Hyper hamster

mazzypan · 11-09-2020, 05:58 PM

So my hamster Edward is very active. He’s always been really hyper. I updated both of my hamsters cages because Edward started bar chewing whenever I was in the room so now they’re in a large bin cage. I thought this would stop his attempts at breaking free, but he’s still constantly flailing on the sides of the cage to get out. He runs in his wheel for no more than 5 seconds, runs around, flails, goes back on wheel for 5 seconds. Repeat. My main questions are:

1. Is this normal? I’ve searched up a couple times and often times they do put it down to hyperness which I’m pretty sure it is so I’ve never really been worried about.
2. For hamsters like this, is it better to have a more ‘cluttered’ cage or somewhat minimal? My hamster Arthur goes in his sand bath and will happily run on his wheel the entire night - his cage is more spacious, less stuff, he has never burrowed and has always slept in the same wooden house. Edward burrows kind of and sleeps in the bedding (where it’s higher up, like a LOT of inches deep), and to try and satisfy him in some way I’ve added houses, tubes, cork etc around the entire cage, but I was wondering for a hyper hamster like him is it best to keep it more spacious and level for him to run easier/freely? I’m just not sure how to properly satisfy him. He’s very cute/unique/funny but my gosh is it annoying sometimes lol
3. I do let him free roam every night if possible. I’ll do this for a while and then he starts running like crazy fast. I’ve always gotten worried whether this means he’s getting stressed and wants to go back in. Every time he does this I put him back in but he’ll end up being annoying either straight away or later in the night. He wakes me up nearly every night doing SOMETHING annoying. Do I leave him out, let him out more frequently or what?

Thank you !

Wembley · 11-09-2020, 10:50 PM

The last part sounds A LOT like my dwarf Mabel. The longer she’s out to free roam it seems the more hyper she becomes! I always put out a couple hides/houses so she has the choice to be in a private area of her own if the speed is due to being stressed out but she continues to just run around and climb on me so I think it means they’re enjoying it ; either way I only let her out for 30 mins or so

for the cage bit I think lots of toys is healthy as it can keep him busy once you know what toys he likes, just leave little clear paths for running around and keep the area by his wheel more clear in case he happened to fall off. every hamster can be a bit different, as my syrian Wembley preferred his wheel over anything else so I kept his cage pretty clear, aside from some hides and climbing platforms.

cypher · 11-09-2020, 11:43 PM

They are all different & you may have to experiment a little to see what works best for your ham but I would think more in the cage is better, more things to explore & lots of places to hide & sscatter food, scatter feeding is one of the best ways to keep them occupied in the cage.
Give as much time out of the cage as you can .
Which cage do you have? If you have a photo we might be able to see what could be changed to help.

mazzypan · 11-10-2020, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wembley

The last part sounds A LOT like my dwarf Mabel. The longer she’s out to free roam it seems the more hyper she becomes! I always put out a couple hides/houses so she has the choice to be in a private area of her own if the speed is due to being stressed out but she continues to just run around and climb on me so I think it means they’re enjoying it ; either way I only let her out for 30 mins or so

for the cage bit I think lots of toys is healthy as it can keep him busy once you know what toys he likes, just leave little clear paths for running around and keep the area by his wheel more clear in case he happened to fall off. every hamster can be a bit different, as my syrian Wembley preferred his wheel over anything else so I kept his cage pretty clear, aside from some hides and climbing platforms.

Thank you for replying! I’ll definitely add more stuff. And it’s good to know your hamster does that too, I was worried he was stressed but nope... just hyper lol

mazzypan · 11-10-2020, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

They are all different & you may have to experiment a little to see what works best for your ham but I would think more in the cage is better, more things to explore & lots of places to hide & sscatter food, scatter feeding is one of the best ways to keep them occupied in the cage.
Give as much time out of the cage as you can .
Which cage do you have? If you have a photo we might be able to see what could be changed to help.

Thank you! His bin cage is the “Really useful 160l heavy duty trunk with handles” from Argos. I’m gonna order some more things to add to his cage so I’ll add to this thread once I’m happy w the cage layout

Petite · 11-10-2020, 09:50 AM

Mazzypan - I don't know what your bin cage is like, but does if have windows so he can see out? I once had to put a hamster in an emergency bin cage with no windows and he went stir crazy. Just a thought.

Ria P · 11-11-2020, 01:10 PM

I have a few questions:

Is Edward a dwarf hamster?
Does his wheel work ok and spin easily?
Does his bin cage have enough ventilation, a meshed lid and a front window to see out?
Does he have things to chew and nibble on like a whimzee, millet sprays, chew sticks, a healthy nibble stick?

I had a hyperactive rescue dwarf once who continuously tried to get out of his cage, jumped up the walls and run around like crazy when out free roaming.
Turned out that he had so much surplus energy because he didn't know what a wheel was for as he had never had one before. Once i had taught him how to use it he was fine hence my question if Edward's wheel is spinning freely.

If he's a dwarf you could give him an upright wheel and a flying saucer. Two of my dwarfs use both and one uses the flying saucer mainly.