Hamster meltdown

[kashea.28]

So I got a syrian hamster last july, and he's been timid from the beginning, but getting better recently. Tonight he had a total meltdown and I'm not sure why. It's really windy out and my other hamsters seem kind of freaked so maybe that's it, but what seemed to set him off was the noise of his food shaking in his bowl. Once he heard the food he ran into the wall of his cage and fell over. Then he jumped out of the part of the cage he was in and over to his food bowl. I know I probably shouldnt have picked him up after that but I wanted to calm him down. Usually his yogurt drop calms him down and once he got it he seemed okay. But after eating for a minute in my hand he freaked out again and jumped to the ground, hitting the outside of the cage. He tried to run away but I finally caught him again and he bit and scratched so I put him back. Oh and he's pretty used to me holding him regularly, although he may not love it. I'm really worried about him, what could have caused this?
Thanks!

[DrKMcK]

That sounds chaotic. Poor little guy. Must have startled you too. Why did his food shake in his bowl? If your other hammies were reacting to something, he probably was too. I wonder if something was going on outside your home that the hammies could hear, because it's unusual for a bunch of them to act like that all at once, unless something alerts them. Although you are right about maybe letting him calm down before you took him out of his cage, I'm sure you didn't expect him to fly out of your hands like that. I've had a hammie suddenly freak out and get away from me and bounce off of his cage. It makes you a lot more careful until they finally fully tame. A hammy who is scared will bite, it's just something we all have to recognize may happen. I'd just take things slowly, and just let him calm on his own if it should happen again. Good luck with your hammies

[Pouches]

I have seen my hammies react to bad weather here too, they always seem to be very restless when there is a bad thunderstorm headed our way. Usually when I have a feeling something is coming I will tweak their environment so that it kind of desensitizes them to the storm outside. Usually I will turn a light on and then turn on the radio. I've seen a few of them try to climb the walls of their bins to get out. We had a tornado come through a few years ago and my poor babies absolutely went crazy.

[BrainGirl]

Sounds like they reacted to the change in atmospheric pressure. Just before storms hit or strong winds, the pressure drops suddenly, and I find that the faster and farther it drops the more upset my animals are. I also react badly to it so when I get those feelings I know that my pets are going to need comforting too!

[Pouches]

Well considering they live in burrows in the wild, it would stand to reason that they would need to harden their dens to bad weather, especially severe rain and sub freezing temperatures.