Dwarf hamster upset, please help

[Sara H]

Please could someone help…
I have two male campbell dwarf hamsters that I bought from Pets at Home two months ago. They have separate cages and both live in Hamster Heavens.
The smaller one Ronnie is such a lovely little guy, friendly and always wanting to play however, yesterday I am not sure what happened. I let me out of his cage to run around the room as usual, nothing happened, no noise, I don’t have any other pets, no children, no cage change nothing but he just started acting really spooked. When I tried to put him back in his cage he was going mental biting the bars, when I took him out he was running superfast round the room, scratching at the skirting board, climbing all over the top of his brother cage and just looked distressed, this went on for about an hour and a half. Then when he got back in his cage he didn’t go in his burrow like he usually would and started sleeping in his small hut. I left him last night and tried not to disturb him, so he would settle.
This morning again he seems very unsettled. Going mental at the bars again. Put him in his ball which he usually loves but he was scratching to get out so put him back in his cage and put a cover over him to settle him.
I am just a bit worried and really, really don’t know what I have done to upset him.

[alpacassei]

Has there definitely been zero changes to his environment, even tiny ones?

Is his wheel working properly? Hamsters can get restless like that if their wheel is unsuitable (it’s stiff or too small or too loud). Russian dwarfs need a minimum sheel size of 17cm/6.5 inches but some need a larger 20cm/8 inch wheel.

He could be bored in his current set-up, can you post a photo so we can make suggestions on anything you could improve? Has he got chew toys? I find Russians don’t really like commercial chews and prefer to chew on things like bendy bridges and other natural wood toys

The other thing I can think of is to do a full health check, its unlikely, but they can act like that when something’s wrong. make sure he’s his normal weight, claws aren’t too long, no head-tilts, eyes and ears are clean, teeth aren’t broken/misaligned/too long, scent gland is clean, no lumps or cuts, etc check his nest/toilet for blood as well. Also make sure that he’s eating and drinking his normal amounts.

I think I’ve covered every possibility but I’m sure someone will comment more suggestions if I’ve missed anything out.

Also, your hamsters will be Russian hybrid dwarfs not pure Campbells since they’re from a pet store. All this means is they’re part Campbells and part Winter White (a result of people breeding the two species together either accidentally because they look so similar or intentionally to create new colours). There’s nothing wrong with having hybrids, they’re perfect little tiny fluffs (like all hammies) but they have an increased risk of health problems, especially diabetes.

[Sara H]

Thank you for your message and honestly no change that I can think of.

His wheel is working perfectly and I have a disk one which he totally loves. I have all sorts of different chews but I will take a picture of his cage later.

Do you think cleaning the cage might help? Maybe a strange smell in there or something? Its doesn't smell too much but he does seem to poop a lot especially all over the wheel.

[cypher]

That does sound strange & worrying, is your other hamster still acting totally normally? Sometimes something like this can happen if someone near you starts using one of those electronic rodent repeller things but if that was the case then I would expect both hams to be distressed.
They can hear things we can't so it is possible there is or was a noise coming from somewhere that's caused it.
I wouldn't think such a sudden change would be cage related, a noise, strange scent or health issue are the first things that come to mind.

ETA I would hold off cleaning the cage as that can be a big stress factor for them & if he is stressed already could make things much worse.

[Sara H]

The other hamster is totally fine, he didn't even come out of his cage whilst the other one was climbing all over it.

The flat I live in is really quiet and I couldn't hear any other noises yesterday.

[cypher]

I wouldn't rule out sound because you didn't hear anything as they can hear well outside human range.

[Sara H]

Many thanks for the replies but the poor little one is still spooked today. He's still eating but when he hears me he bites the bars to get out which isn't anything out of the ordinary however, he is standing on his back legs a lot, spending lots and lots of time on his wheel and when he's out of his cage he just looks like he is trying to escape but my other hamster is totally fine.

[cypher]

I'm a bit stumped tbh. As your other ham is still fine I'm just thinking it may be a health issue but not sure what, is he scratching or anything like that? Eating & drinking normally?
It would be unusual but sometimes diabetic hams can get a bit hyper but I wouldn't think that would go on this long.

[Sara H]

I'm really not sure either.

He is drinking and eating ok and not scratching apart from wanting to get out then back in his cage. Still coming onto my hand and knows its me but just very stressed it seems.

I just want to help the little chap.

[Sara H]

Do you know if there is anywhere I can phone for help? Just don't want to travel to the vet if that is going to cause more stress.