Hi everyone!
Apologies for the obscure title but I wasn’t sure how else to word it. I brought my first hamster (Nimbus) home this Saturday passed, so he’s been here 5 days. I let him have a few days to settle and started offering him small bits of food yesterday to get him used to me which was going fine.
However, I’ve noticed that he has started sneezing? Sometimes it sounds like he’s just huffing/sniffing really intensely, or like hes trying to squeak but it’s not a pure squeak sound if that makes sense? I was previously using a mixture of aspen and paper bedding but had a panic that maybe he was allergic to the wood, so have just changed it out for paper only. I feel I may have overreacted as I’m obviously not familiar with hamsters yet and maybe it’s just how he sounds I dunno.. so I’m worried I’ve caused him more stress from displacing him so soon but I understand allergies can be really serious for them.
He’s just fallen asleep in his food bowl which I’ve not seen him do before and I’m assuming is because he’s been unsettled and feels safer there at the moment.
I’ve tried searching for the sounds he makes on YouTube for a reference point or clarification and I’ve not been able to find one that fits.. does anyone have any wisdom to offer? I did a lot of research before I brought him home but now he’s here I’m really worried I’m not doing what’s best for him
TLDR: Nimbus is making strange noises, I suspect it’s an allergy so I’ve changed to paper only bedding, but I’m not sure and panicking.