'disinterested' hamster.

[lady jocardi]

Im hoping some of you maybe able to help me out with my Jed. hes 7 months old and has been with us since the begining of April.
Hes a sweet boy, lovely natured, and he looks very healthy, Hes a good weight, eats well and seems to pee and poop normally.
But.....
he doesnt do much! Yes...I know hes a hamster, but he seems totally disinterested in almost anything we try to do to enrich his life! He doesnt wake until 11ish at night and will happily come out and roam on the sofa for a little while to say hello. he goes back in his cage and grooms for a good while. Then. he goes under the shelf and sits in his potty. most evenings he will come out and we put him in the playpen....but once in there...he sits in a box. He has things to climb, a saucer, tubes, things to forrage in ...but is very rare he 'plays'.
if we put him in the ball he has about 5 mins and them just sits. we take him on the stairs, on the beds, he just mooches. He doesnt explore and really dosent seem to have an inquisitive bone in his body!!!
He does love to run in his wheel at night...and any treats i hide around the cage are always gone in the morning.

I worry.....our last hamster Jocardi (female) was opposite in every way. I dont think we are doing anything wrong.....but nothing we do seems right for Jed!


anyone have any suggestions please? Does any one elses hammy act this way?

[souffle]

I think it may well be because he is an only male hamster! There is no real reason for him to do anything much because he cannot smell a mate to seek out and he doesn't need to forage much for food. He sounds particularly laid back and that is likely just the way he is - content and happy to potter.
Hamsters don't actively 'play' as such. All activities are usually based on breeding or searching for food and shelter. Perhaps make his environment more challanging so he has to search for his food if you hide it here and there.
As long as he seems healthy I wouldn't worry over much because he sounds happy enough in himself.

[flowerfairy]

He sounds a lot like my laid back hamster male syrian, Gopal. He loves a long long wash and a mooch about for food and not much else.

Woodstock, male syrian is similar. Now Kashi, my female syrian is a little chocolate rocket!

Souffle's idea of hiding food is a good one.

He is a lovely looking hamster.

[Coco61]

Same here! One lovely laid back male Syrian in residence here. He never 'asks' to come out. Playtime is not his thing at all. He will tolerate some handling and climb on me for treats but then find somewhere quiet on me to settle down. Nothing to worry about. Just a contented lazy boy in Jed. I just make sure there is plenty to do by rat tubes and sputniks etc to find treats to keep him active.