New Owner, Help!

[LouisV]

Hey! I’m a brand new hamster owner, and I just got a little Female Teddy Bear. When I first brought her home and set up her new cage, i’m using a bin, she was very active, running around, climbing, clearly exploring her new surroundings. I had my hand in the bin just so she could get used to the smell of me/understand that my hand isn’t harm, and she even climbed into my palm and let me hold her! Later that night I awoke to her wheel spinning, around 11:00. When i got up the next day around 9:00 I found her asleep, which of course was not surprising, but it’s now 7:05 and she’s still not doing anything. I hear her in her little igloo, and i see her cleaning and eating, but she’s just not coming out. I tapped the bedding a couple times cause I heard it was a good way to lure them out, and let them know someone else is around / to wake up, but she’s still in the igloo. Am I overthinking something? Is this pretty normal?


Side Note: Any tips for new owners?

[megoneill]

Hello!

So happy to hear you've brought a new hammy home! This is completely normal so don't worry my little Syrian usually comes out at about 9/10 at night so pretty late. Your little hammy will come out when it's ready and is probably still getting used to her surroundings! It sounds like your doing a great job already.

I hope this helped and if you have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask
All the best!

[Kyrkogrimr]

Try not to worry - it's normal for a new ham to be shy for the first few days when you bring them home. Have you tried the tissue trick? It's a good way to get her used to your scent even if she's not up and about when you are.

Also, 7pm isn't terribly late for a hamster to still be asleep. Hydrogen can be expected to wake up anytime from about 6pm, but 9 or 10pm is more normal. Cadmium doesn't wake up until after I go to bed, but she's often up for a bit before I go to work and is usually active for a couple of hours during the day. She's a strange one.