hamster has frequent nightmares, help!

[brieshamsters]

I don’t even know where to start but a few months ago, my elderly hamster (2.5 years) began to make random piercing squeaks from his cage. Every time it happened, he would come out of his house looking grumpy and then eventually wake up fully and he would act completely normal. i realized he was doing it in his sleep when i was walking by his cage and saw him scream and wake himself up, roll over, and go back to sleep. he’s started to do this more recently and i know hamsters dream and can likely have nightmares but it happens so frequently i can’t help but worry a little bit. has anyone else had experience with a hamster having frequent nightmares? is there anything i can do to help him? could there be a reason why he’s doing this?

[cypher]

It sounds more likely that he’s in pain rather than having nightmares, he’s a really good age & they are prone to a lot more health problems as they age, it could possibly be some kind of arthritis that may get painful if he stays sleeping in one position too long or it could be some other internal problem, I would speak to your vet about it, he may need some pain relief or they may find there’s something else going on.

[brieshamsters]

Originally Posted by cypher

It sounds more likely that he’s in pain rather than having nightmares, he’s a really good age & they are prone to a lot more health problems as they age, it could possibly be some kind of arthritis that may get painful if he stays sleeping in one position too long or it could be some other internal problem, I would speak to your vet about it, he may need some pain relief or they may find there’s something else going on.

he actually just went to the vets for a checkup recently (about a week ago) and they said he’s doing really well and he’s health. (i brought up arthritis because he hobbles around a bit but she said it doesn’t seem to be bothing him too much so idk

[cypher]

Did you tell the vet about the noises he makes when sleeping or waking? If he’s hobbling a bit it may be pain from arthritis or something similar & it would be worth asking the vet about some metacam to see if that helps.

[brieshamsters]

yes i mentioned it a few months ago and she was the one who told me it was probably nightmares. he’s always twitching and “running” in his sleep like a dog so i just assumed maybe he has really vivid dreams. a few weeks ago he had an upper respiratory infection so he was on enrofloxacin and metacam for about two weeks and had around two or three “nightmare” fits in that time so i’m really not sure, i mentioned the possibility of arthritis due to the hobbling but she said he didn’t seem to be too bothered by it when she examined him. i have to make an appointment to speak with my vet so i try to avoid going if its just a question i have but do you think i should make an appointment for this?

[cypher]

I'd just phone & see what they say.