Wondering...

[squirrely20]

... Rocky has always had some sort of box to sleep in in his various "cages", when he was in his tote he slept in the large shoebox he "grew up" in, then he had a kleenex box in the hamster cage, then a smaller shoebox in the larger cage he is in now. But as I am sure you all know that he loves to chew... and chew... and chew. :crazy So he finally destroyed his box. :shakehead Apparently he was pretty attached because since we didn't have anymore shoeboxes to fit in his cage, his daddy and I decided to build him one. So a couple of hours later, we have him a nice wooden box. Rocky won't go in it. :dono He will chew on the outside, he will play on top of it... right now he is trying to take a nap on top of it. What do I do now?? :thinking I hung him up a little hammock cause I felt so bad he was trying to sleep outside his box, but apparently he hates that too. I tried to put him a kleenex box in to use until he gets used to the new box, no go. Any suggestions??

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Sometimes it takes a few days to get used to things, put a blanket in there with his smell on it that may encourage him to stay in it.
I guess he is used to homes he can destroy at any given moment.

[Buddy'sMom]

His blankies will make it smell like Home .... but a couple of nuts should entice him to go in and check it out!

:D :grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[squirrely20]

:thumbsup I feel a bit better. I figured he was just being a bit stubborn! :crazy He's gotten a lot of "poor baby's" today, we felt so bad. He would rather be out of the cage 24/7. He gets out a few hours a day. He just looked so sad today. He's growing up so fast, last week he quit taking the syringe, but he is still taking plenty of formula from the dish (2-3 feedings a day) and refuses to even investigate the water bottle I got him yesterday. :poke I will try the blanket thing, we'll see if that helps! :thumbsup Tried a nut, he got it and ran out. Hopefully he decides to go on in before bedtime!! :thankyou I'll let ya know...:Love_Icon :grouphug

[JudyB]

Maybe try putting a maple branch with leaves in his cage. He may decide to gather the leaves and bring them into the box to nest. Just an idea :jump

[digiandchipper]

I know this won't help tonight, but I went to PetSmart and got my 10 wk babies a ferret "Hide and Sleep"; it is a cozy fish shaped thing, I will try to attach a pic below. It was only $10 and they love it! (it did have 'crackly' fins that made a noise, but I cut those off and made a hole in the top fin to hang it from the top of the cage.

Maybe this will help you tonight: they like to take little pieces of paper towel and carry them in there...among other things!:D who knows what all they've got in there!

[squirrely20]

:crazy LOL Rocky's addiction is Kleenex. He has to have Kleenex to drag into his box. We have went through soooo many since he got here, first for wiping his face after he ate and for pottying and now for his box. :D Anyway, I think the crisis is over. Thanks everyone! :thankyou I went in to take a shower and when I came out, Rocky was in the box sleeping. :thumbsup I was so worried he didn't like the smell of the wood or something. :dono Thanks all for helping me get through that, I was afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. :shakehead

[squirrely20]

digiandchipper, Those are cute! I am gonna look for some of those! :thankyou

[JudyB]

:sleep1 :sleep1 :sleep1 :sleep1 :sleep1
:wahoo :wahoo

[skye]

:D Sweet Dreams Rocky

[digiandchipper]

Glad Rocky's in dreamland - with his kleenex?:rotfl ............and glad you liked the 'fish sleeper'....I couldn't believe how affordable it was; usually that kind of item is sky high:wallet

[island rehabber]

At least he's not Lenny, squirrely20. Lenny chooses to sleep either half in, half out of the hole in the nest box (scares you to death when you see him) ....or on the floor of the cage. I tell ya, the boy ain't right.....:shakehead :D

[Jackie in Tampa]

:thumbsup Rock was just taking his time!:tilt
IR, Lenny sounds so unique...I love the kids with their own style!
DandC...I love that fish, I have looked everywhere for it!...and only $10....I want a couple of those! especially at that price...I have cked my Pet stores:shakehead , but will call today! Fingers crossed:)
Glad the Rock moved in...now try to get him outta there:sanp3 :nono :peace
:wave123

[squirrely20]

:crazy Silly squirrel! Sooo, I spoke too soon. After I seen he was in his box, I took him on upstairs to the bedroom. An hour or so later when I went up to bed, there he was... He had pulled all his kleenex over into the corner of his cage, curled up and went to sleep. :dono So, I left it alone (covered him up with one of his little blankies, and he was still in the exact spot this morning)... but I have been thinking. It is a nice box, his daddy even carved his name in the top. :) It's big enough. It has a hole in the front. Maybe he needs some smaller holes in the ends? Like airholes? Maybe the box was too warm... it was pretty warm in the bedroom last night. The weather here has been crazy warm. Also... maybe it smells too "woody"? I know I can't paint it, but how about "staining" the inside with some fruit juice? Just a thought I had after I watched him smear a blackberry all over the top of the box. :thinking We also had quite an eventful morning. We went to worrk as usual, walked in the door... and just so you know he is in a large birdcage... the bottom fell right off the cage. Now...Rocky goes running off... the cage in laying on the floor... and my boss has these two little dogs, a schnoodle and a mapoo (sp?). Rocky is not allowed out of his cage at work because of these dogs. Of course, the little girl was right after him, I am after him and then we realize the door is open. Thank goodness I got that shut and Rocky found my son's leg and up he crawled. We were both scared!! Thought I was gonna have a heart attack. So, the cage is fixed now so that it can NEVER do that again, and Rocky has been comfy all day in a kleenex box, guess it's a good thing he likes kleenex. :rotfl So that has been our day. Any thoughts on the box again? I have put in his blankie, his kleenex, a nut, his pinecone....:shakehead IR... as I read your post I had to chuckle, this is the first he has ever slept outside the box, but yes, he has crawled out about to his shoulders and laid like that... pretty freaky looking. :rotfl He has a mind of his own for sure, he went down to two feedings a day when he quit taking the syringe (my choice) then I realized he was getting kinda cranky in the afternoon about feeding time... I had to give him the third feeding back! :dono :Love_Icon Thanks everyone for trying to help me with this!! :thankyou

[digiandchipper]

Hi Jackie in Tampa and Squirrel20,

The Fish Hide and Play is sold at PetSmart, online too. Here is the link (I Hope!:crazy ):

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753517

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

That was cheap 10$ for that fish I payed like 25$ and have gotten my moneys worth out of it over and over.
All my babies have loved it, starting at about age 6 weeks I put it in there they begin to like to have a little hiding spot.
Anyone who sees this with little ones you cant pass this up.

[digiandchipper]

Did you cut the 'crinkly' fins off the side, or did your babies like that part? I was afraid it would startle mine so I snip snipped...and you're right- it was great to hit the $10 clearance price:) :) :) luv a bargain!

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Some of the babies were scared of the noise at first, and some loved chewing on them.
The ears are still intact.:) :thankyou