lethargic hamster

[Becca]

Hi I'm new here and have a lovely syrian, Hamlet.
I only got him 2 months ago but get very paranoid about him as I have grown quite attached already, and worry a lot about nothing. But once again I am worrying...
Not last night but the night before he somehow escaped, luckily I found him a few hours later in a cupboard. Last night he stayed in bed til around 3am, I was hoping he was just tired from his adventure but he hasn't been out much today either.
He has popped out to pee and have a bit of food, and I gave him some lettuce but I haven't seen him drink (hopefully he has but I have missed it).
But usually he is much more active than this so I am worrying!
Can anyone think of a reason why he is being like this? He has a very nice cage and lots to do, I feed him well and give him fresh water each day, so he has no reason to be acting this way

[Nappo]

I don't think you have to worry ;D
This behavior sounds quite normal to me, the days get longer and i recognize that all hammies woke up later than in winter.(Mine always at 1-2am)
If you are unsure about how much he drank you could use a little bowl and a shot(dunno the right word in english...syringe?) to scale how much water you put in the bowl and how much you can take out the next day.
Have you look around in your room? Did you look at the wire leads and searched for things your hammie could have nibbles at?

Greetings

[Becca]

Well thats the problem, when he escaped he was in the cupboard under the stairs. I live in a rented house in London, where you get mice everywhere. Turns out the landlord had put these boxes of mouse poison down, but i don't think this could get rid of mice, let alone Hamlet, as there are thousands of mouse poo's in the cupboard, and we still see mice frequently. I was still worried as to whether it would affect him but I don't even think there's any poison left in them...just me worrying I hope.
I can hear him nibbling right now, so he's still okay at the moment, but thanks for helping. i hope it's just due to the days getting longer. Glad to find someone else who's hamster gets up so late...most peoples seem to be up much earlier.

[Katty_Sheldon]

I think that if he ate poison it would already be too late. But I dont know about this things. One lucky hamster! Your house sounds really dangerous for rodents, haha...
I think he is just a little bit scared of what happened and will probably be fine in a few days!

[fluffymunchkins]

Mice can pass on things to hamsters, its possible hes picked something up while he was out.
keep a close eye on him and take him to the vets if you notice any changes.

Maybe you could invest in some poison boxes for the mice (that have holes too small for a syrian to get into, but big enough for a mouse. Although its not uncommon for posion to get taken out of the box by the mice anyway

[suga]

Keep an eye on him and take him to the vet sooner rather then later.
Hopefully you have found how he escaped and have been able to secure the cage etc so it won't happen again.

[fsrv]

I find that my hamster sleeps a lot the day after he escapes, I don't know if it is the exhaustion of freedom or just sulking. However, I don't have to deal with wild mice or mousetraps. I guess what I'm saying is to certainly keep an eye on him for poisoning and mice-related diseases but not to worry if he is a bit tired today.

[Becca]

Thank you for all of your replies
Glad to say he is acting much better, just had him out on my bed running around and in his ball, also saw him have a good drink so i'm not worrying anymore. Must of just been tired or a bit freaked out from all the drama.
Just realised I look like a bad owner now! Did not realise the poison was under the stairs, had got rid of every other trap I'd known about. Luckily it was one of those box ones where the holes are tiny, so I doubt he would of tried to get in them.
The cage is completely secure now, as I figured out the cause of the problem, so fingers crossed no more escapes!

[mangoandmimi]

Ahh good he's ok And no youre not a bad ham owner lol, hamsters sometimes escape but it doesnt mean your a bad owner ;Dx