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Old 02-14-2019, 09:42 PM  
xosunflowerox
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: USA
Posts: 53
Default Re: New hamster always sleeping

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Is she a baby? They can be quite nervy at first and hide way a lot. It takes a good two weeks for them to fully settle into a cage so best not to clean anything or move anything for the first two weeks.

The other thing is, it's very cold weather and they need to keep warm. Does she have a house big enough for a large nest? They usually build very large nests in winter to keep warm as they do feel the cold. So keep putting extra nesting material out for her. Torn up strips of plain white toilet paper are safest and they like it.

So it's another reason why they sleep more/stay in the house more when it's cold. However they can risk going into torpor if they get too cold (unconscious) so it's important that the room she is in is a reasonable temperature. As hamsters are most active during the night, it can even be an idea to have some heating on for an hour or two during the night in the room the hamster is on. Instead of having the central heating on, I have a little oil filled radiator on a timer.
The breeder told me she is about 11 weeks old. Her hideaway is pretty big, it's meant for a guinea pig. She had filled the entire thing up with bedding, but has a hole she burrows down into. I will give her some torn up toilet paper for nesting material.

I have a small heater that I have placed near the cage (not aimed directly at it) as I thought she might be cold.
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