Hi, I got my campbell dwarf hamster two weeks ago. The first week, I thought everything was going very well, she would wake up at night, and was quite eager to let me hold her, and seemed to enjoy her time out of the cage where I give her access to toys and a wheel. She's almost two months old, and I was told to not let her have a wheel in her cage til she's four months old, so I'm keeping it to the playpen for now.
Since then I added some things to the cage, like a bit more bedding hoping she would start burrowing, I added a cork log, which she really seems to like, and a sand bath. Lately she's showing less interest in coming out to play, and she takes longer and longer to wake up, at one point I stayed up til 3am in order to make sure she got some exercise outside the cage. But I can't always stay up that late, so I've skipped playtime a couple times, which she seems to be fine with. She comes out during the day to eat and drink, so I do see her, but I feel like she's sleeping a lot. I may just be overthinking this.
When I do take her out she seems very happy to be held, and she runs a ton in her wheel, she honestly seems a bit hyper active when she does come out, but then goes back to her bed when I put her back in her cage. Basically what I'm wondering is if I should be concerned with her lack of interest to come out of her cage, and also her seemingly hyperactivity when she does come out. Should I push her to make sure she gets time out of her cage daily? Or should I let her decide in her own time?
I appreciate any tips/advice! I'm just really trying to be the best hamster owner I can be, and ironically I've become insecure because of it, I'm worried I'm not doing a good enough job. At the same time I think I'm overthinking it. Hope you guys have some answers for me!
