wakes up at 10pm so daughter doesn't get to see her play!!

[marmaladesmum]

By time she is awake my daugher being only 7 is in bed n always moans that she doesn't see her. How can I rectify this? If I can

[HollyHamster]

Well, a hamster is corpuscular by nature, so they usually wake up at dawn and dusk. This is means of defense against predators, as they are either going to sleep or just waking up at these times, thus, aren't as inclined to hunt.

I wouldn't try and wake the hamster up at anytime they are sleeping as they could get grumpy and stressed.

[jesselle]

Did you know this before you took the hamster on?

You can't really rectify nature unfortunately! The hamster shouldn't be forced to wake, imagine how you'd feel being woken in the night. Tired! And then poorly from lack of sleep.

Your hamster might alter her sleep patterns around you guys naturally, but it's not guaranteed and shouldn't be forced.

[Posy123]

Marmaladesmum - I have found that our family hamster has got later and later too. A few months ago he would wake up about half an hour from my daughter's bedtime which was perfect timing. Now it is a lot later and I get all the hammie cuddles
We have worked around it by making time in the morning instead. Helps get my daughter dressed and ready for school - faster she is organised, more time to play with the hamster..
Is it possible for you to find morning time? Might work for all of you?

[Kaztrekie]

I have same problem but I solved this
by taking a video on school nights and letting her stay up at weekends to play and when Sam bothers to come out in early evening she gets to play then.he will get up about 5 am for a while so if she's up she plays then as well.
But then I get more cuddle play time

[Tutu]

Originally Posted by marmaladesmum

By time she is awake my daugher being only 7 is in bed n always moans that she doesn't c her. How can I rectify this? If I can

That's normal sleeping pattern for Syrian hammy as far as I know. But if you are lucky after settled in your hammy might start to wake up around 7.30-8.00 evenings some days. Mine does 2 days a week and I think she does it to make me happy clever hammy eh. Or perhaps she knows the days she gets mealworm treats.
If your daughter wakes up early hammy might be up an about so that she can say "good morning" and hammy can say "good night"
Hehehe

[linford27]

Hamsters are corpuscular! You cannot rectify nature!
To be fair, you should have researched and known this beforehand. It is unfair to expect the hamster to change his natural way just for your child, hamsters are this way and you should have considered that before purchasing it. Waking the hamster up will make her grumpy and likely to bite. Hamsters just aren't that suited to children unfortunately.

[Anthorn]

My hamsters wake between 7PM and 8PM even in the summer when it's still light. Sometimes earlier if they hear me. But they are in a quiet bedroom virtually undisturbed during the day so they get lots of sleep. Usually in their nest by 5AM.

If your daughter has a problem with their sleeping pattern perhaps gerbils might be better.

[LavoChain]

Hamsters generally have their own sleeping patterns. Despite being crepuscular (not corpuscular linford LOL) they can wake at around 6pm opposed to 10pm as you have mentioned. You could try to wake your hamster earlier and change their sleeping pattern slightly by coaxing her out of bed with a treat, she then may respond by waking around the same time every night. You must never wake them before evening though, this is very unfair on the animal and will actually make them less sociable if they haven't had a sufficient amount of sleep, much like humans. If the hamster doesn't respond to this I'm afraid there is no way to rectify the problem, as you put it. Hamsters are first and foremost creatures of their own will and will not awaken just because we want them to. A good suggestion, as mentioned above, is to allow your child to stay up later at the weekend so they can play with them. I hope either of the above works for you. Hamsters aren't toys and need to be treated with respect, they have the right to choose when to sleep or not and there is little we can or should do to change that.

[SprinkleHamster]

We will sometimes play with our hamster in the morning if he is awake; otherwise Chewie normally falls back asleep in my hand while we read bedtime stories and my little guy can pet him as we read. It may not be as fun as seeing him about but our little guy (He is loves him anyway and will constantly check on Chewie even when he is sleeping.