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Old 12-04-2019, 06:02 AM   #1
mazie88
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Exclamation PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

Hi there,

I recently got a syrian hamster a couple of days ago and i'm very concerned.
He's 3 months and has been in my care for 4 days.

The first two days he was exploring and running on his wheel, drinking water etc.
The third day I attempted to handle him in the tank and he ended up jumping from my hand (not high up) in the tank and landing on bedding. He went on the wheel slowly then ran into his house

Ever since he hasn't come out of his house, i haven't noticed any food gone or water being drank.
Yesterday i woke him up around 10pm and he ate lettuce out of my hand quickly then hid himself back in the bedding.
I left lettuce out in the bowl as well but in the morning it was still there.

I'm not sure what to do. If he's okay in there or should I be taking him to see a vet? Please help
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Old 12-04-2019, 06:06 PM   #2
mazie88
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Unhappy Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

UPDATE ON SITUATION:

When i got home from work today I lifted Polonius' hide out and woke him up to check the bedding in his little house.

Bedding is all dry tons of little poops and found he's burrowing his pellets/treats
Still very scared to come out although i held his water bottle to him to see if he would drink water. He drank a lot of water. and came out of his bedded area for a couple of minutes then retreated back to his cozy hole.

Woke him up again a couple of hours later just to check on him and he was still cozy asleep but didn't want anything to do with him food. too scared to take food from my hand.

Is this normal behaviour?

(Also first time hammy mommy so the anxiety is FUR-REAL.)
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Old 12-04-2019, 08:13 PM   #3
Dessi
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Default Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

He might still be shy in his new surroundings. Careful with lettuce, it can give them diarrhea and dehydrate them, I wouldn’t give anymore. Have you tried putting really good snacks in his bowl to see if he will take it, like a sunflower a seed ?
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Old 12-05-2019, 06:05 AM   #4
Ria P
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Default Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

Well, it's not normal behaviour to wake the hamster up, lol!

I understand your anxiety but i'd advise you to try and relax a bit. There are things you can do to help your new hamster and yourself.

First of all, get him a decent house. You say that he has a little house and that's not really suitable for a Syrian. He'll soon outgrow it. You need to get him a large house, without a base so it can sit directly on the substrate and one with a lift off roof so you can check on him without disturbing him too much or his precious nest.
A shoe box is fine. Use the lid as the roof, cut the base out and a large enough entrance hole.

Hamsters hide and hoard food which is perfectly normal. I rarely see my Syrian drink but they will find the water when thirsty. A very small piece of cucumber is full of water and usually liked by hamsters.

I think he is still settling in and a scared baby. He needs to feel safe and comfortable first and by lifting his house and waking him up you are not likely to achieve this in a hurry.

You could put the food and water bottle near his house while he is still so shy.

Interacting with a hamster can be a very gradual thing which takes time. You are a stranger to him and he doesn't know that your intentions are in his very best interest. Through time and gentle introduction he will learn to trust you. He needs to learn your scent, your voice and then your touch. Put some tissue paper up your sleeve for a few hours and then leave it in his cage so he gets used to your scent.

I like to see my hamsters once daily, no matter how brief, just to make sure that they are well. I find that very early morning is often a better time to see them than evening. Look out for him at different times but i'd stick to talking to him gently for a while.

I know, hamsters are such cute and precious little things that its so easy to worry about them. We all do.
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Old 12-05-2019, 06:44 AM   #5
mazie88
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Default Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

Update on Polonius:

Yesterday i bought a better food mix for him with seeds/ mealworms etc. I made sure to clean his surroundings and let him be solely chatting with him and checking in on him briefly.
I also moved the food and water closer to him.
I'll for sure buy him a bigger hide. I have him in a 20 gallon tank so there's still plenty of room for his tiny self.

I will for sure avoid the lettuce and introduce him to cucumber slowly.

This morning he was out and playful and absolutely enjoying his food! When i was talking to him he was looking up at me alert but not scared. So i just changed his water and let him be! He was sniffing the tissue paper i left in there for him too.

Thank you for the advice! Extremely helpful and definitely feeling better about the little guy.
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Old 12-19-2019, 02:32 PM   #6
sarahbutterflies
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Default Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

I wouldn't be worried about his behavior too much because he is fairly new and still settling into his cage. Hamsters are mostly nocturnal so you won't see much of him for the most part during the day. They will eat and drink when they need to and like to store food near their nest so you may not be seeing him eat or drink directly but he still probably is doing so. He also may not be super food motivated when you are trying to tame him. Since they are most active at night he may be very active while you are asleep and you just won't know. Also he might feel more comfortable when the lights are out.

I wouldn't recommend lifting up your hamsters hide unless you need to because that is where they feel secure. It's also not recommended to wake them up. I understand that you want to check on him but I'm sure he's fine and is sleeping.

I would recommend giving him plenty of bedding since hamsters are burrowing animals. They should have at least 6 inches but it doesn't hurt to shoot for more, like 8-12 inches and have the appropriate wheel size.

In my opinion I think a 20 gallon tank is a tad on the smaller size. Most people buy a 40 gallon breeder. Bin cages are another great option and you can get a 110 quart bin for about $20. Also there are other great diy options from furniture or from Ikea. Hamsters actually need a surprising amount of space which I wasn't aware of myself before owning one because they can travel long distances in the wild, especially Syrians because they are the larger of the species.
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Old 12-19-2019, 05:08 PM   #7
RobinIsACatto
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Default Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dessi View Post
He might still be shy in his new surroundings. Careful with lettuce, it can give them diarrhea and dehydrate them, I wouldn’t give anymore. Have you tried putting really good snacks in his bowl to see if he will take it, like a sunflower a seed ?
Lettuce is safe to feed provided you offer the right kind. Iceberg lettuce is basically water in leaf form, but other lettuces, such as green leaf and butterhead, are fantastic veggie options
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Old 12-19-2019, 05:52 PM   #8
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

I'd go with other safe vegetables over any lettuce, even the safe types. Technically you could view romaine being a decent source of one particular vitamin as a redeeming factor, but that is true of many other veggies - ones which likely will have more benefits than just having a good amount of one vitamin.
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Old 12-20-2019, 05:50 AM   #9
RobinIsACatto
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Default Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

Quote:
Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams View Post
I'd go with other safe vegetables over any lettuce, even the safe types. Technically you could view romaine being a decent source of one particular vitamin as a redeeming factor, but that is true of many other veggies - ones which likely will have more benefits than just having a good amount of one vitamin.
Just took a look at it myself— yeah, green leaf seems to only be good with Vit K. The more you know!

What other benefits are there for veggies (other than variety)?
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Old 12-20-2019, 07:38 AM   #10
LunaTheHamster1
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Default Re: PLEASE HELP - Syrian Hamster Hiding all day not eating

Yes, I would tend to stay away from lettuce and give hamsters veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, green leaves such as beetroot or spinach or kale.
Robinisacatto, I guess harder veggies such as broccoli would be good for help with keeping the teeth worn down.
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