My hamster didn't run on his wheel last night?

melody5697 · 12-30-2014, 09:25 AM

For quite a while my hamster, Ezra, has still been in his nest when I brought him food at 8:30 pm, which I figured is probably due to old age (I got him in October of 2012). But he still ran on his wheel every night. But last night he didn't. Now I'm worried about him. It probably didn't help that my grandpa didn't follow the instructions I left for taking care of Ezra while I was out of town. I told him to give Ezra a tablespoon of food, fresh water, three sunflower seeds, and a piece of a vegetable EVERY NIGHT, but he didn't! He made sure Ezra always had food and water, but he didn't provide vegetables or sunflower seeds! Ezra also doesn't eat much. I give him a tablespoon of food each night but he only eats half of it. I figured it probably wasn't a problem since he was still active. Ezra didn't stay in his nest all night last night, of course. It took a while, but he did come out to get the piece of an apple and the cheerio I brought him. And he took some of his food and buried it somewhere. Should I be worried about him? I turned the bottom half of a cardboard egg carton upside down and put it in his cage and he builds his nest under it. Should I lift it up to check on him?

cypher · 12-30-2014, 09:40 AM

Ezra is a really good age so he's bound to be slowing down a bit, I don't know how long you were away but I doubt going without veg & sunflower seeds for a while would have done any harm.
As long as he's up & about for some time each day (or night), eating & drinking OK I wouldn't worry too much. Have you tried putting a little food or bedding in his wheel at night, if it's gone in the morning then you know he's been in there.
Do you weigh him regularly? I find it easier to keep a check on their weight than what they eat as it's quite hard to tell just what's actually being eaten. If he's losing weight maybe try offering some baby food to give him a bit of a boost.

melody5697 · 12-30-2014, 10:11 AM

Actually he isn't hand tamed because I was always afraid of him biting me, so weighing him might be difficult...

DanniDorrito · 12-30-2014, 10:54 AM

Just need to get him into a plastic tub and weigh him in that. Then take the plastic tubs weight from the total afterwards.

Thin Lizzy · 12-30-2014, 10:17 PM

What a great age! My hammie is under 20 months and he doesn't go on his wheel daily anymore, he loves his wooden logs and cardboard tubes. I would put some food in his wheel and other toys like cypher has suggested.
Baby porridge, mashed vegetables, plain soft scrambled egg, try these with Ezra.
Also, the weather has been getting a lot colder and hammies tend to spend longer in their beds and less active with their toys. They also store more food than normal.
Give him more bedding and make sure the room is warm.

melody5697 · 12-31-2014, 01:25 PM

I live in the Sonoran Desert. It doesn't get cold here. I heard him running in his wheel last night. It was just quieter than usual for some reason.

Thin Lizzy · 01-01-2015, 07:20 AM

Melody, I envy you not having the cold weather!
Ezra has probably found a way to be less noisy, to do with how they press their paws down on the wheel, lightly or heavily.
Good to hear he's back on it! He might've overdone it before and decided to have a break from it.