hamster sleeping and only coming out to drink

laica · 01-25-2016, 06:28 AM

Hello, My syrian is about 19 months old and since Friday he has been sleeping lots and only coming out to drink and go the toilet. I placed food on his shelf on friday night where he normally has it and since then it has remained mostly untouched. He does also have a food store in his house so I don't know if he is off his food.

On sunday I tried to tempt him out with a yoghurt drop which he sniffed and went back into bed. Later on he came out for just a minute went up to his shelf took a few pieces of food, left his oats and seeds which he would normally eat up and had a little groom, looked at the open door and decided he didn't want to come out and went back to bed.

I am just wondering whether I should be worried? Last week I had him out most nights and I was trying to cut his nails by using the sieve method (Nail trimming went well) so I did give him quite a bit of oats and seeds to keep him still, so I am wondering whether he has stored these and that is why he is staying in. I have not heard him on his wheel. He is also not moving very fast and his ears are flat, but I have only seen him from when he has just woke up so is still sleepy.

cypher · 01-25-2016, 07:37 AM

It's hard to say, he may have been a bit upset by the nail cutting & reluctant to come out due to that, I would put his food close to his house & see if it goes, if his ears are back, he appears lethargic & he's not eating it does sound as though there may be cause for concern, try to keep a close eye on him as much as you can without disturbing him too much & monitor his food to be sure he is eating, make sure he's warm enough too.
It's possible he's slowing down due to age but then his ears shouldn't be back.

Wexland · 01-25-2016, 07:39 AM

Have you trimmed his nails before? I am wondering if his toes are sore?

laica · 01-25-2016, 07:47 AM

He took food from the opening of his house later on. Also he went for a run in his playpen after the nail cutting and I was sure not to cut too close to his toes while trimming. So I don't think I have hurt his feet, also there was no blood. It has only been three days so I will keep a close eye on him. He was fine Thursday night and was his usual self.

laica · 01-26-2016, 01:43 PM

He has ate half a carrot and the majority of his quarter cucumber I gave him yesterday night. He has drank some water and had a wee in his toilet. I looked in his house and I can't seem to see any fresh poo. I gave him around half a tea spoon of porridge made with water earlier on and he ate it and went back to sleep. I am unsure what to do since I don't really want to take him to the vets and stress him out if he has only been sleeping and coming out to drink / toilet.

herbi7 · 01-26-2016, 04:19 PM

Is he eating any of his normal food? I would be worried as this is how my ham was before she died but it may be just slowing down. Is he warm enough? Sometimes they just hunker down for a bit but it's worrying if he's not eating properly. Are there any fresh poos now? It would be good to know if things are making their way through or if he has a blockage. I think i'd dig him out and watch how he moves, if he struggles in any way or has balance problems its definitely time to worry. He may have his ears back if he is sleepy and wants to be left alone,mine never perked her ears up till she had had a good groom and was thinking about exploring, otherwise they were usually at half mast but not stuck flat to her head. Maybe ring the vet for advice and see what they say.