hammie behavior

Question
Hi, its me again. Thanks so much for the answer... Hammy, my teddy hamster is very much okay. He seems much better now. =) I didn't have to take him to the vet after his fall. The vet would probably think it's weird and overreacting because it's not a practice from where I'm from.

Anyway, I also have another inquiry... I changed his cage already. It's now a homemade one, out of a plastic bin approximately 14x20x8.5 inches with a wire screen top. I thought that by putting him there, Hammy would get somehow settled because he's in a much bigger one already. He is almost always on his hamster wheel, running about. Judging from what I can observe, I believe Hammy thinks he can get out if he runs fast enough. out of curiosity, i tried stopping the wheel and what he does is he gets out and tries to climb it, to get out.

I recently put a small ramp/house for him made out of an old illustration board propped against 3 tissue rolls. What he does is he climbs to the highest part of the ramp and tries to jump his way to freedom (the height of the cage after all is just 8.5in)- that is when he's not on his wheel, eating, sleeping, or grooming. That only happens when i open his cage....

I'm certain that it's probably normal behavior for an animal to be free but is there something I'm missing out? Or are they just that inquisitive? I feed him everyday, give him clean water, clean his BIG cage twice a week, run in his hamster ball for a few minutes a day....

Answer
Hi Jan

I'm glad your hamster seems to be OK after his recent ordeal.  

Hamsters do like to escape and will try to at any opportunity. However, their eyesight is bad and they rely heavily on scent and therefore it could just be that because he's in a tank and therefore surrounded by his own scent, the only different scent he can smell is through the top of the tank.  Hamsters are very nosey and if he can smell something outside his cage he will want to investigate.

Syrian hamsters also love to climb and whilst it is fine that he is in a tank, in many ways the wire cages are good because they allow them to climb the bars, or for ladders etc. to be suspended from the top of the cage.

Do make sure his tank isn't near a window where he could over-heat.

I let my hamsters run in their exercise ball for about 20 - 30 minutes in the evening so that they get to explore.  It might be a good idea to let him out for longer in his so that he can investigate different smells etc.

It sounds as though he is behaving like any other hamster!

Regards
Sheila