Lazy hamster?

[natukiro]

Sorry, I'm in a panicky mood today for no reason so my grammar and spelling may be Off.

My hamster ( which I don't name cuz I not really bright with names) is a male Syrian. Blond at the butt and head and has a white band with two blonde spots on it. He is super lazy( all he does is sleep all day and sometimes night and he literally refuses to go in his wheel. Yes i borrowed the wheel from a friend. She owned a rather ' Large' syrianthat ran on it( whose now dead) I washed it( with water) throughly in case it was the old hamster's scent but he still refuses to play in the toys. He would fall asleep anywhere. For example with my friend's hamster, we placed them next to each other and went out to play. But when we returned, her hamster was nipping him but he was just there sleeping( not dead since when I moved his cage he woke up) is this natural? He is 4-5 months old.

[iCupcake7911]

In the future, NEVER put syrians together. This can cause a lot of stress and injuries.
Some hamsters just don't like wheels. What size is the wheel? Try a flying saucer. I know some people may not want to do this, but try waking up like at 3am in the morning to see what your hamster is doing. This will tell you when your hamster is awake. If he is lethargic or has labored breathing, that is a serious health issue. He seems fine, just a lazy hamster. If you don't see him up at night, scurrying around his cage, please inform us!
best of wishes <3
x

[HollyHamster]

First off, I agree 100% with iCupcake about NEVER EVER EVER putting syrians together. That's just asking for injuries or worse. Syrians are solitary animals and don't tollerate the presence of another Syrian in their territory. Your Syrian's territory is his cage and home.

Secondly, what size cage is your hamster in? Sometimes having a cage which is too small and not filled with enough enrichment will make a hamster bored and lazy.

As for the wheel, it might be too small. A Syrian needs a wheel that is anywhere from 8 to 12 inches in diameter, depending on the hamster's size. If your hamster is running in it, and their is even the slightest curve to his back, it could cause spinal problems down the road. Best to avoid that and give him a properly sized wheel.

[natukiro]

He is alone, his wheel is about 8" in diameters,he sleeps in my room and I like staying awake all night on my iPad. All I know is he just sleeps until I nudge him in the morning tow wake up, then he would eat his nuts and seeds, drink water( that I changed) then go up and go to sleep :/ he doesn't pay attention to the other toys like the wood block, toilet paper cardboard tubes and the little stairs that I put in his cage( that goes side ways not up.)

[DrKMcK]

Actually Natukiro, your hammy looks like a nice size in your avatar. He is the same hammy, right? Not every hammy likes a wheel. I think you just have a contented hammy who just likes to be a couch potato. I'd really not worry as long as he is eating and drinking and pooing okay. You could try letting him wander in a play pen and see if this encourages him to be more active. Also, Cupcakes idea of trying a flying saucer is a good idea. Even if these ideas don't work, I still wouldn't worry. Hammies are individuals, just like people. He may be marching to a different drummer. Or sleeping to one, at any rate.

[Hekomi]

My one dwarf, Caramel, doesn't prefer to run in his wheel but will run in the ball. It really depends, I wouldn't be too worried.

[natukiro]

Oh... I was just worried since he sleeps a lot more then he is awake.

[flakeyflake]

My Buttons was a couch potatoe, hated the wheel and ball so spent most of her time on the sofa just sitting there, love attention

[paisley]

Originally Posted by HollyHamster

First off, I agree 100% with iCupcake about NEVER EVER EVER putting syrians together. That's just asking for injuries or worse. Syrians are solitary animals and don't tollerate the presence of another Syrian in their territory. Your Syrian's territory is his cage and home.

Secondly, what size cage is your hamster in? Sometimes having a cage which is too small and not filled with enough enrichment will make a hamster bored and lazy.

As for the wheel, it might be too small. A Syrian needs a wheel that is anywhere from 8 to 12 inches in diameter, depending on the hamster's size. If your hamster is running in it, and their is even the slightest curve to his back, it could cause spinal problems down the road. Best to avoid that and give him a properly sized wheel.

I spent time and money searching for wheels for my Syrian.After initially running about 5 miles (the first night she had the wheel)..she now doesnt bother and prefers to come out and run in her ball.A 12 " wheel at least is needed for a Syrian.Flying saucers seem ideal,but if you look at the angle they have to run on I can see why people say they are bad for their hips.To run as flat as possible is the ideal.
Im hoping that my lively girl will one day go back to her wheel...any suggestions welcome,!!....

[kyrilliondaemon]

Originally Posted by paisley

I spent time and money searching for wheels for my Syrian.After initially running about 5 miles (the first night she had the wheel)..she now doesnt bother and prefers to come out and run in her ball.A 12 " wheel at least is needed for a Syrian.Flying saucers seem ideal,but if you look at the angle they have to run on I can see why people say they are bad for their hips.To run as flat as possible is the ideal.
Im hoping that my lively girl will one day go back to her wheel...any suggestions welcome,!!....

I can always be wrong (and hope I am) but looking at your pics the wheel seems to only be 8" diameter to me? It doesn't seem to be 11" when I compare it to the igloo for size. Maybe a bigger wheel would help?

Also one slightly crazy thing we noticed with Scamp - if her store got too big she stopped running. None of our others seem to be worried about how big their store is but if Scamp had too much stored she stopped using her wheel at all until her store was smaller again.