Baby doesn't like new cage and won't eat solid food

[littlesquirt]

So my baby is about 8-10 weeks old now and he is running around, playing tag with my fingers and what not. So I got him a big cage for ferrets/chinchillas and he doesn't like it! I put toys in it and stuffed animals and everything but he will play around in it for a bit then start making some weird angry squirrel noise or a shrieking noise. He seems to love his little habitrail cage instead :S, should I wait a little longer before introducing him to the new cage. As of right now, since I believe he needs the proper excercise to grow and mature into a healthy happy squirrel, I just let him run around my room whenever I'm at home (don't worry, I'm home most of the time, only gone for a couple of hours for university). How can I get him to like his new cage?

Another thing is I tried to start weaning. All he does though is take the food, nibble on it and bite it and then spit it out. He does this until the entire peice of food is in little itty bits but I don't see him actually ingesting any :S. I've tried apples, brocolli, walnuts, oats, and nothing seems to work. He does however slurp up grapes, but I don't want that to be his first foods since he might become a sugar nut. I also ordered the vitamins to make HHB's, when should I start making them?

[SquirrelLove]

Sounds like your baby is normal. Perhaps he doesn't like the bigger cage yet because it's not "cozy" - it's so much bigger that maybe he / she just needs time to get used to it gradually. Running around the house is what my squirrels do when they get a chance. And they don't mind a big cage but then there is 5 of them so they notice each other more than anything else.
Just give it time. And it's good for them to chew on solids, even if they don't actually eat them. Their teeth grow all the time - so they need to wear them down. So let it chew away. It will eat it when it's ready to, so in the meantime keep feeding formula and spoiling it rotten with love and affection :-) My babies are somewhere around 12 weeks and are just beginning to eat solids more than formula, but they still have formula at least once a day. I spoil mine rotten too :-)

[virgo062]

Is the little cage small enough to put in the big cage? that may help the transition

[RoadRunner]

^^that's what I was thinking

[merman]

That's what i was thinking too!! :thumbsup

:wave123



^^that's what I was thinking

[scurry'smama]

I have an 8 week old squirelly girl named Luna and she was just recently switched into her large ferret cage. We attached logs and sticks from outside and have a hiding fleece filled box in every corner. I also cover the top and complete back of the cage with a dark colored fleece blanket. The first day she was very scared and crouched in a corner then hung on bars and chewed trying to get out. I put her in one of the boxes and she hid there for most of the night. I put her back in the little cage for sleep time and then tried again in the day. Every time I walked away so she wouldn't beg to be let out. Today she is using everything in the cage and wrestling with toys etc. I think she just needed to get the courage up to venture around.

Keep trying!!! Good luck!

[littlesquirt]

Well he finally took a liking to his cage!! So much that now when I try to put him back into his smaller cage he protests.
It's got 3 floors on it, but he only seems to stick to the bottom floor for now, only venturing up once in a while. He doesn't seem to like playing with the toys I bought him (mostly cat toys and rodent toys). But rather wrestles with his litter box....oh and chews off the strings holding up his hammock.

Anyone have any suggestions for toys to put in? How about those things called snak shaks which is like a house that he can eat?

[Jackie in Tampa]

Try covering the bigger cage with a large pc of fleece, baby may like it better at first!
I use 12 pack coke box for a hide box and some plush animals for floor padding and lots of fleece. You can add pinecones, acorns, branches and other naturals. Hammocks and boas etc will occupy their time and teach them to climb! No cat litter please! If eaten, it will clog up their digestive track and KILL them.
Also ...I hate to say it, but most ferret cages ahve wide bar spacing, optimum would be 1/2 inch. Be careful, when they are too young and small, they can slip and break an arm/leg!
I try to not rush weaning, better to get proper nutrition with the formula.
They know when to stop and early formula termination can and does cause MBD...so you should get those HHbs soon. Also try rodent block during the shredding time! Mine love pecan halves at that age, Yummy!
Be sure to peel grapes apples etc, to prevent choking!
Before you know it, he'll be racing around and being a sq!:D
Love to see pics of new cage set up and your little sweetie enjoying it!:worthless

[JohnRegsaver]

hehe i thought put the baby cage in the big one before i even started reading this thread :osnap