Anxiety in Hamsters

[Natasha95]

Hi everyone! I don't want to come off as too preachy in this post (especially since I'm still considered a hamster pup), but something happened to my dwarf hamster Penny recently, and I figured I'd share her story and remind everyone how important mental health care is for animals too.

For the past few weeks, she had been eating less and less, and she was really jumpy and wouldn't even come near me if I put my hand in her cage. She would just run away and hide. She was also drinking water excessively. This was all very unusual, so I took her to the vet thinking she may be sick or injured. The physical exam went well, and the vet also tested her for diabetes and a kidney infection, which came back negative. There was apparently nothing physically wrong with her.

Since then, I've moved her to a different room where she's more secluded, and her symptoms have magically gone away. She's eating, and she comes up to me when I put my hand in her cage. Her drinking has also gone back to normal.

I think the only possible explanation was that she had anxiety. She's always been a really reactive hamster and not very chill, so maybe that made her prone to it. I don't know exactly what caused her anxiety all of a sudden, but hamsters do notice little changes we don't. I'm just so glad she's feeling better now!