Grumpy hamster?

[saraf]

My WW hybrid Tuar has in the past week been different from usual. He is a very friendly hamster and likes to be out of his cage being held and running around in a hamster safe room. However, now he spends all day in a little nest he has made behind his wheel. He has always come out in the afternoon to play and I don't purposely wake him or anything. He has a tunnel and a hut that he has made nests in before.
I did do a full cage clean last week, and I have also taken the sunflower seeds out of his food as he will gorge himself on them when he has the chance and he is starting to get a bit chubby 😬
Is this him being grumpy with me because of the cage clean and taking away his seeds, or could it be something else? I had him out today and nothing physically seems to be wrong with him. His eyes, nose and ears are clean and clear, and he is walking fine.

[AmityvilleHams]

What food are you feeding him?Taking anything out of a mix automatically imbalances that,so you should never do it anyways.Feeding a good quality mix is important too,and for a hybrid you need to be feeding a diabetes friendly food(Burgess dwarf hamster food)rather than just a general hamster food.

You really shouldn't ever do a full cage clean except in the most extreme of situations.Instead from now on spot clean and gradually replace the old substrate,as this is a lot less stressful on hamsters and keeps them happy and healthy!

[Drago]

His lack of interest in playing and overall unusual behavior is likely due to the full cage cleanout. As mentioned above, cleaning all the bedding at one time is highly stressful and actually causes more problems than it solves! How large is your cage? Depending upon how big it is, you could go up to several months without needing to change the bedding at all! Remember to only remove 1/4 to 1/3 of the bedding at any one time and do not disturb the nest in the process. Simply spot clean daily to keep ammonia and smells down.

Like amity said, do not remove bits of food as this will unbalance the GA which definitely isn't good, especially for diabetes prone species! Don't worry too much, he'll come around with time and patience :)

[saraf]

I'm currently feeding him Harry Hamster, though I think I will change him to Burgess.

[Thin Lizzy]

Some hams prefer part cage cleans, this is less stressful for them. Daily spot checks to ensure he's peeing ok.