful in the past.

If you think this sounds realistic and aplicable, go for it. Feel free to PM me for any more info.
Lorna100

NedKelly

Sorry I was sure I heard that about small pets few months ago-that a new law was passed about the sale of small pets being sold alone was illegal because of lonliness, u guys obviously know a lot more bout this, so I stand corrected .....must apply to other small pets?? Good luck with Daisy and exams

boomerang

I think that law was passed in Switzerland? I remember reading about it here.