Jas, the hamster formally known as Jasper

[Maz]

I'm not quite sure I understand what the issue is? How does chewing the tunnel affect the burrows? I do use hemp mat on shelves and to protect hard items from falls but I'm not sure I would put it underneath substrate.

 

[elusive]

I’m not quite sure either, is she using the part chewed tunnel as a structure in her burrows?
I don’t think there is anything really but I wouldn’t worry too much, it’s impossible not to disturb a burrow once in a while when you clean but they usually just get on & remake it.

 

[Hank]

I think she is using her chewed tunnel as a structure in her burrow, so I was just wondering if there was something I could add, like a hide underneath. It was just an idea. I'm not worried about her chewing the tunnel, I just think she's decided she is staying in the burrows, making it more of a nest, that's all

 

[RainbowBrite]

There are some large cardboard tubes that people use as a burrow starter. I do not know what they are called but I will show you what I mean.

Rodipet® enterrado Starter Kit

18 parts for building a nature-like small pet burrow To escape from predators and unpleasant weather conditions most small rodents, when living in the wild, inhabit ...

www.rodipet.co.uk

Is this what you were thinking of?

 

[Hank]

Yeah, something like that might be good. Thank you I'm not sure if she would use them, just trying to think what she might like.

 

[RainbowBrite]

You could try it by getting one large cardboard tunnel and seeing what she thinks of it. Maybe you could make one because the Rodipet one is very expensive.

 

[Hank]

I do have a smaller cardboard tunnel in the playpen, that's quite study, but they do make a bigger size. Another good idea, thanks

 

[elusive]

I bought one of those rodipet tunnels, just a single one to see what they were like & wasn’t impressed, thought they were a bit coarse & sharp tbh.
A large cardboard tube would be just as good.
I’m not sure about adding things to burrows though as I think it can just get in the way of actual burrowing behaviour, the substrate should hold the tunnels ok.

 

[Hank]

Okay, I'll just leave it, she gets a little frustrated, if I have to ruin the burrows, but she soon makes new ones. There's a whole underground system, it does keep her busy.

 

[RainbowBrite]

I know how you feel. It is sad when we have to ruin their burrows when cleaning. Like you say, making new ones will keep her busy.

 

[Maz]

You could try it by getting one large cardboard tunnel and seeing what she thinks of it. Maybe you could make one because the Rodipet one is very expensive.

Yes I wasn't keen on those - they seemed hard and scratchy!

 

[Maz]

Okay, I'll just leave it, she gets a little frustrated, if I have to ruin the burrows, but she soon makes new ones. There's a whole underground system, it does keep her busy.

That's amazing she has a whole underground system! I wonder if she tunnels into the labyrinth house.

 

[Maz]

Do you really need to spot clean the burrows? If you find out where she's peeing, it should just be that one area needs spot cleaning. Is she using the toilet in the multiroom house? Once you find the pee place, the rest can be left alone for quite a long time. What I would do then is, a "half"cage clean when necessary. So just the left hand side of the cage for example. Then the burrows on the right hand side will be in tact and she can rebuild the ones on the left. Then 2 or 3 weeks later, do the right hand side. That way half the cage is always undisturbed.

 

[Hank]

That's amazing she has a whole underground system! I wonder if she tunnels into the labyrinth house.

She does have an entry to her multi chamber house

 

[Hank]

She has her little toilet, but I'm not convinced she uses it all the time, so I have to check. I like the idea of half, I don't give a full clean, but when you are trying to check, you seem to mess up quite a bit

 

[Maz]

I think the mess up maybe only needs to happen once - to find her toiletting area. Syrians do tend to just have the one main toilet. And doing it half a cage at a time is ok. Can you smell pee?

 

[Hank]

No, she seems to manage to hide it? When she was little she used to clean her tunnels herself, empty them, well close enough for me to empty them , maybe she is doing that still and cleaning, so I'm collecting at the top?

 

[Maz]

The mystery of it all lol! I reckon if you can't smell it, don't worry about it. At a guess I would think it would be under the labyrinth house away from the tunnels, or under her nest under the shelf.

 

[Zara]

Just catching up and what an amazing box of treats! Jas will enjoy those, look forward to hearing what she thinks after there freezer time is up. Hams would jump in the box and simply stay there I think.

 

[Hank]

Jas tried the banana from the treat box, that was a success, she liked the banana a lot. I think we might have found a new favorite