Chattering Hammy

[beccapenny]

Hello!

The day we brought Vince home he was clearly scared and defensive and was squawking away angrily. He's not done it since about his 3rd day in his new home with us.

Tonight as I was opening his cage to let him out I heard him chatting to himself. Is this a good thing or should I be concerned he's not happy or poorly or something? He had a good, mad playtime and is eating normally etc. Do hams chatter sometimes? It was a cute sound, not like his angry gremlin squawk!

[Thin Lizzy]

It just means you have a very vocal hammie.
My youngest does this and I'll sit by her cage listen and talk back to her!

[beccapenny]

Awwww!! That's so sweet! I chat back to the cat, now I'll be doing it with the hammy lol!

[Jeir]

Sometimes it can mean they're annoyed/angry. Back when I had two male Syrians, if one smelled the other (such as when I was cuddling him and took him with me to the other room where the other one was), he would freeze and start chattering. In itself, it's rather harmless, more like a "gimme five more minutes, mum!/I wanna keep playing!" whine than a "I will kill you to death!" aggressive noise.

In my experience, the noises they make can be summed up thus:
Screeching = terrified/upset. In my mind, it sounds like they're crying. This is probably the worst noise I've heard a hamster make; my current Syrian was very scared when I first got him, and made the noise every time I neared his cage.
Chattering = annoyed. Can be taken as a warning, can be taken as the hammy just being a bit grumpy.
Popping/clicking = happy. My current Syrian does this sometimes when I get him out for a cuddle. My last one did it constantly (and loudly at that). Note that some hamsters don't make noises to show they're happy; I've had 15 hamsters, and only the latest two Syrians have ever made popping noises.
Squeaking (quiet, short, repeated) = Not sure. My hybrids sometimes make this noise when they're sleeping. Sleep-talking?
Squeaking (loudish, short, single - more like a 'typical' squeak) = Not sure. Same as above, but sounds a little more like they've had a nightmare and were woken by it, as I'd find them awake when I got to check on them.

Of course, this is just wheat I've found in common with my hamsters - other people may have hamsters who do what I associate as 'bad' noises to show they're happy. =)

[Thin Lizzy]

It also depends on how your hammie is with you when he/she makes these noises.
The sqeaking is them dreaming, it's so sweet watching them sleep and squeak at the same time.
The loud squeaking is what I'd say was them having bad dreams, one evening I heard my youngest doing this really loudly and I ran through to her cage, she looked quite stressed and I talked to her really softly and she calmed down and then came out for cuddles.

[Jeir]

Remembered another one; a louder version of the first kind of squeaking I mentioned. My little girl hybrid sometimes makes such a noise, and I believe it's her telling me she's lonely and wants some company, as she only stops after I've gotten her out for some cuddles for a while. =3

[Thin Lizzy]

Twinkle my youngest was looking about her cage like a meerkat and I started talking to her and she came right up to the cage door and I spent about 5 minutes just stroking her, I love those moments!