Unsure of what hamster wants

[NewHammyMommy]

Hi everyone, I just got my first hamster 4 days ago and he’s a Syrian! I did a lot of research before bringing him home and have been following all the recommendations for his care and safety . I planned to leave him be for the first week besides changing water and food, then slowly start introducing taming. Soon I noticed every time I came into the room, he would jump on his flying saucer and start running, I just firgured it was a destressing thing and would try to leave him alone ASAP. Then last night my mom wanted to see him real quick so we went in my room and he went right up to the bars and seemed so happy to have the attention! He started doing the running on the wheel thing again but he’d always come back up to the bars and then go back to the wheel and repeat. He didn’t spend too long doing either, it like he was running back and forth every 5-10 seconds. I even was able to feed him some treats with my hand and he took them with no hesitation! So my question is; is the wheel running a destressing thing or a “hey look at me I’m cute” kind of thing! Lol I just want him to be happy, but I’m confused on if he wants me around or not.

[Pebbles82]

He's just an excited baby hamster! Fear and excitement are two sides of the same coin. He maybe does run if he feels a bit scared but also enjoys it - the wheel is a new toy! Good that he is taking treats from you. It sounds like he might be wanting to come out for out of cage time, but if he isn't hand tame you'd need to make sure it's in a safe place - a playpen - or the dry bathtub works well so they can't escape. I used to put a hamster ball next to the open door of the cage and let ours just hop into it. Then pop the lid on and carry the ball to the safe area and set it down and take the lid off.

They do kind of communicate as well A bit like - look at me Mum! And like a child wanting everything at the same time - I want to run in my wheel, I want to get out, I want to talk to you, I want to eat treats - I don't know what I want to do so I'm just being a bit bonkers.

Avoid cleanouts for at least 2 weeks though, that does stress them.

[NewHammyMommy]

Thank you so much! Just yesterday a new problem arised though so I was wondering if you had any more input. He started making these weird noises when he was digging in his substrate last night, like a clicking/squeaking type noise. I’ve never had a hamster before so I’m not sure if this is normal. And he didn’t stay up all night, it seemed he wa only awake for a litttle then wanted to go back under the bedding. And now today he made the noise again when I opened the cage door to check on him, he was under the bedding sleeping but I must’ve woke him up. It’s really scaring me and I’m worried he’s sick. All my local vets are closed til Monday. Any advice would really help. Oh and it seems he has been eating and drinking so that’s a plus but haven’t been able to find his poop, cause I’d like to check that. I’ve tried listening quietly so see if I hear him struggling to breathe but I haven’t heard anything yet