Winter White Hamster acting differently

Ashley Ash · 11-10-2018, 12:27 PM

Hi,I’m new to this forum but I hope at least I would get an answer to my question. So recently,I have bought a bigger cage for my 2 winter white dwarf hamsters (they have been living tgt ever since they were little). But I have observed that hyperactive male hamster doesn’t run as much as he did before I changed the cage. He usually became super active at around 11pm but recently he just doesn’t seem to like to run on the wheel and he just looked so sad. On a different case, my another male hamster became super active at night. They both just seemed like they have switched personalities. I wonder what’s wrong with my hamster,I don’t wish to see him so sad. Btw there’s 2 wheels for them both now. I hope someone can answer to my question.

mangoandmimi · 11-10-2018, 04:49 PM

When did you move them? A cage change can upset them a bit and their temperaments can change usually temporarily. It'll take them a while to settle in and get used to it. Winter whites also do notoriously badly in pairs, so it's always recommended to keep them separate. So are you noticing any bullying behaviour from one? Or 'play fighting'? That usually involves a lot of squeaking with WWs. Bullying can also be as subtle as one not getting enough food, or is getting blocked out of areas. I'm wondering as cage changes can cause problems with pairs that were once fine so that might well be the case.

Ashley Ash · 11-10-2018, 09:57 PM

I moved them to the new cage this week Monday so it’s not too long ago. He seemed to be more active and lively in the old cage so I was considering about changing different cages from time to time for them but I don’t know if that is alright bc the old cage is getting smaller for them. They rarely fight, but they always groom each other and play around. Last night, the other one tried to play with him but I think he got pissed off and they started chasing each other for a few times. I have seen this happened in the old cage as well but it happen occasionally and I would always tried to stop them from fighting so that both of them don’t get hurt. Oh, and one more thing. Both of them would always tried to get up on the new wheel but one of them is always getting blocked out that’s why they started chasing each other I guessed. This happened a few times,I’m not so worried about that as they would get along again the next day. I think he just needs some adjusting in new cage. :/

cypher · 11-10-2018, 10:18 PM

As mangoandmimi said it does take a while for them to adjust to a new cage, it can be anything up to a couple of weeks so some changes in normal behaviour aren't unusual for a while after a change.
It is stressful for them though & any kind of stress can increase the likelihood of them falling out & fighting so watch very closely for any signs of fighting or bullying, if that does happen then you would have to separate them.