My Roborovski is sleeping a lot during the night!!

HenriandHobieHammies · 01-01-2016, 06:30 AM

My Roborovski Henri is asleep for about 2-5 hours every night, and still sleeps fine all through the day. He also runs his wheel a LOT less from when we first got him. Is this just because he's getting older, or should I worry about the environment he lives in?

Cage cleaned- about every 3 days
Food- A mix of the bagged food, nuts and veggies
Water-Fresh every day
Chew- Cardboard hut and a variety of wooden chews
Treat-occasional yogurt drop
Wheel- The same one he's had his whole life (no rungs, brand unknown)

He seems perfectly healthy, but every night he sleeps more and more, and runs less and less. Just wanted to make sure that there is nothing wrong in his cage before I start to worry. Thanks!

racinghamster · 01-01-2016, 12:46 PM

Hi, what age is your little guy? One thing you said was that you clean him every three days or so? That isn`t necessary unless he lives in a shoe box! What size of cage/tank does he live in? All you need to do is spot clean any poo or wet patches. Robos will sometimes pee in a sand pit or inside a toilet roll tube if their pee is left to dry inside the tube, they learn to `go` in there. My robo always used a toilet roll tube as his potty!

Robos can be active during the day as well as night really. Older robos not so much. A cold room or too warm can cause a change in behaviour too, but if the room he is in is never very cold or too warm, it should`n affect his daily routine.

His wheel should be fine if (1) he uses it and (2) It has a smooth running surface and doesn`t hurt his feet when he runs on it. I`m not familiar with wheel brands in the US.

Chances are he`s just slowing down with age, or sometimes hamsters will spend more time in their nest and be more active again within a few days. Their routines usually stay static, but they can and do change depending on environment and whether they are left alone or disturbed often.

It`s good to watch what he does and note down any obvious behavioural changes to what he normally does. But unless that routine looks out of the normal, I would say he`s just doing what he wants to do, even if that`s sleeping more. x

HenriandHobieHammies · 01-01-2016, 01:17 PM

Thanks so much for your quick reply! He is about 10 months old now and his cage is pretty big. (meant for 2-3 dwarves) Sometimes I leave my window open during the day and it gets a little chilly, but at night it's normally pretty warm. I am thinking that it is just him getting older, but I'm going to try experimenting with the temperture to see if that changes anything. From what I've seen so far, he actually sleeps more in the cold weather than when it's warm....

racinghamster · 01-02-2016, 02:33 AM

Yes, making sure the room he is in isn`t too warm. Hamsters do better in moderate temperatures but you don`t want fluctuating temperatures either (going from too warm to below zero). When it`s really cold outside, it`s best to have the heating on indoors, but airy. I know New York can get pretty cold in wintertime just like Scotland!!! x

HenriandHobieHammies · 01-14-2016, 05:20 PM

Thanks for your help racinghamster! It sure can!