My YOUNG hammy has become less active!!

[Intense125]

My male long-haired sable is about 3-4 months old now, and we've had him for 4 weeks. He was pretty jumpy in the beginning and ran from us most of the time. He also did a lot of "wheeling" for at least an hour or two each night while we were still up to observe him. After following HC taming tips, Danny has become much more interested in us humans and calmer at the same time. As long as we don't surprise him, we can pet and pick him up with ease, and he seems to enjoy this.

The problem I see is that he seems too calm now. This week, he's not been getting up until 10 or 11 at night, despite our efforts to entice him to come out of his sleeping hut. [Prior to this, he was getting up around 7 or 8.] When he's up, we let him play in a plastic tub with a castle, wheel, water bottle and food dish which he's really enjoyed up until now. But this week, he's been just sitting in his food bowl or in a corner of the tub and sometimes falls back to sleep. He almost completely ignores the wheels in both his tub and cage.

His eating and drinking habits are good, and he seems to be peeing and pooping as usual. He's grown quite a bit but does not appear to be overweight (in my opinion). I guess I'm a little worried about this lack of physical activity and "sleeping in." Do any of you have any advice, or do you think a vet visit might be in order?

[Holly]

I'm certainly no expert but our hamsters, who've been with us since December and are a similar age to Danny, seem to have done a simillar thing. Mocha has always been quiet and a late riser but Treacle and Custard used to get up between 2 and 3 pm every afternoon and then spend all evening charging about on their wheels. Then, about three weeks ago, they started waking a little later each day and, over the course of about 10 days, seem to have switched to waking at about 8-9pm. They also seem a lot less manic than they were, though I do hear them up and about until the early hours every night. I did worry at first, though it was quite gradual, but they are both fine and I sort of think now that it's because they are growing up and also settling in to their home with us.

Perhaps Danny is the same?

[souffle]

I think he is just a teenager now intense! Now he has established his routine and is feeling secure and settled he is doing things to suit himself. He will be reaching sexual maturity now and that take a lot of growing and hormonal upheaval and this all requires sleep. Start getting him into a routine where he is actually woken up at a time to suit you. He is probably bored with the playpen now as once they have been round it once it is not very exciting so they just sit and claim boredom like all moody teenagers Stimulate him with more interactive games. Let him climb on the sofa/desk/ shelves/ bed/ under the covers/ in new safe rooms. Make mazes and playzones with items he can check out and climb on. They cant resist a good investigate! Cut holes in card boxes so he can climb through. Hamsters do not get up all night and stay up. They periodically return to the nest to sleep and hamster about, nibbling and sleeping. He is probably a late nighter and busy when you are asleep! The key is routine and getting him used to being woken when you want him to get up, being understanding that he is a teenager and I am sure he will come through his stroppy phase soon
I have just answered this exact question about another hamster of the same age as Danny on another forum I moderate. This is a girl though. Maybe they should get together

[SnuggleHam]

Gwendolyn sleeps all day, she doesn't wake up until around 10 at night when she starts being active. I'm already in bed by then so I never see her unless I wake her or she gets up to drink

[Intense125]

Thanks for this great advice...I feel much more at ease now !! It's also nice to know others have experienced the same thing!!

Danny was up stuffing his cheeks this morning and looks as healthy as can be. It's very hard not to compare a new hamster to others, and our little Macy was a total fireball for the first year of her life, getting up around 5-6 pm and racing around in her "gym" for hours before going back to her cage for the night. She also became quite inactive during and after her illness and just prior to her death, so I guess we're especially sensitive to this behavior .

I think I will try a bit harder to get Danny up earlier in the evening so that he can spend time with all of us. We have been letting him run around on the bed or floor some, and he really seems to "come alive" for this. Sounds like we should do this more and provide more stimulating things for him to do during his out of the cage time. Thanks again, guys!!

[Jill Bayles]

Hammy has become more active over the last week or so. He's spending less time in bed and more time scampering about in his cage...think he's having a "growth spurt" myself. His eating has improved too, which is somewhat of a relief although he's still not drinking much. He's still trying to chew the bars whenever he gets a chance but I've fettled that with the weight applied to the top of the cage

Hammy is also now seeming to like his cuddle time, cos he's taken to snuggling up and enjoying being stroked, which is great...and no nibbling at fingers lately either so that's also great!

I think that the change in the weather has helped as it's not so cold now and spring is definitely in the air in our part of the world. The clocks haven't changed yet but last night at 6pm it was still daylight here, which was unusual as it's usually pitch dark by then.

Hammy had some visitors over the weekend. The neighbours kids came in to meet him and he seemed to love all the attention and affection, although I did limit the session as I didn't want him to become unsettled by all the extra handling...cautious grandma LOL. Anyway they helped to fill the food bowl and change the water so they were happy.

Long may all the positivity continue