Hamster stressed or sick?

[KiwiTheGreat]

My Female Syrian hamster, Kiwi, that I got in March is acting strange. I recently did move apartments. Since the move she has been obsessively scratching/chewing in one corner of her cage specifically. Her cage currently is part aspen bedding and part paper bedding, the corner is where the paper bedding is so I added more but it didn’t help. She did also get out of her cage once at the old place. She won’t take food from me anymore (though it seems she is taking it when I scatter feed her) but whenever I open it to try and interact with her she seems just fixated on getting out of the cage/reaching the top of it. She gets scatter-fed, she has a dig box, multiple multi-chamber nests and other platforms/hides, she has a sand bath, a large 12in wheel, fresh water in a bowl, and deep bedding for burrowing in. But she just seems so stressed out, and I can’t get her to stop fixating over this one corner. I haven’t heard her messing with it the last few nights but I’ve also slept really deeply. Her enclosure is 48x20x20

 

[Maz]

Hello I think the move is a big part of it. It's a huge change of environment and they find that stressful. It's like a settling in period all over again so best to avoid cleaning or changes for the next couple of weeks. Also if she escaped once before, they are often more frantic to be out after a taste of freedom. Best thing is to try and give her daily out of cage time in a safe area. Do you have a playpen? Or is there an area you can make hamstersafe so she can have a bit of a free roam in a secure area?

 

[KiwiTheGreat]

I want to get a play area set up now that I’m done moving, but I’m kind of at a loss at what I should put in it.

 

[Rescued One]

I want to get a play area set up now that I’m done moving, but I’m kind of at a loss at what I should put in it.

You can start with a couple of cardboard boxes or paper bags with cutouts to serve as hides and go from there. Treats in the hides will make exploring fun. You can then add toys, etc. as time and money allow . It doesn't have to be fancy, just hammie-safe and different.