Strange incident, nervous owner!

[JahJah]

I got my Syrian hamster yesterday and he has already had a good explore of his cage, eaten well, and tried out his wheel.

When he was running on his wheel last night (which he had been doing on and off for a few hours), he suddenly let out a little shriek and kind of rolled off of his wheel, then he shook a little on the floor of his cage (it was almost like watching a fit) then he ran into his bed and hid for a few minutes.

Once he came out, he acted completely normal again and ran on his wheel some more. I really don't understand what happened, is he hurt?? I've never seen a hamster do that, it was almost as if someone had stuck a needle in him or something, he just leapt. I'm quite worried, any advice would be welcome.

[racinghamster]

Hi JahJah. Can you tell us what type/brand his wheel is please? He may have caught a claw in a gap or twisted his leg or just nipped something while running? Is he a long haired Syrian? Could his hair have been caught in a central spindle? Just a few pointers to check.

Remember too he`s settling in and they need time to do that. Not just a few days, but weeks, so keep things simple, only spot clean his cage and allow him to get used to you and his new environment. x

[cypher]

It is possible he hurt himself so just check the wheel over to make sure there's nothing that might harm him there & watch him to see that he's not showing any signs of injury although he's probably fine.
He may also just have been startled by something which could cause a reaction like that.

[JahJah]

Hi guys, thank you for your responses. The wheel is solid plastic, no gaps, and he's short haired and smooth. He's been on it a lot again today with no repeat performance. I'm hoping he was just startled then.
Thanks again!