3 month old Syrian slowed down

[mikew]

Bit worried about my 3 month old male Syrian.

Maybe it's normal? but he seems to have slowed down of late.

He used to come out of an evening to grab his food & any tidbits of salad etc I gave him & liked a treat or 2 & spent hours in his wheel but now I don't see him get up until after 10 (when I'm heading for bed), he doesn't seem interested in any treats I offer him & just stays in his wheel, & seems to take any treats I left him along with his salad & the hamster mix he wants back to bed before I get up.

Should I be worried?

[Pebbles82]

It might be because the evenings and nights are getting cooler. Our Syrian is also less interested in coming out and is a bit more reclusive. As long as he seems healthy I shouldn't worry. I leave ours for 3 or 4 nights now and by the 4th or 5th night he sometimes wants to come out. I've also started having a bit of heating on in the room in the evenings.

[Thin Lizzy]

It is a bit weird as he's 3 months and that's young. The darker and colder nights do make them more reclusive, make sure he's got extra bedding for warmth and keep an eye on him.

[mikew]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

It might be because the evenings and nights are getting cooler. Our Syrian is also less interested in coming out and is a bit more reclusive. As long as he seems healthy I shouldn't worry. I leave ours for 3 or 4 nights now and by the 4th or 5th night he sometimes wants to come out. I've also started having a bit of heating on in the room in the evenings.

How old is your ham Serendipity7000?

[Pebbles82]

He is four months old now As Thin Lizzy says, make sure he has loads of nesting material. They build bigger nests at this time of year. A big pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper in his cage somewhere. Sometimes, after a few nights, I just either lift him out and into his ball, or tempt him out in a tube with a treat in, and carry him in the ball to the living room and let him run around on the sofa. They come round and perk up a bit when out of the cage usually. Although our last Syrian just used to go to sleep under a blanket on the sofa. Yes ours is definitely more reclusive at night at the moment.

[dreamtree1234]

As Thin Lizzy and Serendipity said, his more reclusive behavior is probably due to the changing season conditions. I would just keep a close eye on him to make sure he is eating and drinking well and add extra nesting materials to keep him extra cozy and warm.

[mikew]

Ok, got it with the bedding. It has indeed cooled down recently & the nights drawn in.

I stayed up later last night to spy on him & he comes out about 1030 when the lights go out. He took a treat & played in his wheel quite a bit then I caught him about 0700 pouching his food & then he was away to his nest.
He moves very fast & very quiet.
Should I try getting him up a bit earlier & seeing if he'll go in his ball for a bit?

[Pebbles82]

I do that sometimes. I sort of wake him around 8 or 9pm and tempt him out with a treat in a cup or tube and lift him out that way. I think they still need handling every few days even if they're not in the mood to come out of their own accord, to keep tame. Once out ours enjoys himself. I prefer to let him run around on the sofa rather than in a ball (keeping a close eye and with lots of cushions and blankets!), but you could do a bit of both.

[dreamtree1234]

I would do that, too. If Eros doesn't decide to come out to play for a couple of days, I call out to her and offer a treat. Then, I pick her up and she is usually extremely eager to play once out. I generally try to have interactive play with her on a somewhat regular schedule so she will remain tame and it will give me the opportunity to create bonding moments with her.

[Thin Lizzy]

Master Harvey loves the sofa too, I love it when he tries to squeeze himself down the back of it as his little bum wiggles in the air.