My hamster sleeps all the time and never really comes out to play even at night
 

I've had my lastest hamster Lisa whos a boy (long story) since October, he was already about ten months then so he'd be about sixteen months now he came from the Rspca. I've had alot of trouble trying to tame him as hes so scared of me, but he always seems to sleep so that makes it impossible to get him out even at night he sleeps and only comes out for food or water I know this because I filmed him for six hours the other night as an experiment to find out what he does at night lol. I've looked at various things on the internet that say hes coming to the end of his life :( could this be true? I don't think hes unwell as he appears to be healthy but this is the first hamster I've known to behave like this and this is my fourth one now. Can anyone give me any advice as I want a happy hamster now a sad one :(

Re: My hamster sleeps all the time and never really comes out to play even at night
 

Hi alli. It could be that while he was with the RSPCA, he did`nt get the stimulation or the company that he would get in a home environment, so he does`nt know anything else except to eat, sleep and perhaps potter around during nightime hours.

If it`s any consolation, my new syrian sleeps all day aswell and although I check on him numenrous times a day, if he`s asleep, I tend just to leave him. Sometimes he will wake up late aftrenoon or evening and he will come out of his bed, look at me as if I`m not there, have a long pee in his corner, pick up a few edibles and then tootle off to bed again! :rolleyes:

Because of Lisa`s age (I know he`s a male! :mad:) he could be contented and set in his ways, so if you try to change his routine, it could backfire and make him grumpy or nippy. This is why I don`t disturb Boris unless I open the cage doors to tidy up or spot clean. Sometimes he hears me, sometimes he just stays in his nest. I`m hoping to start letting him out for a supervised run around in a playpen I`m going to make for him, but that will depend on his waking times and whether I want to disturb a sleeping hamster! :mad:

Re: My hamster sleeps all the time and never really comes out to play even at night
 

Thank you for your reply its nice to know someone else has roughly the same situation, when he does comes out and if I am to walk in the room at the same time he just looks at me like you said and goes back to bed.

Re: My hamster sleeps all the time and never really comes out to play even at night
 

I too have a syrian who seems to spend a lot of his time sleeping. I've had him about 6 months now and he is still very nervous at times - though he has days where he is totally the opposite, but they are rare! - he isn't keen on humans, though happily takes treats from me, and doesn't want to come out very often, plus like yours if he is out and I go to the cage he will sometimes just look at me and then go back to his house, though this is getting less. I also used to have the sweetest dwarf who was very friendly but when I got him out all he wanted to do was sleep!! I think different hamsters have different personalities that make them outgoing or shy. So it could be it's not age related if he seems fine in himself and you just have a hamster that likes to slee and is set in his ways as has been said. Best of luck with him though.