Buttons will stay calm in his playpen for a while ...but gradually he starts to try to climb the walls of the playpen, and then he just seems to be OBSESSED... o.o
His ears are up and not pinned back though..so it doesn't seemed like he's stressed. Is this normal hammy behavior?
I have noticed too...that Buttons seems fine in his playpen, (except for the clawing of the playpen) , but when he gets back into his hammy home, he will lay his ears flush to his head and bolt for the nearest tunnel most of the time...idk why..
Also I am looking to get Buttons a travel cage...is it okay if the bar spacing is 1/4 of an inch for a winter white hammy?
EDIT: After looking at cages..they say 9.5 millimeter spacing? Is that a good spacing?
Arora wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:57 pm
Hey everyone
Buttons will stay calm in his playpen for a while ...but gradually he starts to try to climb the walls of the playpen, and then he just seems to be OBSESSED... o.o
His ears are up and not pinned back though..so it doesn't seemed like he's stressed. Is this normal hammy behavior?
I have noticed too...that Buttons seems fine in his playpen, (except for the clawing of the playpen) , but when he gets back into his hammy home, he will lay his ears flush to his head and bolt for the nearest tunnel most of the time...idk why..
Also I am looking to get Buttons a travel cage...is it okay if the bar spacing is 1/4 of an inch for a winter white hammy?
EDIT: After looking at cages..they say 9.5 millimeter spacing? Is that a good spacing?
I’m guessing he just gets bored/overwhelmed being in a play pen for a longer time (if you have him out a lot) also some hamsters just don’t like it especially if it’s kind of open. My hamster Arlo will only be happy in his playpen for about 5 min the he gets stressed and wants to go back lol. Not sure about the bar spacing but I would be really careful with a dwarf hamster, maybe get a solid carrier instead?
Arora wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:57 pm
Hey everyone
Buttons will stay calm in his playpen for a while ...but gradually he starts to try to climb the walls of the playpen, and then he just seems to be OBSESSED... o.o
His ears are up and not pinned back though..so it doesn't seemed like he's stressed. Is this normal hammy behavior?
I have noticed too...that Buttons seems fine in his playpen, (except for the clawing of the playpen) , but when he gets back into his hammy home, he will lay his ears flush to his head and bolt for the nearest tunnel most of the time...idk why..
Also I am looking to get Buttons a travel cage...is it okay if the bar spacing is 1/4 of an inch for a winter white hammy?
EDIT: After looking at cages..they say 9.5 millimeter spacing? Is that a good spacing?
1/4 of an inch is perfectly fine spacing =)
Also, some dwarves are very territorial in their cages, so that may be why he's acting weird in his home turf but not in the playpen.
I would try changing up the layout of the playpen and he'll probably find more things to do.
This is an example of a playpen layout but I am sure others have better ones:
That makes sense about the wanting to get back into his home and being territorial...
And Kikya....that is a amazing playpen 0.0 ...I can't have my playpen set up like that all the time though because I have a cat >_< ...
I have our playpen with some hay, and a bendy bridge, toys, pvc pipes, and 2 hideouts... What do recommend I do to make his playpen more interesting with the kind of setup I have?
Arora wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2023 2:29 pm
Thanks Sadie and Kikya!
That makes sense about the wanting to get back into his home and being territorial...
And Kikya....that is a amazing playpen 0.0 ...I can't have my playpen set up like that all the time though because I have a cat >_< ...
I have our playpen with some hay, and a bendy bridge, toys, pvc pipes, and 2 hideouts... What do recommend I do to make his playpen more interesting with the kind of setup I have?
You could get a cheap wheel to put in his play pen or you could move the original one to the playpen I just know it’s a hassle if it’s under the bedding haha. Maybe you could add a little sand bath/substrate dish too?
Another question...how much weight should little Buttons be gaining each week? He weighed 29 grams when we got him (sunday), and last week (saturday) he weighed 32 grams...and I'm gonna weigh him tonight too....
Is this good weight gain for a winter white hammy? Or could he be eating too much?
I’m pretty sure that’s a healthy weight for a WW! I’m guessing it’s because you have better food than what they offered at the pet store so he’s gained some weight haha. Not 100% sure though!
Edit: Also how much weight he gains/week kinda depends on how old he is/if he’s still growing a little.
What do recommend I do to make his playpen more interesting with the kind of setup I have?