New Hamster making me nervous?

[banin]

Hi, I got my new hamster earlier today, he's an 8 week old brown syrian.
However he's acting quite normal in the sense that he's running around the cage looking around at his new home. However there are some things that I noticed that are making me slightly uncomfortable.
1. He went to his water bottle once and had a little drink and now he just goes up to it, sniffs it and walks away.
2. He climbs up really high right to the top of the cage as if he want to escape, I'm scared he will, he's in an Alaska cage, do you think he's able to escape?
3.He takes his food right to the back dark corners of the cage and stays there most of the time.
4. Was awake most of the day when I got him and then he went to sleep at around 7 for about an hour or so and now he's fully awake again. My understanding was hamsters mainly sleep during the day and are awake all night. He seems like he's been awake for a long time.
5. And I just feel guilty , I don't think he likes it because its as if he's trying to escape from his cage all the time. Its really big and he has climbing stuff, little house, food, water and a few other bits and bobs. However the cage he was in at the pet shop was easily about 30cm,30 cm, 30 cm however my cage is 84 x 48.5 x 44 cm (L x W x H)..
6. He also chews on the top of the cage when he gets there
Thanks for the help guys really appreciate all the advice I get on this forum

[Michelle89]

first of all congrats on the new hammy :) cant wait to see a pic of the little cutie and secondly well done on giving him a lovely Alaska cage he will absolutely love it :)

All the behaviours you've mentioned sound normal to me.

They dont drink a lot of water he is probably just working out where it is compared to everything else in his cage even my lot sniff their water bottles I dont think its anything to worry about.

Some hammies LOVE to climbe he may just be a climber try put some hammocks in for him that can help break his fall and its always a nice extra bit of enrichement for them to climb about on :) I doubt he can escape from the cage I have my syrian in one and hes never escaped from it.

He is probably still settling in which is why he is sitting in the dark corners with his food he will feel safer than in the open.

His sleeping pattern may be a bit weird as he settles I found Sheldon slept a lot as a baby and eventually got into a routine of getting up at a certain time all of this will come with time :)

I dont think you have anything to worry about but im sure a more knowledgeable member may also have some comments for you :) xxx

[Petite1]

Nothing to worry about all normal, hamsters always have a stash of food in a corner somewhere in a cage, and as for climbing all four of mine do it, just make sure you have deep subtrate at the bottom of cage and as previously said hammocks brake falls, give him plenty of chew toys to stop boredom and a 29 inch wheel for play hope this helps

[shiny]

I have found that a new hamster is always a bit manic & awake more in a new cage for a day or two until they settle in & calm down a bit. Give your hamster time to get into a routine & I'm sure he will be ok. We have an Alaska for our Syrian Bubble who loves to climb so I got plenty of hammocks off eBay.

[DrKMcK]

Your hammy sounds like a perfectly normal little furry. Have you ever moved to a new house or apartment? It's hard to settle into a new home for us humans...imagine for a tiny hamster. Once your hammy feels like this is his home he'll settle into a routine. It sounds like you are terribly anxious to do the right thing for him, so finding Hamster Central was a really good thing to do. There are lots of people with lots of experience to help you. For now, since your hammy is new, let him settle down for a few days and just observe him. Just feed him and check his water and then back off. Let us know how he's doing each day. Most of all, just enjoy watching this new little friend. :-)

[banin]

Thanks guys I feel much better now. I can actually enjoy watching my hammy without getting nervous, but yeah I'll upload pictures right now.
Again thankssss!

[Lougarry]

For your peace of mind, do just double-check that the water bottle is still working. They can sometimes just stop.

[banin]

http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/syrian-hamster/38289-introducing-my-new-hammy.html#post473981

^^ I posted some pictures of my new hammy if anyone is interested :)