I think it might actually be helping

I don't want to jinx it but... silence.

For the last two nights, Pip hasn't touched the cage mesh. Not once. We've kept up the routine. I come home, I set up the playpen, she gets her thirty minutes of zoomies. Then I put her back and scatter the food. And instead of going straight to the wall to chew, she goes into 'harvest mode.' She spends hours just digging tunnels and collecting her seeds.

I watched her last night for a long time. She was deep in the bedding, just her butt sticking out, kicking paper everywhere. It's actual hamster behavior. Not stress behavior. She's finally using the deep bedding I spent so much money on! She made a little burrow system under the cork log.

And her cheek is looking way better. The redness is gone and the fur is starting to fill back in. It was definitely the rubbing against the bars that was doing it. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest. I really thought I was just a bad owner or that she was broken or something.

It's a lot of work doing the playpen every single night when I'm tired from work, but seeing her actually act like a happy hamster? Totally worth it. I know it might not be perfect forever and she might have bad days, but right now? We're good. Finally.