Need some advice asap

[Mariogamerjustin]

Hi sorry if this is the wrong place I dont know how to use this website very well quite yet. I just got my hamster recently from petsmart as I have no local breeders. Aside from normal stress my hamsters first day in her new cage went fine. The next day (the day I am writing this) my hamster was sleeping all day (which I know is normal) but than night fell. I waited and finally my hamster woke up around 9pm. I watched her for a bit but than she went into a hideout and just fell asleep instantly. I let her be for around half an hour and than I wanted to check on her as I was concerned. I lifted her cover gently and and spoke to wake her up but it didnt work. I didnt see breathing so I gently shook her. Still didnt wake up. I dont know if this was good or bad but I than flipped her over and she didnt wake up for another three mins after that. I dont know if this is normal and hamsters are just very deep sleepers. If someone has an explanation that would take a huge load off my shoulders. Thanks.

[Ria P]

Hi and welcome!

How is your hamster now? I have no idea what's wrong with your hamster because i haven't come across this before. Apparently, hamsters can "play dead" or freeze when they are scared so it could be that. Saying that, my hamster did freeze once and just sat without moving because he was scared by new surroundings but came back to normal when i picked him up. I'd contact the shop where you got her from and maybe they could give her a check over if you can't get hwr checked out by a vet.

[Mariogamerjustin]

She woke up after about 4 minutes. I heard that Hamsters can hibernate so maybe she was just doing that.

[Gigithehamster]

Hi!

This is late, so i'm not sure whether this will help, but hibernation in hamsters is not normal! It is called torpor, and it can be fatal. I don't know much about it so there will be a link to a page at the bottom, but the basic facts are that when your hamster gets too cold, their body "shuts down" to preserve heat, and if this is not treated it is fatal. I would go see a vet, another possibility if this happen regularly, is that your hamster might have a genetic problem of some kind. Either way, I would go see a vet.

Hope this helped!

p.s your hamster should be kept at a tempertature of around 65-75 degress farenheit, their cage shouldn't really be on the floor as it is colder, and the cage should be away from drafts. I would also recommend gettting a heating pad that's safe for hamsters just in case (or diy it with a hot water bottle or hand warmer wrapped in towel/s, my personal recommendation is just having a small animal gfirst aid kit.

heating pad - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snuggle-Saf...c=1&th=1&psc=1


(there may be other ones but this is the one i have)

torpor information - https://www.facebook.com/NSPCA/posts...3974271369843/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o66s2INAAGI

these are only two sources I have used, there are more

hamster first aid kit
https://thepipsqueakery.org/firstaidkit