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Old 05-25-2022, 02:49 PM   #1
Katagene
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 1
Question New Hamster Huffing?

Hi everyone!
Apologies for the obscure title but I wasn’t sure how else to word it. I brought my first hamster (Nimbus) home this Saturday passed, so he’s been here 5 days. I let him have a few days to settle and started offering him small bits of food yesterday to get him used to me which was going fine.
However, I’ve noticed that he has started sneezing? Sometimes it sounds like he’s just huffing/sniffing really intensely, or like hes trying to squeak but it’s not a pure squeak sound if that makes sense? I was previously using a mixture of aspen and paper bedding but had a panic that maybe he was allergic to the wood, so have just changed it out for paper only. I feel I may have overreacted as I’m obviously not familiar with hamsters yet and maybe it’s just how he sounds I dunno.. so I’m worried I’ve caused him more stress from displacing him so soon but I understand allergies can be really serious for them.
He’s just fallen asleep in his food bowl which I’ve not seen him do before and I’m assuming is because he’s been unsettled and feels safer there at the moment.
I’ve tried searching for the sounds he makes on YouTube for a reference point or clarification and I’ve not been able to find one that fits.. does anyone have any wisdom to offer? I did a lot of research before I brought him home but now he’s here I’m really worried I’m not doing what’s best for him

TLDR: Nimbus is making strange noises, I suspect it’s an allergy so I’ve changed to paper only bedding, but I’m not sure and panicking.
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Old 05-26-2022, 07:48 AM   #2
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: New Hamster Huffing?

Hello and welcome to HC!

Paperbased substrate like Kaytee clean and cozy is pretty good so could be the Aspen. Some hamsters are intolerant to certain types of sand as well.

It may not be an allergy though.
New hamsters can be quite vocal and many hamsters stay vocal throughout their lives.

My Syrian Rodney makes a sound i call chirping which is a mixture between a squeak and a sneeze. He does that when he's annoyed with me or he wants to complain about something.
At first i was alarmed because i thought it was a sneeze but was able to tell by his body language that he was trying to tell me something.

One of my foster hamsters who was adopted started sneezing in his new home. He was on Kaytee and Aspen. He never sneezed here and was on Kaytee but as it turned out, he was allergic to Aspen. Once his new family changed his entire habitat to Kaytee clean and cozy, he was fine and stopped sneezing.

It's not unusual for hamsters to change their sleeping place temporarily when something has unsettled them.

I'd leave him to settle in for a couple of weeks but observe him closely in case there is a health issue. If the sounds get worse or increase in frequency, his breathing changes or he starts coughing or his eyes are affected indicating a respiratory problem then i'd definitely get him checked by a vet.
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