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Old 02-24-2006, 07:26 AM   #1
kcollar
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Default Hamster sleeping all day (and night)

I've had my panda bear hamster (Buttercup) for two months. She's always followed a set routine. She sleeps all day, then wakes around 6:30 in the evening and stays up all night, running on her ball, chewing on her cage, etc. But for the past five days, she's been sleeping all the time. She wakes up to eat and have a drink, but then goes back to sleep. I've gotten her out of the cage for exercise a few times, but as soon as she goes back in, she goes back to sleep. She doesn't seem to be in pain and she looks fine. Should I be worried?
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Old 02-25-2006, 04:45 PM   #2
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Has anything changed in her environment - temperature, weather etc. or rutine? Do you feed her at the same time every day? Is she an only hamster? Hasn't been near any others recently? Does she appear to be eating and drinking as much as normal? Have you tried marking her wheel to check se isn't using it in the deep of the night?
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Old 02-25-2006, 06:58 PM   #3
kcollar
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I think everything is pretty much the same as always. We did change her food about two weeks ago to a different brand; it's the same type of mix with seeds and grains, but a different maker. I can tell she hasn't used the wheel because she's been sleeping when I've checked in the middle of the night (I have young kids and I'm sometimes up with them), plus I usually have to clean the wheel every day, but lately it's been spotless. On a different forum, a couple people have suggested that the tubes leading up to the ball may be too small for her now. I have a Crittertrail Z with a fairly tight S-curve leading to the ball. I think this may be the problem. I watched her climbing the tubes to her two towers this evening and it definitely seems to be a tight squeeze. I just put a running wheel in the body of the cage, hoping she'd exercise without having to climb. So far she's ignoring it, but I'm hoping she'll catch on. I may have to try a larger cage...
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Old 02-26-2006, 07:28 AM   #4
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I find that most all of the tube cages are designed way to small for a syrian hamster (at least I have yet to see something suitable) I also heard that most syrian hamsters do out grow their cages.



In my personal opinion these cage designs are /way/ to small for a full-grown syrian hamster (not just the rubes). Perhaps you might want to look into a larger cage, like an aquarium or a plastic bin cage, which is becoming a very popular way to house rodents in. I wonder if maybe the tubes are posing a problem and perhaps the hamster if bored with her cage?



If she’s eating a drinking that’s a good sign.. if her eyes and nose look clean that’s good as well. Does the hamster get much out of cage time during the day? Is it possible that maybe she’s getting to much excitement during her normal sleeping hours?



If you have room for a larger cage I suggest you look into it. Hamster Central has two articles about making your own bin cages if your interested.



http://www.hamstercentral.com/generalarticles.php
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Old 02-26-2006, 04:56 PM   #5
kcollar
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Thanks for the tip on bin cages. I think we're headed in that direction. Buttercup is looking pretty chunky today and I'm guessing she won't be able to get up the tower tubes soon. We actually let her sleep all day and we try to get her out of the cage for about an hour in the evening...on the floor and in her plastic ball. I'm relieved that she doesn't seem sick. She's eating well and drinking too, as far as I can tell. I guess we're on to another cage...crazy when she's been in this one only two months, but we'll know next time.
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Old 02-27-2006, 10:01 AM   #6
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Aw poor girl is getting a bit big for her cage - although hamsters can squeeze through the smallest of gaps as shown by the huge number of escapees we experience

Keep an eye on her water intake, mark the bottle and tell us how many millimetres she has a day
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