Illness? Sleeping?

Teddy001 · 09-23-2015, 02:43 AM

Hi All,

I'm hoping you can help me.. My 9 month old male Syrian, has been sleeping non stop.. This is unusual, due to he was normally active, and came out of his nest, at least once a day.

It's been 11 hour since I've been up, and he has not come out of his nest. I did wake him, to check on him.. He came out, walked around, at a few nuts.. I held him, and had a look over, and he appears to be normal.

He did eat his fresh foods, earlier, but, hasn't come out of his nest on his own.. Is this normal? I'm thinking he is hydrated due to the veggies he has eaten.. but, I've noticed his sleeping and staying in his nest, for long periods, not coming out, has me worried.

He is 9 months old. This started, about 4 days ago.. I did check his treat dish, and the treats have been eaten, so he must come out sometime.. but, it's just not like him to sleep so much more than he has, and this is a lot more hours of sleep.

Could it be due to the season change? I'm thinking I should take him to be checked by a vet?..

Thank you!

Teddy001 · 09-23-2015, 02:53 AM

PS. I was shown, a vid about hamsters may go into a topor state, if they get cold.. I'm going to turn the heat up, to see if that makes a difference. My hamster's Detolf shows 73 degrees F. I'd think that would be warm enough?

WinnieTheHam · 09-23-2015, 02:55 AM

What's the temperature like in the room that he is in? If it's cold he could be sleeping more due to that.

If you're worried about him it could be best to take him to the vet to make sure there's no hidden cause. Hope he perks up soon

Teddy001 · 09-23-2015, 03:07 AM

The temp., in the room is 73 degrees.. I had the ceiling fan on, but turned it off. I've been up since 12 pm, and checking in on him.. it's now the next morning, 5:00am.. and he has not come out of his nest, except to eat veggies, but then he went right back to his nest. I woke him, late last night, and he didn't want to come out of his nest, which is really odd.. due to, if he heard sounds, in his cage, he would come out to investigate.

When I've taken him out of his cage, he perks up, and is alert.. he played in the play pen a few nights ago.. this is just strange.. he's not sleep like this before.

WinnieTheHam · 09-23-2015, 03:16 AM

73 degrees is fine. Was he extra hyper/excited the night before? he could just be tired from that. Has he lost weight at all? I think it's probably a better idea to take him to the vet to get him checked properly

Teddy001 · 09-23-2015, 03:27 AM

This has been going on for the past 4 days.. he is eating, and using his toilet tray, so he must be coming out some time. I'm going to make an appt. with the vet.. thank you.

Teddy001 · 09-23-2015, 04:27 AM

He's UP!.. I just had him out of his cage.. He is playing like normal.. Isn't it a bit unusual, for an hamster to start their day, at 6:30am in the morning, and sleep all day and night??.. I'm usually not home at this time.

I also, weighted him, he has not loss weight.. he's at 194grams, which he actually gained a few grams..

cypher · 09-23-2015, 04:30 AM

They do respond to the day length as much as the temperature change at this time of year so maybe he's just changing his routine, his hours do still sound a bit odd but maybe it's a slightly confused adjustment!
He looks fine & if he's been eating ok I wouldn't think there's much to worry about.

WinnieTheHam · 09-23-2015, 04:32 AM

Well Syrian hamsters are crepuscular which means they prefer to come out in twilight hours. Is the sun just starting to rise? or has it just risen? It's completely normal. Winston gets up at 8pm (when the sun sets) and he's up at 6-7am (when the sun starts to rise in the UK)

His sleeping pattern may have changed, i wouldn't worry too much about it unless he's acting lethargic all the time.