lovehamsters01
04-09-2024, 11:16 PM
Hi!
so Dusty is my Campbells hamster and has always been on the more interesting side. He has his quirks but until recently they were all within the realms of normal. He has a tooth that never gets worn down and I'm constantly trimming it, and he has difficulty chewing.
Recently, I noticed that he started making these weird squeaking sounds. I never heard him make any noise before and I've had him for 2 years already. (he's about 2 and a half). He doesn't act like he's in pain at all and is completely normal but he's squeaking for the first time ever.
He also went through a phase last Saturday where he was on his wheel for almost 12 hours straight until I finally distracted him with a treat, and he usually goes on his wheel for about 3 hours a night.
The strangest of them all, he's always been an extremely tame hamster who begged me to hold him although he could barely sit still for longer than a minute. Since Friday, he obsessively clamps onto my fingers and tries to pretty much eat them. It doesn't hurt because of his tooth issue, but it's super strange, especially as he's never bitten me before.
I know some of these are classic signs of pain but since his eating and drinking is normal, and his energy is through the roof, I was wondering if hamsters can get mentally ill as they age? He was literally clamping down on me so obsessively that the rest of him was practically dangling off my hand! this has been happening every time I take him out since Friday.
I am going out of town for about 3 weeks and leaving him with a friend and I plan to make him a vet appointment when I come back but I wanted to know if anyone can enlighten me on what's going on.
thank you!
so Dusty is my Campbells hamster and has always been on the more interesting side. He has his quirks but until recently they were all within the realms of normal. He has a tooth that never gets worn down and I'm constantly trimming it, and he has difficulty chewing.
Recently, I noticed that he started making these weird squeaking sounds. I never heard him make any noise before and I've had him for 2 years already. (he's about 2 and a half). He doesn't act like he's in pain at all and is completely normal but he's squeaking for the first time ever.
He also went through a phase last Saturday where he was on his wheel for almost 12 hours straight until I finally distracted him with a treat, and he usually goes on his wheel for about 3 hours a night.
The strangest of them all, he's always been an extremely tame hamster who begged me to hold him although he could barely sit still for longer than a minute. Since Friday, he obsessively clamps onto my fingers and tries to pretty much eat them. It doesn't hurt because of his tooth issue, but it's super strange, especially as he's never bitten me before.
I know some of these are classic signs of pain but since his eating and drinking is normal, and his energy is through the roof, I was wondering if hamsters can get mentally ill as they age? He was literally clamping down on me so obsessively that the rest of him was practically dangling off my hand! this has been happening every time I take him out since Friday.
I am going out of town for about 3 weeks and leaving him with a friend and I plan to make him a vet appointment when I come back but I wanted to know if anyone can enlighten me on what's going on.
thank you!