Is This Normal Playtime Behavior?

Natasha95 · 05-20-2019, 01:03 AM

Is it normal for a hamster to only want to free roam for a couple of minutes at a time? I know some hamsters are just content with staying in their cages, but my hamster wants to come out, but then just runs around for about a minute and then wants to go back into her cage. Could her play area be too boring for her, or could this just be a personality quirk? She has even more toys, tunnels, and boxes to play with outside than inside of her cage, and sometimes I give her treats when she's free roaming, so I don't know how to make it more interesting for her. I'm also confused about why she wants to come out at all if she immediately wants to go back in.

mangoandmimi · 05-20-2019, 03:18 AM

Wouldn't say it's uncommon for them to be like this. It's important to remember they are very curious animals so what looks like 'wanting to come out' may just be curiosity instead.
My dwarf really does not enjoy time outside the cage but for a year now I have been lifting her out in the exact same container, it might seem her climbing in there without fail indicates that she enjoys coming out but that isn't the case at all. Still baffles me to be honest so you do have to read their behaviour carefully, as they can be a bit strange sometimes.
If she really is enjoying running round for a minute or two that's fine too, may be excitement that quickly turns to feeling overwhelmed. When they are set up in a good cage which I assume she is, it is common for them to enjoy most their time in there.

Natasha95 · 05-20-2019, 09:03 AM

Thanks! There are two ways I can tell when she wants to come out: If she desperately wants to (which is rare), she starts climbing up the side of her cage and I'll put my hand under her and she'll climb back into it. Other than that, I reach my hand out to her every night, and when she wants to come out she'll climb into it. Otherwise she just sniffs it and turns around. And when she wants to go "home," she'll either try to climb up the side of her cage or climb into my hand and stay there (even if I try to put her back down on the floor) until I place her back in her cage. She doesn't have a side door unfortunately (she's in the Kaytee Super Crittertrail, which is unfortunately one of the only two cages you can get in America that are large enough), but I think if she did, she would just be running in and out on her own.
As for her cage set up, it took a while to get her happy with it (She used to get bored and start climbing across the top, and she maybe didn't feel safe and would pee in her wheel every night, but adding some more tunnels and hideouts and giving her an enclosed wheel helped a lot), but now she seems content.

Ria P · 05-20-2019, 12:43 PM

Don't think there is a "normal" when it comes to hamsters because they're all so different. My hamster's main interests are sleeping and eating, his nests and his wheel. He has no time for humans or toys and never asks to come out. I take him out nearly every evening to stroke him, let him run over me in his playpen or on my bed and I'm certain that I want his company more than he wants mine. I can tell when he wants to go back because he makes it quite clear. He's learned to put up with me I guess. Is that normal? It's the way he is.

Natasha95 · 05-20-2019, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ria P

Don't think there is a "normal" when it comes to hamsters because they're all so different. My hamster's main interests are sleeping and eating, his nests and his wheel. He has no time for humans or toys and never asks to come out. I take him out nearly every evening to stroke him, let him run over me in his playpen or on my bed and I'm certain that I want his company more than he wants mine. I can tell when he wants to go back because he makes it quite clear. He's learned to put up with me I guess. Is that normal? It's the way he is.

You make a good point. I was just worried because people say hamsters should get regular playtime outside of their cage, and my hamster doesn't seem to know what she wants.

I also had a Syrian who absolutely loved free roaming. His cage had a side door and was in a hamster-proof room, so I would just open it every night and let him run around the room for hours. He would go back in his cage to eat or drink water, and go right back out. Then he'd go back in to nap and I'd close his cage for the night. This was his routine maybe every other night, and less frequently as he got older. There's just such a stark difference between these two hamsters, I wanted to make sure Penny (my dwarf) is okay.