any advice :(

hamsterbasil · 05-27-2017, 04:18 PM

hello so my hamster, basil, was very hard to tame and has always been a little nervous/ jumpy but loves me and to come out for play time. he can be very difficult to wake up and only ever wants to come out if its late at night and he gets up by himself and never wants to come out if i wake him up. recently i have been doing exams so i cannot stay up until 1am waiting for him to wake up and have been getting him out even when he doesnt seem enthusiastic about it at all. but, he keeps on freezing and not moving for ages and i just hate it because i feel so guilty for waking him up.
he never used to do this until recently he does it nearly everytime i get him out. does anybody know how i can get him to stop because it is making me worried and i really just want him to be happy

thank you xx

Drago · 05-27-2017, 04:22 PM

How much longer will you have exams for? I think you should focus on exams first and foremost. Basil may feel a bit displaced, but a couple of days with no out time won't hurt, especially since he's chosen not to come out earlier. For my hams who used to wake up later, I'd wake them around 7-8 each night by holding treats near their nests and coaxing them out. Eventually, their sleep schedule readjusts and they get up naturally around this time. Good luck

hamsterbasil · 05-27-2017, 04:32 PM

For around 3 more weeks and then I go on holiday

i dont want to leave him! I have tried doing a routine of a 9pm wake up and it just didnt work and i tried for weeks- but i will definiately try again.

Drago · 05-27-2017, 04:38 PM

That's definitely a tricky situation. Though Basil matters, so does schooling and you're going to need plenty of sleep for exams. I'd just keep trying with earlier wake up using treats and being gentle. Maybe even getting up earlier in the morning to spend time with him? It may not be the most ideal situation, but it's what is best for him in the long run

hamsterbasil · 05-27-2017, 04:41 PM

I will definately try that thank you. And what about this freezing up? do you think its something to do with me waking him up? i just want the best for him!

Drago · 05-27-2017, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamsterbasil

I will definately try that thank you. And what about this freezing up? do you think its something to do with me waking him up? i just want the best for him!

When he freezes, does he appear to be gazing off into the distance? If so, that's perfectly normal. Hamsters will do this if they smell or hear something of interest. Sometimes we do not know what it is so we can only do our best to guess what might be setting them off. I wouldn't worry over it in all honesty

cypher · 05-27-2017, 11:02 PM

The freezing sounds as though he's scared after being woken when it isn't his natural time, I would try again but go slowly, maybe just wake him & give him a nice treat & put fresh food out but don't get him out, do that for a few days & see if you can then coax him out, if he still seems very nervous at being woken & freezes again just keep the time really short, he should gradually begin to associate being woken with something nice rather than something scary & begin to enjoy it more.
The alternative is to see if you can interact with him early in the morning, some hams that get up very late will be up later in the morning & he might be a little happier to interact then.

hamsterbasil · 05-28-2017, 02:12 PM

thanks so much for the advice- its just so disheartening when everything seems to be going well and then starts going wrong but i will definately do that. i will take it nice and slow and reassure him that im nice again

he definately is okay when he gets up on his own accord but when he gets woken up he really doesnt like it. such a funny personality but i love him all the same! thanks again

Pebbles82 · 05-28-2017, 02:46 PM

He's probably a bit dopey when woken at that time

I used to get our last hamster, Charlie, out around 8 or 9pm (otherwise we didn't see him) and he used to go to sleep in a donut bed on my knee on the sofa

If I took him into a different room he woke up a bit. They vary, but I found it interesting that at 6pm he was very zippy, 8 to 9pm he was very dopey - from 10 to 11pm onwards he was lively again.

So - he might not want to run around much when you get him out at 8pm, but it's still a change of scene. If you have a blanket or something he could snuggle up in next to you he might go to sleep or just chill a bit

obviously somewhere he can't escape from though.

FelicityAnn · 05-28-2017, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

He's probably a bit dopey when woken at that time

I used to get our last hamster, Charlie, out around 8 or 9pm (otherwise we didn't see him) and he used to go to sleep in a donut bed on my knee on the sofa

If I took him into a different room he woke up a bit. They vary, but I found it interesting that at 6pm he was very zippy, 8 to 9pm he was very dopey - from 10 to 11pm onwards he was lively again.

So glad someone else's hammie does that. Esmeralda comes out about 7pm, sniffs everything, runs around a bit, then goes back to bed until about 10:30pm. After that she can be running in her wheel and around the cage until about 3am.
It's a good thing I work mostly at night, isn't it?