She's not getting out of bed?

hammyJJ · 10-31-2014, 04:29 AM

Last night I noticed that my hamster had stayed in bed all night and all day. And she usually doesn't get up when it goes dark why is she doing this😐

cypher · 10-31-2014, 04:38 AM

Are you sure she isn't getting up when you're sleeping?
Try putting food around the cage, in her wheel & other places to see if it's gone in the morning.
Have you taken her out to check she's not ill at all?

**ianpallen** · 10-31-2014, 05:36 AM

Cypher is right. I do this with food now and again if I have not seen one of my hams for a couple of days. The food is always gone by the morning. My male syrian is the laziest as he will not come out until I coax him with Ginger or tip him out of his house. Marvin comes out when he wants too. But I coax him out with mealworms as he likes them. Screech comes out every day and Ginger comes out first but she is staying in later at the moment.

amie · 10-31-2014, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianpallen

Cypher is right. I do this with food now and again if I have not seen one of my hams for a couple of days.

Couple of days? A responsible hamster owner should be making sure that their hamsters are seen every day and are checked that all is well with them.

Even then, it can sometimes be too late. Illnesses can quickly take hold with hamsters and a ‘couple of days’ can be too late.

I would suggest, hammyJJ that you get your hamster out right now and check that she is ok. If not, then please take her to a vet.

Hope everything is ok with her and it is just a case of her having an extra long sleep and chilling out more than usual.

hammyJJ · 11-03-2014, 12:51 PM

She fine she came out as soon as I put food out and i bought her a huge wheel which she comes out early to use ��

Skeever · 11-03-2014, 02:38 PM

A responsible hamster owner? A day is too late? Check them hourly!!!! They can have strokes in a second and linger for fifty nine minutes in blind confusion and terror!!!!

Drag em out if they want to sleep or feel better or recuperate, or just chill .....give them a full health check! Check their bodily cavities for contraband!!!

Part of owning hams or any other critter, is to not go ballistically hypochondriac when they don't show up on schedule. A schedule our ownership created by the way. While I don' t think I've ever let a day go by without seeing them poking around....walking, eating....not off kilter or obviously in harms way.....it does happen they don't get checked up close and personal for as many as 48 to 72 hours if they are clearly emptying food bowls, making nesting sounds , not screaming or leaving trails of blood in the cage.....

Bit strident there, telling everyone what a responsible hamster owner must do...Everyone I know basically has days that are the perfect storm.....out more than in, many things to take care of, and a grumpy ham saying "I'm sleeping in!" and thats when making noise around their cage and seeing their little annoyed grumpus face saying : DO YOU MIND?! is a sighting in that 24-36 hours. Depending on the ham I live with, I will generally not make them come out and give them a daily health check...sorry. They're already in captivity , they don't need a daily mauling from the human. Never mind the fact that this human wants to snuggle them three times a day....but I leave them alone when they are chillling, or sleeping in. But.... Because someone does not see their ham in that 24 hour period? The realities of ham ownership dictate, for owners who know their hams? Things are probably OK. No need to imply they are irresponsible owners.

hammyJJ asked a question, and waited for answers as soon as she knew something was different. No need to imply either, that she should drag that ham out of its cage for a healthcheck because it had an off day. Especially for people who are new, this can lead to more harm than good. As it turned out, the mystery ham appeared and all was well. Care and responsibility aren't synonyms for panic and obsessive monitoring. It's a known fact that hamsters make all of us worry about stuff that turns out to be typically hamster behavior...Not sure amping up the anxiety is the way to go ?

Skeever · 11-03-2014, 02:40 PM

Double post.....this website hates my mouse. The computer mouse, I mean....

**DrKMcK** · 11-03-2014, 02:52 PM

Funny that this came up hammyjj.

My Nutmeg scared me to pieces today. Yesterday I redid her cage...added another piece. I made a fair bit of noise on and off for about an hour. Nutmeggie didn't stir. I was all happy waiting for her to come out and see what I'd done. *twiddling thumbs* No Nutmeg., Hmmmmm. Okay, I wait some more and she still hadn't come out by the time I went to bed at 1:30 am. Hmmmm? So I peer around her tank and see her smooshed up against the glass, but clearly breathing. Ah well, I guess she'll see it tomorrow. I get up today and I can tell she hasn't been up. Now I start to worry. I take both of her toppers down and, for the first time ever!, I lift her bendy bridge house off of her...

Nutmeg jumped up peering at me with an expressionthat clearly said..."Whaaaat? Why did you do that!" She waddled over to her water bottle as I was sheepishly putting her bendy bridge back, and she had a drink of water, glanced over at me, and went back to bed. I feel so silly

I guess sometimes they just want to sleep in like Skeever says.

NiceCrocs · 11-03-2014, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amie

Couple of days? A responsible hamster owner should be making sure that their hamsters are seen every day and are checked that all is well with them.

Even then, it can sometimes be too late. Illnesses can quickly take hold with hamsters and a ‘couple of days’ can be too late.

I would suggest, hammyJJ that you get your hamster out right now and check that she is ok. If not, then please take her to a vet.

Hope everything is ok with her and it is just a case of her having an extra long sleep and chilling out more than usual.

I disagree. Ian is an experienced owner, and knows what he is doing.

Hamsters can be temperamental, some don't like to interact with humans. My Lucy has only just recently stopped hiding every time i turn the light on. For weeks I could only catch glimpses of her. As long as her food was being eaten, and her bedding would be overturned in places, it's no problem.

Some of us have work schedules that we have to work around. Mine sometimes demands that I work an overnight shift. On these nights I don't see my hamsters at all. I feed them before I leave and when I return the next morning, they've already gone to bed. I sure as heck am not going to go dragging them out of their nests to make sure they're okay. That would just stress them out needlessly.

There isn't a narrow definition of what a 'responsible owner' must or mustn't do. Aside from the basic red flag issues (big enough wheels, no fluffy bedding, things like that), They have to listen to their instincts and the cues that their hamsters give them.

Going a couple days without seeing a hamster isn't the end of the world, especially this time of year when a lot of hamsters sleeping schedules are getting a bit turned around by the weather change in most countries.

Skeever · 11-03-2014, 03:13 PM

DrK....that IS annoying. I mean, usually mucking with their food dish makes them show up. I think they know that we know and so play possum...just one more of their hamsterly wiles to drive the Big Hand people mad!

Sometimes I even pretend I'm foraging for seeds and munching them with obvious relish, till they poke their wee heads out