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LoveHammies420YT · 11-06-2020, 12:09 AM

I found this post & joined the forum adter searching “hamster freaks out in light” on Google. My new female Syrian is 110% identical, exactly word for word! I don’t think the people replying understand the extent & were even confused in a few cases... I myself have had hamsters for 4 years now, my Russian Dwarf passed away of cancer recently... so a few weeks later I decided to get a bath Syrian ☺️💕
I’m fully aware hamsters are nocturnal, & am aware of everything else stated in the previous replies but I don’t think that’s what’s going on. For the first week I had her she would actually get up in the day & eat a bit & I had been attempting preliminary taming. However upon moving her into her new larger enclosure she stopped getting up in the day, this was about 7 days into having her. It started the first night & that was fine by me, perfectly normal as hamsters are nocturnal so I began taming at night. Thing is my robos are skittish & hide when the lights go on so I was taming my little Syrian in the dark for that second week with just a flashlight on in the room. It wasn’t even about her I didht want to upset the robos... So a week went by & I never turned the lights on while she was awake, then earlier tonight had to adjust something in my robos cage.. so I stupidly turned the light on not even thinking about the fact Mouse (my Syrian) was awake on her wheel etc & might react to the light 🤦🏼*♀️
Mouse started going nuts!!!! I noticed within a minute of the light going on, Running around the cage at full speeds then after about 2 minutes bar biting!!! My little Mouse was bar bitting!!! 😭 Then she started climbing the cage which she has NEVER DONE!! I was terrified she was gonna start monkey barring! She is the most timid shy hamster ever i couldn’t believe she was running around acting like that?! At first I didht know what to think, then after a minute thought she was exited about the light was on & wanted to play (as an earlier reply also suggested) My son was in the room & walked up to the cage, he had no previous taming sessions with her but she ran right over to him pacing & climbing!! This is a hamster who runs away if you offer her a treat! She suddenly climbed to the top of the cage & discovered an upper level I created that had gone undiscovered for over a week! I had NEVER seen her bar bite or climb before this, all she wanted was to get out of the cage! Like just because the light turned on all of a sudden she thought the cage wasn’t safe anymore... that’s literally what it looked like
People debate whether hamsters like climbing or are good climbers.. from what I’ve seen in 4 years of having hamsters.. they are excellent at climbing , UP, not so much at going down.. especially on bars.. when she got stuck hanging near the top of the cage I could tell she needed my help so I opened the cage & put my hand in. Keep in mind this is a TIMID hamster, literally runs about 50% of the time as soon as she sniffs my finger 😬 I had been making slow progress over the last 2 weeks of having her, I had been giving her fresh veggies & seeds from my hand a few times a day since she arrived. It took 3 days just for her to accept a treat from me! This was a first for me as my previous Syrian who was a young male was totally tame when I got him & my 2 Russian dwarfs as well
Anyway when she got stuck hanging near the top of the cage I put my bags in & she climbed on!! It was SO nice to feel her little feeties on my hand but trust me she did not want to play she was freaking out!! She spent 2 minutes going from my sweater sleeve back onto the cage door, I think that’s the only good that came of it cuz she got a good sniff of the hoodie I’ve been living in lol. I closed the cage & turned the lights off realizing that’s what was setting her off but she went straight to bar bitting so bad & hard sticking her poor little nose so far between the bars

I was so confused as she has over 640 square inches, a dig box, a sand bath, a potty (& she’s potty trained!!) multiple hides, toys, multiple substrates including coconut fibre, moss, aspen AND paper bedding, wide variety diet including seeds, fruits, veggies, wild flowers (& soon meal worms!)
I’m not a hamster newb & I’ve never seen this behaviour before, my robos only come out at night & hide when I turn the light on but that’s normal for untamed or shy hamsters. This young female Syrians behaviour is totally different, she’s legit terrified of the light & goes into panic mode almost like a mother animal who’s babies have been taken or a totally wild animal whos just been caged for the first time. The fear literally made her scared enough to lose her fear of humans enough to climb on my hand to try to escape...
I really hope she’s calmed down when I go back in to check on her cuz I’d hate for her to start hating her enclosure just because I stupidly turned the light on!!

11-06-2020, 12:09 AM
LoveHammies420YT Newborn Pup Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: Pet Paradise Posts: 1	Re: Hamster freaks out in light? I found this post & joined the forum adter searching “hamster freaks out in light” on Google. My new female Syrian is 110% identical, exactly word for word! I don’t think the people replying understand the extent & were even confused in a few cases... I myself have had hamsters for 4 years now, my Russian Dwarf passed away of cancer recently... so a few weeks later I decided to get a bath Syrian ☺️💕 I’m fully aware hamsters are nocturnal, & am aware of everything else stated in the previous replies but I don’t think that’s what’s going on. For the first week I had her she would actually get up in the day & eat a bit & I had been attempting preliminary taming. However upon moving her into her new larger enclosure she stopped getting up in the day, this was about 7 days into having her. It started the first night & that was fine by me, perfectly normal as hamsters are nocturnal so I began taming at night. Thing is my robos are skittish & hide when the lights go on so I was taming my little Syrian in the dark for that second week with just a flashlight on in the room. It wasn’t even about her I didht want to upset the robos... So a week went by & I never turned the lights on while she was awake, then earlier tonight had to adjust something in my robos cage.. so I stupidly turned the light on not even thinking about the fact Mouse (my Syrian) was awake on her wheel etc & might react to the light 🤦🏼*♀️ Mouse started going nuts!!!! I noticed within a minute of the light going on, Running around the cage at full speeds then after about 2 minutes bar biting!!! My little Mouse was bar bitting!!! 😭 Then she started climbing the cage which she has NEVER DONE!! I was terrified she was gonna start monkey barring! She is the most timid shy hamster ever i couldn’t believe she was running around acting like that?! At first I didht know what to think, then after a minute thought she was exited about the light was on & wanted to play (as an earlier reply also suggested) My son was in the room & walked up to the cage, he had no previous taming sessions with her but she ran right over to him pacing & climbing!! This is a hamster who runs away if you offer her a treat! She suddenly climbed to the top of the cage & discovered an upper level I created that had gone undiscovered for over a week! I had NEVER seen her bar bite or climb before this, all she wanted was to get out of the cage! Like just because the light turned on all of a sudden she thought the cage wasn’t safe anymore... that’s literally what it looked like People debate whether hamsters like climbing or are good climbers.. from what I’ve seen in 4 years of having hamsters.. they are excellent at climbing , UP, not so much at going down.. especially on bars.. when she got stuck hanging near the top of the cage I could tell she needed my help so I opened the cage & put my hand in. Keep in mind this is a TIMID hamster, literally runs about 50% of the time as soon as she sniffs my finger 😬 I had been making slow progress over the last 2 weeks of having her, I had been giving her fresh veggies & seeds from my hand a few times a day since she arrived. It took 3 days just for her to accept a treat from me! This was a first for me as my previous Syrian who was a young male was totally tame when I got him & my 2 Russian dwarfs as well Anyway when she got stuck hanging near the top of the cage I put my bags in & she climbed on!! It was SO nice to feel her little feeties on my hand but trust me she did not want to play she was freaking out!! She spent 2 minutes going from my sweater sleeve back onto the cage door, I think that’s the only good that came of it cuz she got a good sniff of the hoodie I’ve been living in lol. I closed the cage & turned the lights off realizing that’s what was setting her off but she went straight to bar bitting so bad & hard sticking her poor little nose so far between the bars I was so confused as she has over 640 square inches, a dig box, a sand bath, a potty (& she’s potty trained!!) multiple hides, toys, multiple substrates including coconut fibre, moss, aspen AND paper bedding, wide variety diet including seeds, fruits, veggies, wild flowers (& soon meal worms!) I’m not a hamster newb & I’ve never seen this behaviour before, my robos only come out at night & hide when I turn the light on but that’s normal for untamed or shy hamsters. This young female Syrians behaviour is totally different, she’s legit terrified of the light & goes into panic mode almost like a mother animal who’s babies have been taken or a totally wild animal whos just been caged for the first time. The fear literally made her scared enough to lose her fear of humans enough to climb on my hand to try to escape... I really hope she’s calmed down when I go back in to check on her cuz I’d hate for her to start hating her enclosure just because I stupidly turned the light on!!