Like all animals, hamsters can communicate with one another and with you, the pet owner. Hamsters communicate for various reasons, including saying hello, telling another to back off, or even for finding a boyfriend or girlfriend to mate with. Since they don’t speak words, they have to rely mainly on nonverbal cues to communicate with one another or with you. These nonverbal cues include: sending off chemical messages through their scent glands and displaying different types of body language to non verbally show how they are feeling.
Hamster Behaviors and What They Mean
The following is a list of behaviors and what they mean.
- Burrowing in bedding: This means a hamster is happy and just digging around playing or searching for a possible snack it may have buried earlier.
- Watching you with its ears erect: A hamster behavior like this means it is just a bit curious about what is going on and in a calm way.
- One that is grooming: They are seeking reassurance and are feeling rather content with everything that is going on.
- Stretching their limbs: They are feeling good and relaxed about their current situation.
- Ears forward with cheek pouches puffed up and mouth open: It’s frightened. Try to remove the stressors that are causing this behavior.
- When it empties its cheek pouches quickly: This is a hamster that is insecure about the current situation and is likely to flee and hide.
- Standing on hind legs with their dukes up: A hamster with this body language is telling you it feels threatened and might get aggressive if you don’t back off.
- It gets startled when you approach: This is another sign that your pet is feeling insecure and unsure of what is going on at the moment.
- Ears laid back with narrowed eyes: This is a sign of suspicion, and they think something is up.
- It is lying on its back with incisors showing: Yet one more sign of a frightened and threatened hamster that doesn’t want to be messed with.
- It creeps slowly along the sides of its cage: It’s unsure of its surroundings, or it’s trying to find its bearings on where they are at.
- It freezes in place: When they are afraid, they might playing dead by lying down and freezing in place.
- When they chatter their teeth: This behavior means they are fearful and ready for aggression. It’s a warning sign to stay away.
- If they are shy and always hiding: This occurs when it’s stressed by something or someone. (loud noises, aggressive hamsters, over-eager children)
- When it is squeaking: This can mean it’s doing a mating call, feels uncomfortable, is mad, or even frightened. It can also mean nothing at all.
- They are unresponsive when you approach: This is often a sign that your has an illness or an injury.
- When they are lazy or lethargic: Another sign that they might be sick or under the weather.
- Biting or nipping you or another hamster: This is a sure sign of a hamster that is frightened and defensive. It shows you have not built up enough trust with it yet.
- Two hamsters are fighting: One or both hamsters are trying to display their dominance or defend their territory. Separate them if they don’t stop fighting.
- When it repeats a behavior over and over again: If this happens, this is an indicator that it’s not well mentally. A monotonous life causes this mental disorder in an inadequately sized hamster cage. Consider a larger cage
or some enrichment toys. - When it is shaking: This can be due to several factors. Your hamster could be cold, stressed, it’s old, it’s trying to dry off, or it might have an illness.
or some enrichment toys.When you learn what all these behaviors mean, you will then be able to better care for your hamster. If you notice your little pet is upset, mad, or sick, you can change the way you care for it by improving its situation. Often, you might just need to build more trust with your pet for it not to act aggressively or get frightened when you put your hands in the cage.
Related: Aggressive Hamster Behavior
How Hamsters Uses Their Senses to Communicate
Hamsters possess a remarkable sense of smell that plays a crucial role in their communication and social interactions. By detecting scents from other hamsters’ scent glands, they can discern crucial information such as gender, relatedness, and individual identity. Mother hamsters can identify their own offspring by their unique scent, and they can even detect if there’s an unfamiliar baby in their litter. Moreover, their scent glands are employed for territorial marking and attracting potential mates during the breeding season. These olfactory behaviors are complemented by visual cues conveyed through body language, as hamsters use a diverse range of expressions to express emotions like happiness, fear, curiosity, aggression, and more. Additionally, they engage in limited forms of sign language when communicating with one another.
Despite their reliance on scent and visual cues, hamsters are not limited to non-auditory communication. They employ various sounds to convey specific messages. For instance, baby hamsters use ultrasonic sounds to call for their mothers, females have specific mating calls to attract mates, and hamsters can emit high-pitched squeaks when feeling threatened or displaying aggression. Many of these auditory cues are brief and imperceptible to the human ear. These multi-faceted communication methods highlight the complexity and sophistication of hamsters’ social interactions and contribute to their adaptability in various environments.
FAQ
Why Is My Hamster Shaking?
- Cold: Hamsters are small animals and can get cold easily. If the room temperature is too low or if your hamster is not warm enough in its cage, it may shake to keep warm.
- Fear or Stress: Hamsters may shake when they are frightened or stressed. This could be due to loud noises, sudden movements, or other animals in the home.
- Illness: Some illnesses can cause a hamster to shake, such as infections, neurological disorders, or metabolic problems. If you suspect that your hamster is ill, it’s important to take it to a veterinarian who specializes in small animals.
- Old age: As hamsters get older, they may develop tremors or shaking due to age-related conditions.
- Wet fur: If your hamster has wet fur, it may shake to try and dry off. This could be due to bathing or drinking water from a dish.
Why Is my Hamster Squeaking?
What does it mean when a hamster squeaks:
- Communication: Hamsters use a variety of vocalizations to communicate with each other and with their owners. Squeaking can be a sign of excitement or happiness, such as when your hamster is playing or exploring.
- Distress: If your hamster is in pain or feels threatened, it may make a squeaking noise to signal distress. This could happen if your hamster is handled too roughly, if it is frightened by a loud noise, or if it is injured or sick.
- Territorial behavior: Hamsters are territorial animals and may squeak to warn other hamsters or pets to stay away from their territory or food.
- Breeding behavior: If you have a male and female hamster living together, the female may squeak to signal her readiness to mate.
- Respiratory issues: In some cases, a hamster may make a squeaking noise due to respiratory problems, such as an infection or allergy.
Why Does My Hamster Bite Me?
- Fear or Aggression: If your hamster is afraid or feels threatened, it may bite as a form of self-defense. Hamsters can also become aggressive if they feel that their territory is being invaded or if they are in pain or discomfort.
- Rough Handling: If you handle your hamster too roughly, it may bite as a way to defend itself. Make sure you are holding your hamster gently and supporting its body at all times.
- Lack of Socialization: Hamsters that have not been handled frequently or properly socialized may be more likely to bite.
- Food-Related Aggression: Hamsters can become aggressive if they are territorial over their food or treats. Make sure you are not reaching into their cage when they are eating or taking away their food while they are still eating.
- Scent: If you have handled other animals or eaten certain foods with strong scents, your hamster may bite you because it does not recognize your scent.
What Does a Hibernating Hamster Look Like?
Hamsters are not true hibernators, which means that they do not enter a state of true hibernation like some other animals. However, during the winter months or when they experience a change in temperature or light, they may enter a state of torpor, which is a period of decreased metabolic activity.
During torpor, a hamster may appear to be sleeping more than usual and may be less active. Their breathing and heart rate may slow down, and their body temperature may drop. They may also appear to be in a deep sleep, with their eyes closed and their body curled up.
If you suspect that your hamster is in torpor, it’s important to monitor their behavior closely and make sure they have access to fresh food and water. If your hamster appears to be in distress or is unresponsive, it’s important to seek veterinary attention right away.
It’s also important to note that if your hamster is exhibiting symptoms of torpor, it may be a sign of an underlying health issue or environmental problem. Make sure your hamster’s cage is located in a warm, quiet area away from drafts, and consult with a veterinarian if you have any concerns about your hamster’s health.
Why Is My Hamster Biting the Cage?
- Dental health: Hamsters have continuously growing teeth, so they need to gnaw on things to keep their teeth from getting too long. Biting on the cage bars or other chew toys helps them maintain their dental health.
- Boredom: Hamsters are active animals and need plenty of stimulation to keep them entertained. If your hamster is not getting enough exercise or playtime, it may resort to biting the cage out of boredom.
- Stress: Hamsters can become stressed in certain environments or situations, such as when they feel threatened by other animals or when their cage is too small or cramped. Biting the cage may be a sign of stress or anxiety.
- Escape attempt: In some cases, a hamster may bite the cage bars in an attempt to escape. This could happen if your hamster is feeling confined or if it smells or hears something outside of the cage that it wants to investigate.
Solutions
The most common issues relating to odd behaviors that are not illness-related can be addressed by providing enrichment, a larger habitat, and stress relief.
Chew Toys
Larger Habitat
Stress Relief
Citations
- Johnson, M., & Hubbard, G. (2019). Hamster communication: more than meets the ear. Journal of Ethology, 37(3), 341-347. doi:10.1007/s10164-019-00626-6
- Cameron, H. M., & Jennings, M. (2020). Social olfaction in hamsters: from receptors to communication. Physiology & Behavior, 219, 112840. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112840
Reviewed By: Tim Winter
Tim Winter has a strong affection for pets and wildlife. His years of experience caring for various types of pets has led him to share his knowledge with others on the best practices in pet care. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.
I have a female and male so I placed them together and when the male smells the smell glant from the belly of my female the female will always squeak and I don’t know if it’s a fight or I don’t know cause it’s my first time have hamster they are normal winter dwarf
Male and female hamsters will engage us dangerous behaviour with each other if you house them together. Even same sex pairs will eventually. Separate them except uf you are trying to breed them, in which case only bring them together to mate, not to cohabitate.
Male and female hamsters will engage us dangerous behaviour with each other if you house them together. Even same sex pairs will eventually. Separate them except uf you are trying to breed them, in which case only bring them together to mate, not to cohabitate.
Repostedz
you probably have mentally problemed baby hamsters now. never let male and females live together neither of the same gender as hamsters are solitary. they were most likely from the same litter which causes birth defects + you should not breed hamsters without knowlegdege. I hope everything is ok.
I got a hamster last night and he’s not really a baby but he’s young! At first he took off around my car and took a hour to find him and he bit my roommates daughter! At the pet store he seemed really sweet but scared there also! Here, once he even sees you walk near the cage he scatters away just from seeing someone! I’m honestly thinking about returning him
Seriously? Have you ever thought he is just scared? When you get an animal no matter how small, you should make a commitment to it. There are so many abandoned animals already. You should be responsible and think he’s frightened as his in new surroundings and try and make him feel comfortable. Hope you make the right choice.
Smh my hamster bit me like 3 times, Its very selfish to get one and return it. Let him get used to you, and give him treats.
So I got a Syrian in Feb and he was my first since I was little and he is so spoilt and pretty much tame from day one I was working everyday to get him to come on to my hand and he does but then a month later I adopted another syrian and he’s lovely and he’s about at the same stage but I ended up getting my nieces female as she goes for anyone that goes near the cage but now the males have come to a stand still and not progressing they come on my hand but are there for seconds and want to get away so fast will this get better? Any advice please I’ve looked up a lot but as I haven’t had one since being a fearless kid I’m very stand backish to just go in and hold them I let them come to me but I was hoping months in that they may be more happy with me now
Don’t worry about it , hamsters bites do not hurt , it may be a shock to you if you are bitten and you might freak out but a good way of saying no is to gently blow in their face and say no . They do not like it but it’s a way to be taught what to do and what not to do . Place your hand in the cage but not to close to the hamster otherwise it might feel a bit freatend or scared . Place it in the cage and lightly tap on the cages floor it is a signal for it to come to you . My hamsters learnt it but it is difficult. Another way is to get a big mug and wait for the hamster to get inside of it then give him a treat , for a gift saying well done . Hope these help you ??
Had Hammy since boxing day. Recently moved and shes now in a house with trains passing every 15mins. Shes started badly chattering her teeth, biting through the cage and standing staring as if she cant see but can hear. This evening i put mu finher to the cage for her to smell and she darted to bite it, i managed to move before she got a grip but she ended up on her back wiping her nose, chattering and a bit of a squeal. When she got up she continued to chatter and rub her mouth in a washing manner. I’ve checked her teeth in case she caught the wire but they look fine. Is this typical behaviour for a new environment? She was no where near this bad when she first came home so I’m a tad worried
Move the hamster cage to quiet room or place where less noisy..they are very sensitive to loud noises and not good for their health
Hey so my pet is not letting anyone touch him and it is 5 months old how do i get him to like me
Try this article: learn how to hold a hamster
Bonding. Use tissues all over your scent and put in cage. Wear gloves to get use to.
Takes time, patience and a repetitive routine. They’ll calm down. Do the same thing each time when you go to see them. Gently place your hand in the cage and move things around slowly so he/she gets used to your presence and hand. Also, take tissue pieces and rub your hands on them and scatter them about. Repeat their name often and talk or sing to them. Make sure your hands are clean. Your hammy will get used to your scent this way! I have 3 robos and all of them were SO frightened at first. Now, they all eat from my hands and I can hold 2 of them. It really takes a lot of patience. Depends on the hammy too.
So, I bought a Robo hamster the day before yesterday and I’m worried if he is scared of me, if he has enough space and things to do in his cage and if he’s been bored. When should I idealy try to touch and pick him up because so far i think I’m damaging our relationship. And unfortunately none of these stupid websites are giving me an answer!!!??
I got my hamster 6 months ago today and he is super friendly. I knew he had to adjust to his new home so I gave him about a day or two to get used to his cage then the following days, I tried to basically introduce myself by giving him snacks by hand. Mine loves sweet potato fries and sunflower seeds. He’ll get used to you in no time 🙂
I hope you’ve managed to make some progress! If not then I would suggest placing a mug with a treat in, wait for him to climb into the mug, and then carefully carry him to a completely enclosed space. A bath tub is great because you can sit in it with him and he can crawl over you to get used to you. They need a lot of space as they’re very active- 80 by 50cm is the minimum cage size recommended for all hamsters, but the bigger you can get the better really.
Well your hamster may just be getting used to it’s surroundings , it may be scared and curious . Imagine if you was putting in this cage and saw a hand charging at you . But a way to make it like you is to have a good routine throughout the hole day for example in the morning you could place a treat at the end of its cage and say something in a calm voice and then around lunch time says it’s name and place your hand in its cage but not for close to it but then slightly tap on the cages floor so it’s a kind of signal for it to come to you then through out the day keep repeating so it will get used to you coming up to the cage .I done this with my hamsters and now they are super friendly and loved to be held
So I bought two hamsters about a week and a half ago. They are both in separate cages. One is a Syrian and the other is a Fancy Bear. The Syrian seems to be slowly adjusting, he did bite me once when I first tried to pet him, but he’s doing a lot better. My bear, however, just seems to be getting worse and is becoming extremely more and more aggressive. He was fine at first and I could kind of pet him and give him snacks. Now, if I try to pet him he flops over onto his back really quickly when I try to leave him alone he kind of acts like he’s coming after me. Tonight, he did the same thing and this time he sat and tried to get me through the bars. I tried giving him things through the bars and he aggressively attacked them. I don’t know what’s going on. Is he just mentally unwell??
Oh and if he’s around when I open one of doors on either of his cages (he has two that are connected) he tries to get out, but I think it’s mostly to get to me. I just gave him some apple and he packed his cheeks and ran. I’m hoping that built a little trust and will slowly start to work. Let me know your opinions though please!!! He’s cute and I’d rather not have to get rid of him but I’m not going to have him bite my stepson. Especially because my stepson isn’t around a lot and they won’t really get the chance to bond.
sounds like jealousy. First, a fancy bear is a Syrian hamster, Syrians get different names only based on their coloring and fur coating (coloring is actually important, if you mate hamsters that don’t have ‘compatible’ colors, the pups will most likely be stillborn or have defects).
second, Syrians are VERY solitary, but require attention from its owner. Even in a separate cage, if they are in the same room, they can get jealous easily of the other hamster.
There is also a chance it is not happy with it’s surroundings (cage too small, running wheel too small, doesn’t like it’s treats or other toys, etc).. Hamsters like what they like and have unique personalities. It sometimes takes a few tries to discover what the critter likes and doesn’t like.
Another thing that can cause this behavior is ‘noise’. Hamsters have very acute hearing, and at a much higher range than humans. It’s not advisable to keep a hamster too close to a TV or radio, or computer, as electronic devices do emit high frequency sound, that small animals can hear, and it could make them irritable.
I recently bought 2 dwarfs (smoky and bourbon) and bourbon won’t get up much to eat and I haven’t even caught sight of him drinking. I’m a bit worried I’ve never had dwarfs before but had a Syrian that had a stroke. I am not sure what to think so please give me advice.
Hi! Yeah I bought mine the day beforehand yesterday and haven’t caught a sight of him (Pebbles) drinking! I’m wondering too, you’re not the only one!
Well because it’s a dwarf it’s really small so u won’t see the water going I have a dwarf hamster named coco and she drinks but you can barely see the water going and if you don’t see him/her drinking it so he/she might drink it in the night! Hope this makes it less stressful!
They are both Syrians, Teddy bear hamsters don’t exist, Its a Syrian. Make sure your cage is 450 sq in or larger. Let him get used to you. It took me 2 months to tame one.
Hi everyone I have some questions. We got 2 hamsters about 3 months ago. A Teddy Bear and a Dwarf (can’t recall the exact name, but she’s white and tan). They are kept in separate cages in separate rooms. Our Teddy is in a 2 story cage with a nesting area at the top that she can access thru a tube, and we have some additional tubing on the side that leads to her wheel and a separate circular lookout. The interior of the cage has 2 red decks on either side that she can climb up to. She has chew sticks, a hiding house, and a toy. Despite this our Teddy is very destructive. She chews incessantly on the plastic. I even put a small amount of peanut butter on her chew toys yet she prefers the plastic. She also nibbles my fingers every time I feed her treats with my hand. They aren’t hard bites. It’s as if she can’t tell the difference between my hand and the food. I give her 30 to 90 mins of run around time in her ball every other day. I still can’t touch her. She doesn’t seem to be aggressive. But I worry about her mental health. I’m a first time hamster owner. The dwarf hamster is very shy and not as friendly as the Teddy, however she’s not destructive at all and seems to have more ‘normal’ behavior. How can I be a better hamster mom? Thank you.
Chewing is normal for a hamster, it’s how they keep their teeth trimmed down (as their front teeth continue to grow their entire lives).
Plastic cages are not advisable for any hamster as they can chew right through them and escape. Most are way too small for hamsters (especially Syrians like your teddy bear). The ‘tubes’ can get dirty (without you even noticing), have limited air flow, and a Syrian can get stuck in them easily as they grow (Syrians are fully grown by the time they are 6 months, but can get larger if they eat a lot.. obesity is common, especially if the hammy develops diabetes (also very common in hamsters).
The recommended cage for a Syrian is 4 foot by 6 foot cage (or fish tank with a cage topper and ramps). A cage should have bar gaps no more than 1/4 inch. the bottom should be deep enough to put enough bedding for the hammy to borough (a natural thing they need to do). Have plenty of hard chew toys (from the local pet store, Applewood chews are great, hamster biscuits and such are even better.. pine cones are also fun for hamsters).
Dwarf hamsters can have attitudes (actually, they all can, hamsters are like people, unique). Since dwarfs are much smaller than Syrians, a smaller cage will do, keep the proportion the same (Syrians 4 foot by 6 foot cage, so just use a smaller proportion for the dwarf).
with both of your hamsters, have patience to train them. The younger the better, but older hammys can be trained as well.. I’ve had my Syrians since they were babies (all from the same litter), and they will put their toys away on command (they carry tem all to a corner and stack em up), they pile up seed shells next to their food dishes, and will climb down from my shoulder into my shirt pocket on command. Hamsters do remember things you tech them (will even remember peoples names if you say it enough tot hem and they get to know the person), mine will run in their balls, when friends are over, i’ll say one of their names, and the hammys will go over to that person (they remember people by sound and smell, since they have bad eyesight, they can actually only see a couple of inches from their noses.. in fact, you may not even know if your hammy goes blind (which can happen, they get cataracts, diabetes, etc).
the big trick to training them and gaining their trust is, never pick them up with your palm facing down.. that’s how predators catch them, so they have a natural instinct not to trust you.. always use an open hand, palm up, or both hands in a scooping motion, and a soft voice (they have sensitive hearing).
Finally, you’ll be surprised at how they are when they totally trust you, have the right cage (I use ferret cages, a little over kill for my spoiled critters), and get the right amount of attention. When I kiss my hammys and make the ‘kissy sound), they usually reach up and make the sound back to me (they do learn!).
I’m not an expert but I can maybe give you some useful tips and advice. Constant bar chewing or in your case plastic/cage chewing is usually an indicator that the current cage is too small. I recommend a cage at least 360 square inches main floor space. Hamsters need a lot of space, and 90% of pet store cages sold for hamsters are way too small. If you’re tight on money you can look up “bin cages” on YouTube. They’re cheap, easy, and awesome for hamsters. As far as the nibbling- make sure to wash your hands before interacting with the hamster, preferably with non scented or floral soap. Anything sweet smelling could make your hamster want to bite you more. Then rub your hands around in her bedding, this way you smell familiar to her. I really hope this helps, and if you have anymore questions or concerns you should look at the these two websites “hamster hideout” and/or “hamster central,” they’re great sites that contain lots of information about hamsters!
Hi! About when you were saying that when you feed her off your hand ahe bites but it’s as if she doesn’t know? Well I remember reading on a website somewhere that they don’t have extremely good eyesight so maybe she just can’t tell.
You should only leave your hamster in a hamster ball for 30 mins at the most. After that it is very important to take them out to they get fresh air. Other than that I honestly don’t know about your teddy bear hamster.
dwarf hamsters are less friendly and harder to tame. With her biting- make sure your hands are washed and don’t smell too much like food and the bites don’t seem to be aggressive anyways. Please upgrade their cages to a way bigger habitat, either a tank with ventilation or a diy bin cage (search it up), as crittertrails are not suitible for hamsters even though it seems like it, especially for the syrian (aka teddy bear). please make sure you don’t have any cotton in their cages and never bathe them. Spend more time with the dwarf and things should get better 🙂
when i try to feed my hamster a snake she scratches at my hand, and when i try to pet her she does the same. Does anyone know why?
why would you feed it a snake? i’d scratch you too… snakes generally eat hamsters
Think they mean snack
I’m a new hamster owner and I felt the same when my Syrian hamster attacked it’s bars aggressively. I was scared that it was untameable but it turns out it was still settling in and unsure of me . After working with it my hamster now lets me pet it and take it out of it cage to run around me room and will gladly crawl over me. I’m not 100% but I would come to the conclusion you hamster is just still a little bit weary and scared of the overwhelming situation and isn’t used to you yet , it think time means a lot in the taming process .
Hope this reassures you haha x
I really want to hold my hamster but ive only had her for two days and she wont let me even touch her
Try feeding her through the cage first she will start to get used to your smell then start stroking her this worked for my hamster
Same with me another thing with mine he keeps like sorta daydreaming and very unresponsive until you go to stoke him he runs off by the way he is Robovoski and is quite new to the household
You should let him/her settle in for a few days. Then try again
Jist spend more time with her to get to know her and ao she can get to know you. You arent crazy if you read, talk, or sing to her
Yeah don’t try to hold them because if you get your scent on them she might eat them.
You should never try to hold your hamster within the first few days that is one of the last steps of taming. If I were you I would search up how to tame a hamster from WikiHow. Holding it now will scare it more and it will take longer to tame it.
Does anyone know how to get my Teddy Bear Hamster to stop nibbling on the cage? Currently have a sea salt chewing toy for teeth and a wooden type toy, I also Have this corn husk treat thing, I am currently buying more things online for her, But I fear she will hurt her poor teeth, And How do you know how old they are?
It’s hard to tell the age but it bites on the cage because it wants attention or need nutrition
I know right my hamster does that all the time did you figure it out yet bc I need some tips
It means it stressed. 450 sq in of unbroken floorspace is the minimum
I got my new hamster a cage that looks like an incubator Has plastic all around Can’t chew or climb up and escape Also prevents injury as my other hamster climbs on the bars and falls from top to bottom She never seems bothered but as her mother I worry Pets at home sell the cage I bought for £22 The only bars it has is the top where the hamster can’t reach
Some hamsters like mine nibble on the cage to file down their teeth. Their teeth continue to grow and they need something to help with that. The bar helps but buying wood toys or something the hamster likes to chew on is the best way to go. My teddy like to chew on keys and other metal objects. I’ve experimented with many wood and hamster chew objects but she never liked them. Tame your friend by putting your hand in the cage and let it smell you. Put food in the cage and within a couple days they will open up and you can try your own experiment with your teddy
It usually means they need a bigger enclosure or is bored and I don’t know how to tell their age properly but just by looking at their fur and posture I can usually tell their age
Try giving your hamster hay
biting on cage bars can actually hurt their teeth (it can cause them to start growing crooked, or even break them so they stop growing).
Cage biting can be a sign of a few things such as boredom, too small of a cage, not enough treats for it to chew on, or it senses something else in the room it wants to get to, and is trying to escape… but it usually means it wants attention from you.
I’ve had many hamsters that were cage biters. The usual cure was to get large, hard seed treats made for hamsters.. Mine always preferred the kind you can hand on the side of the cage. Some stop on their own once they figure out they can’t destroy the bars.
I’ve only had one hamster that refused to stop biting the bars, and it did unfortunately hurt it’s teeth (they started growing sideways) which the vet had to surgically fix..
There are products that are safe for hamsters than you can ‘coat’ the bars with, giving the bars a bitter taste they don’t like. I can’t remember the name of it (it comes from the UK).. but if you google such products, you’re bound to find it.
I’m assuming you just got your hamster. If so it’s normal for it to chew on it’s cage because it is still getting used to you and the cage, or it’s chewing on the cage because it’s trying to tel you that the cage is to small.
Me and my friend are doing a project for school,we are going to see if hamster react differently to different kinds of music,got any ideas?
Hi I bought a syrian hamster on Friday and they said it was ok to try and handle him on the Sunday. He went for me but luckily I moved my hand before it bit me. Since then he’s sat in a corner stood on his hind legs and hasn’t moved since. He was very active on Friday evening but since then hasn’t been active in the evening. What is this a sign of?
My old hamster always used to stand on her hind legs an just stay there whenever I played any sitar music. I tried calming pet music when she used to bar bite but that never worked!
I can tell you, one of mine prefers folk-rock (Crosby, stills, and nash), the other one seems to love country music, neither one likes really loud music. They both like childrens music (Lisa Loeb has a childrens album they both sit and listen to all the way through when I play it from my amazon echo). They also listen to some classical msic (Beethoven, mozart, etc). You’ll actually find that most animals don’t mind mellow music.. there’s an old saying.. music tames the beast!
when they hear music they like, their ears will go up and they will sit and listen (as long as there aren’t too many other distractions around, hamsters do have a very short attention span).
Hi ! My hamster is very energetic, and always runs around a lot if I take him out of his cage. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not ? But it seems like there’s a lot of hamsters that usually stays still if the owner holds them, mine doesn’t. He usually tries to run away and runs around everywhere
Any suggestions on if this is normal, if not what could I do
My hamster was like this too he should calm down soon 🙂
that’s normal for a young hamster, as they get older, they mellow out a bit.. when they get old, they literally slow down and would rather just sit around. A little training (which takes patience, and a lot of it) can help. Mine are around a year old (they fully mature by 6 months), and still run around like crazy, but when I call them, they stop and stay by my feet (until something distracts them and I have to call them again). One of mine actually won’t go that far away from my, and prefers that I carry her around in my shirt pocket. The others not so much. One hates ‘free running’ and prefers it’s running ball, and one always goes right for my bedroom, climbs up the bed skirt and tries to rip apart one of my pillows (yes, they will learn the entire house.. but it’s not advisable to let them free run without ‘hamster-proofing’ the area.. they can get stuck in some tight places, chew wires, etc..
Hi my black syrian hamster is a little over two months old and she is very squirmish and doesnt like being touched or held and a second ago she got bored and started chewing on the bars of the cage and all of a sudden jumped back and like scream squeaked and she always trys to get out of wherever she is like in her ball she trys to chew her way threw and all that i dont know what to do.
first thing you need to do is get your hamster a bigger cage. Hamsters need more room than the cages they sell at Petco. those are ridiculously small. Get a 20 gallon aquarium where you can put a big enough wheel in, a house or safe space, and even a few toys.
My sister hamster isn’t moving it’s hard like rock it’s just laying there and not breathing do u think it’s dead or not
Yes probably if he moves suddenly though he is alright
she might be too cold, so try warming her up in a tub with a warm towel in her cage x
Hamsters do hibernate so that could be it
My winter white hamster keeps on trying to escape. He has lost a lot of weight and is being more aggressive towards his cage mate what is this and can i stop it
Don’t put hamsters together the eat each other and are very territorial.
hamsters cannot be kept together. get separate cages.
I have a Chinese dwarf hamster that is around 8 months old. I will admit that as I became more busy with my final year of school I did not clean her cage as often (instead of every 5 days or so it became 8) and that I didno take her out for over a month. Now she is having a strange behavior as I have now gone back to properly maintaining her, she moves all of her bedding to the corner. And when I take her out of the cage sometimes she clicks her teeth I believe? Makes almost a chattering sound. She’s a sweet hamster (who’s sister did die five months ago) so is she bored or lonely? How do I gain her trust again? This is my first hamster…
Hello! My Syrian hamster wees on us even when she has been awake for ages
Mine too she just peed on me but I also just got her it happened once
My hamster lifts her butt up in the air, but she doesn’t poop or pee. She stays in that position for a while and then returns to whatever she was doing.
She’s probably in heat. Female dogs and cats do that too when in heat.
ready for mateing
I have two Winter White hamsters, Tarzan and Oreo. They’ve been together since before my fiancee and I bought them at the pet store. Tarzan is a little bigger, and I was told slightly older, than Oreo. They’ve gotten in some scuffles, and once it seemed that they were really fighting, but they still sleep together. Oreo has always been very vocal, and a bit of a drama king, but now he’s following Tarzan around “lecturing” him all night. The squeaking only stops when he’s asleep or gives up on following his “brother”. I can’t find anything on this kind of behavior. Please help.
I heard from research that hamsters are unpredictable and can change relationships very fast with even their litter mates no-one really knows why.just know as fast as they start to get in scoffs they can also make up
My hamster repedaly every time i go into grab it to hold it it runs away and hides
You need to be very patient with your hamster and let him know you are not threatening. Never ever chase or grab him. To hold him, put some food on your hand and lay it flat in the cage. It might take him a while to trust you, but eventually he will come onto your hand to get the food and you can then slowly lift him up. Keep in mind that hamsters don’t have great vision, so quick movements will always scare him.
What if you hamster likes to attack sometimes and you lay your hand down and it bites you.
Your hamster may be scared of humans. Do not approach your hamster this way if so, every day just give him a treat from ur hand and try to let him sniff your hand then slowly you Should see him be more social with you.
My new hamster is going on his hind legs and opening his mouth and raising his arms and repeatedly does it and when I move he runs and jumps
Also he eats in the corner only
He is scared and defending himself.
Hi! I´ve had my hamster for a couple of months now. We actually got to “sisters”, but it turned out that the other was a guy, so they mated and we got a lot of kids. Most of the babies have gotten a new home now, but the few left are in Sofies (my female hamster) cage, while I keep Sofie in my bathroom. Now, suddenly, out of no where, Sofie starts to squeak and gets these quick breathing noises, and this has never happened before. She also runs around like crazy while making these noises. Once she stopped she got into same position as when they were mating, so I don´t know if this is a mating call or what it is? Should I be worried? She has been like this for maybe an hour or so now….
She is in heat and seeking a mate…
We have a baby winter white dwarf hamster we got it’s as a early b day prensent for are daughter she has always wanted one and she got surgery on her ear she was a trooper she went through the pain and stuck with it’s we name it corn flake but they said we aren’t Gianna be able to know which gender it’s is until it’s older a gain it just a Wittle baby -we love u corn flake
Hi my wee hamster is a year and a half old, few months ago she started this sneezing constant and looked like it was really annoying her. She is fine when she is out the cage but when I put her back in it starts again. I’ve changed from sawdust to pellets, wool bedding to shredded paper. I had a course of antibiotics from vet as we thought respiratory infection, it helped a bit but has got worse again. She just kind of tucks her head in to sleep now and always looks like she can’t get comfy and noticed she has been filling her pouches with air to try and sleep. Does this mean she is struggling to breathe? I also hear her wheezing/breathing loudly when sleeping. I have her in a warm place with a towel covering half the cage to keep warm. So worried and upset:-( I have searched google about filling pouches with air but can’t find anything. I’ll be taking her straight to the vets on Monday but in the meantime can anyone help please? Has anyone had or heard of this before?
I think I have heard of something like this and I think I know the answer if you have a cage that has no bars and is just made out of glass or something it may be that there is not enough air inoculation and it may be hard for him to breath so I would try getting a new barred cage or it could be that you hamster is allergic to bedding and I’ve had a hamster like this and if is the case I just used newspaper and toilet paper and since some of the ink on the news paper may not be OK for consumption just use all toilet paper or make sure it’s so ink. I wish all the luck to you and your hamster hope he/she is OK??????
Continuation
Oh he has his ears down most the time and when I kiss his head he pushed against my lips like he’s trying to get inside or something lol
Hi, I have a Chinese Dwarf Hamster he’s very friendly, loves being pet and held, he shakes when anyone but me holds him and he’s very smart (his name is Roose McElhattan Bolton lol) anyways I’ve noticed when I hold him his ears are always down and idk why because he always lets me hold and cuddle him and doesn’t seem to be afraid….anyone know why he has his ears down?
I’ve had my hamster for about a few weeks now, so it’s still pretty early. But lately she’s been taking all her food and putting it in her cheek pouches and then tries to find a way to escape with her food, why does she do this?
Basically she is not sure if it’s safe for her to eat around she has to get used to the surroundings try to let her eat alone for a couple of days to weeks and she should be okay by eating anywhere
It’s normal. My hamster is just a month old and she’s been doing it a lot. Hamsters are the type of animals who love to hoard stuff and take them for themselves.
Hamsters hoard their food, maybe she isn’t comfortable in her cage yet, and feels that there is no where safe to store the food, so she is trying to leave to find a safe location. Try giving her more bedding or some more hideouts if haven’t already, if it continues for months, you might want to consider a new cage, with new stuff.
Hi…I have a female teddy bear hamster about 2 years old now….just recently she has been licking herself around her neck area to the point that she has no fur..she doesn’t scratch herself in that area and her skin is fine…I check her over to see if she was sick but she’s ok…I clean her cage every week…so what do you think it could be?…and why is she doing it?
It’s probably stressed out !: Too much commotion around and or the lack of nature . Try putting it in a place where it can observe nature without freezing nor burning up
I have a dwarf hamster a within the last week ive noticed she is storing food and getting fat but she hasnt be around any males. When i checked on her earlier she was laying on her back breathing deeply and seemed very unresponsive. What should I do?
If it’s cold where you live. She is most likely getting ready to hibernate
Hi, If your hamster doesn’t drink and bites/nips does that mean she/he is dying?
Hamsters can go a little while without eating or drinking it may just mean he/she is not hungry or thinks that it will be a danger to get the food
My hamster was just chilling, hanging out and playing around in my hands having a good time. All of a sudden he jumped (literally) and did a flip to the ground which I have never seen him do. When he hit the ground he ran faster than I have ever seen. He was running like a dog almost. Then he went and hid in a corner. When I went to get him he wasn’t aggressive or scared of me but seem really startled. Now he is sitting still in my lap and not moving, which he also never does. He seems to be ducking down. Like he is hiding from something. WTF happened?
Justin, how is your hamster doing now?
He probably was tired playing and he wasn’t ducking down just how hamsters clean them self’s and in order to they stay still
My furry baby is 1yr and a half and he’s generally happy with being picked up and has been handled a lot since being a baby but recently when I’ve been letting him out of his cage for a bit of freedom he gets very excitable and gets very fast moving around trying to get to places he’s not allowed and when I try to pick him up to put him back in his cage or bar his way so he doesn’t go somewhere he shouldn’t he’s started screeching at me. Now I’m a bit offended because he’s been a well behaved boy up till now and I can only think it’s because he’s spoiled and doesn’t like when he can’t get his own way but I’m also worried incase I’m hurting him or if it’s because he’s scared. Any advice??
Hello, I have just bought two dwarf hamsters, one of them is doing really well and playing on the wheel and socialising with me but the other one won’t come out of it’s bed. They was in a tank with each other when I bought them and they cuddle and sleep together so i don’t think that would be the problem. Does anyone have any advice?
when i touch a certain part of my hamsters cage while talking to her she rubs up against that spot anyone know what that would me?
Your hamster is just going to see what’s going on where your finger is, it is probably wondering if you have any food or treats!
maybe putting her scent there ?
I have a robo dwarf we got him four months ago try to pick up but he runs and goes in the tube he comes to the front of the cage for treats though but he won’t let me pick him up
Robo hammies generally don’t like to be picked up. They’re more of a watch and don’t touch kind of a critter. It’s completely normal.
my dwarf hamster is always sleeping when i come in
but when i am holding it and put it back it runs around
is it sick or just tired?
They are nocturnal so they sleep in the day, my hamster does that but not that far into the night he goes back to sleep
Do you come in at night or afternoon? Keep in mind they are nocturnal animals. They’re most active at night. They most likely to run around cause they’requite skittish.
my dwarf hamster is sleeping or just in it’s little house thing whenever i come in
but when i’m holding it and put it back it runs around.
is it sick or just tired?
Is it normal for my male syrian hamster to be leaning against the cage on his back legs.
Hey there, My hamester is about 6 months and so playful, but recently he hides a lot and doesn’t run in his wheel, always covering up in his house hole entrance with the bedding and piling up all the foods inside the hole without eating them all. As i read in your comments, it might be because his box is small, or is there another reason? he also bites deeply….
This is what our new hamster is doing. She has two cages with tunnels, so lots of room. I’m wondering if she was dropped or not handled well at the store. She’s very aggressive and has bitten my hand severely twice.
she has become aggressive over her cage i think. try reducing her to one cage
He probably piles up his food cause he thinks that food supplies are limited. it’s quite normal I guess.
Hiya if your hamster is in a cold room he might be getting ready to hibernate so just keep him warm
Hi. I just had my 2 teddy bear hamsters. 1 female and 1 male. The female started fighting the male. But at first they were okay. They were sleeping together. But when they woke up, the female suddenly was aggressive and started pinning and biting the male. The male doesn’t fight back. Now they’re just resting. Should I be worried?
You probably should seperate them cause those types of hamsters don’t really do well in pairs.
Syrian/teddy bear hamsters must be kept alone, the can become stressed. I hope I could help you, good luck with your hammies!
Hi, my dwarf hamster (female) has a good personality, she never was afraid. But I could never hold her beyond 10-15 seconds since she is very curious and want to explore around LOL~ is that okay? Because I saw some dwarf hamster sleeping in their owner’s hands! I was like “whaaaaaaat” lol
OMG! It’s the same thing whit my hamster she’s always one the go.
My sisters hamster is really calm and you can hold her for a long time in you hand. I guess it depends on there personality, some are calm and some are a bitt more exploring.
That is completely normal because they are very skittish compared to other types of hamsters but she will let you hold her longer once you have completely tame her.
I got two male robo dwarf hamsters last Saturday and today I decided to handle one of them, he didn’t bite, didn’t squeak or seem distressed just sleepy? But still kinda active? Like sniffing my hands and curling into them? When I put him down he walked kinda slow and fell over when stepping up a little step a bit? Is it just because he’s tired? He’s gone into the tube he loves sleeping in now but I’m just worried that slow unsteady walking isn’t normal in sleepy hammies?
He also walked onto my hand a second time just now since my mom wanted to look at him since she hadn’t seen any of them yet and he was fine? Didn’t bite or squeak, and then did the slow sleepy walk again? I could just be being silly but I’m a first time hamster owner!
If it’s very cold where you live it could be a possibility he / she is trying to hibernate which is totally normal just keep it warm , it could also be stressed because he isn’t getting enough sleep
Could be cause it’s old but i wouldn’t be too sure about that
Is it normal for the hamster to be eating at night
Yes it is. Hamsters are nocturnal and do most of their eating, drinking, running and playing at nighttime. Don’t be alarmed if your hamster is not awake of eating during the day
Yes, hamsters are nocturnal and do almost everything (including eating) at night. Unless they are already awake you shouldnt handle them during the day and disrupt their sleep patterns it’s very stressful for them if you do.
Yes the hamsters only come out at night as they are from the desert and they sleep all day and out at night a reason why I know that is because I have had loads of hamsters and they do sleep a lot and bite there cage a lot to unsharpen there teeth
they only bite the cage bars a lot if theyre stressed..?
My Syrian male hamster was sitting with me while I was on my couch i mom walked close and he jumped 1ft down and 2ft across the floor what does this mean and what do I do to make sure he doesn’t die of fright or anything like that?
It means that he was scared and he doesn’t know her as yet
Hi!
I just got two Chinese Dwarf hamsters Yesterday!
I have a hill that they can go under and they have stayed there since they first went in cage!
I’m afraid they might die because they aren’t eating or drinking, or is it normal?
Please help!
I have 3 Chinese Dwarfs and the did the exact same thing. They are very timid animals at first. Give them time, but if they don’t come out within 24 hours, take them out and feed them little bits of bread dipped in milk. They love that ? Hope this helped
NOOO! Hamsters CANNOT have dairy!
Hamsters don’t really need to eat or drink that much, plus they are nocturnal. You can try marking where their food and water levels are each week and you should see the amount slowly decrease.
If you don’t tho, get them a bigger cage and if it continues take them to the vet or return them.
P.S.
Why are you keeping Chinese Hammies together!? They are SOLITARY.
P.P.S
There is no such thing as a Chinese dwarf hamster. Chinese hams have longer than usual tails and if they were from the dwarf genus they would have short tails.
Where are you getting your research from!??!?
Actually there is something called a Chinese Dwarf Hamster.
Yes, just give them time to adjust, and don’t approach the cage quickly or they think you’re a bird trying to eat them!
When hamsters are new they will hide almost all the time and only eat/drink when your gone because they are scared. Just give them time. It also might be because they are nocturnal and you are probably asleep so you don’t see it. Keep in mind they don’t eat/drink a lot because of their size so it might just look like the amount isn’t going down. You should make sure they know where the food and water is.
I bought a female Syrian today at the pet store. I also have another female Syrian that’s about 1 year old. I introduced them and they got along really well, and they were smelling each other, out of no where the younger Syrian attacked my older one. I separated them immediately into their cages. Their cages are touching (i have no possible way to make it so they wont touch). Once they were separated my female Syrian (the older one) was biting at the bars and digging down to my younger Syrians cage, and my younger one kept biting at the bars to get to my older Syrians cage. Eventually my older Syrian went to sleep, but my younger one is still going. What does this mean? What should I do?
Update: my older female Syrian got up and is now trying to get to my younger Syrian too. My older Syrian is making weird noises, but i’m too scared to put them back together.
Consider rehoming the younger syrian, they shouldn’t be kept together or even close.
Syrian hamsters are solitary.
they hate company of other hamsters.
If you put them together they will most likely fight.
It’s not their fault, it’s just their instinct to go solo.
Even if they don’t end up fighting now, they will later.
Think about it like bottling up your anger.
If you wait, itll come out way worse than if you would have just spewed it out in the first place.
Same thing goes with the Syrians,if they end up not fighting this time, eventually. It’ll be too much and the Hammies will fight, and way worse, and in both cases, one or both of the hamsters will either end up badly injured or dead.
I have 3 Syrian hamsters (all have sperate large cases) I would recommend you keep them apart we have 2 male and 1 female all about 1y old they are solidary animals. If the cages are close or connecting then the will try and get to each other another reason for the bar biting can because the cages are to small. I did have one hamster a year ago before I bought aroura my long hair female Syrian hamster. Akatsuki would constantly get scabs on her nose from biting until I got a new cage.
A lil piece of trivia I guess
I trained all four hammies so far to stay in place on my shoulder or the sofa. I only needed to do this when we cut arouras hair. I know this sounds like a bad thing but she has unusual fur it grows alot and she trips over it she also enjoys lil swims in the sink XD Hamsters can swim along as it’s not deep enough they can drowned so if you try it I would recommend room temp water just to the legs
Hamsters are not supposed to be put in water! They do not like to swim and can get sick very fast from being wet. Oh my please don’t put them in water! They don’t like they are trying to get out and away from the water. Ugh
Well Syrian hamsters shouldn’t be put together unless they were raised by the same parents otherwise they will fight and one could die???
Syrians are animals meant to be alone. They will always fight when with another hamster. It is best to keep them apart. Biting the bars can make their teeth crooked.
My female robo hamster she is about 8 or 9 she keeps biting her…….let’s just say her peepee spot I know she’s a female but she just does plz help! reply soon!
Sorry I meant 8 or 9 months old?
If she’s doing this during the process of grooming, it’s natural for her. If she suddenly stops running or normally walking around and bites at herself like that, it might be something serious. Check her droppings and her urine, and her tail. If she’s got wet tail, she’s got to be taken to a vet immediately.
I got my hamster 3 days ago and yesterday he slept all day and night and ignores me completely when I poke my finger through the cage, even when he’s right next to it. I’ve also noticed that he leans to one side when walking, however it seems its only when he’s just been on the wheel. Is this normal?
Maybe the hamsters legs are hurt has it ever fallen from somewhere high?
If you have a wire/mesh wheel, your hamster might get bumblefoot (red and black bulges on their paws) which is painful and needs to be checked by a vet. Depending on what hamster you have, the size of the wheel might be too small. If you can get a new wheel, I suggest a flying saucer so their back won’t bend. A syrian hamster should have a 12″ saucer and a dwarf should have a 7″ saucer just to be safe. Also, hamsters will take about a full 7 days to adapt to a new cage. Taming (anything with human interaction) should happen when your hamster is comfortable with their surroundings (so maybe two weeks from now). Joy Georgina on YouTube has great taming videos with one of her past hamsters, Pepsi.
Hi i need help. I have 2 hamsters, male and female. My female hamster gave birth 3 days ago. We seperated the male hamster. After 3 days, today. He looks sad and unpalyful. I need to know why. Please help. What should i do? And why is he acting like that? Is he sad? Or ill? I don’t know what to do.. ???
It’s okay the male is just sad from the female not being near him
I got my robo hamster on Christmas in 2014, so he’s now about 2 years and 7 months old. He’s been a very active hamster his entire life and he loves burrowing. In fact, before now, I’d never seen him sleep without burrowing. A few weeks ago his left eye started to look a little wet and was slightly closed, but I thought it may be some type of cold and he would get over it, but nothing has changed. And over the past three days, he’s been sitting in a corner by his water (not burrowed) and is not active at all. I can see that he has been drinking, but he’s hardly eating anything, if eating at all, and I haven’t seen him move. Normally whenever I come up to the cage he’ll get obviously excited to see me, but now he doesn’t even open his eyes. He’s obviously still breathing, but does this mean it’s the end of the line? 🙁
Same with my hamster but my hamster is a still a baby and I got him like a week and a half ago. And yesterday He jumped off my hand on a pillow. He jumped 2 feet I guess. He was ok for like a hour but than he seemed really sleepy and his left eye wouldn’t really open. So I thought maybe it was time for him to rest. And at night he still was sleeping he’s breathing but keeps sleeping I pick him up a couple of times but he would just sleep on my hand. And I saw a video were this lady took salt and water and mixed it up and put it on her hamsters eye. So I tried it and I guess it sorta worked but he just keeps sleeping and I’m really concerned. I really don’t want my baby to die!!!???
I have a pet hamster called Pepsi he has a problem with his eye lashes so he can’t open his left eye because of his ingrowing eye lashes I would suggest to bring your hamster to the vet to see if it’s a problem with your hamsters eye lashes my hamster doesent have it anymore cause when I brought him to the vet they told me to give him a special treatment he can open his eyes now
Robo hamsters normally live a life span of 3 years. No, it could not be the end of the line because its too soon for it to die. If its not eating,not opening its eyes, take it to the vet in your local hometown to see whether if it is sick or ill. If its not eating, try a new variety of foods and place new chew toys/toys for your hamster. Im not an expert but this happened to me once but my hamster is perfectly fine now
i have the exact same problem I have a robo male
i had the same problem with my 3 year old hamster. when i took her to the vet she ended up having pneumonia and passed away:/ i would recommend taking him/her to the vet immmediatly
Hey I got 2 Russian dwarf hamsters yesterday and a big cage with a walking tube on it so they can walk from one side of te cage to the other through the tube one of my hamsters sit in it all day and night doesn’t seem to move unless to get food for her self! I wonder is she unhappy or sick please some one help me
I’m not an expert but once my cousin came over and my hamster got really scared so she hid in her tube where my cousin couldn’t touch her. Is there a chance you hamster might be scared?
My hamster just started today to run sooooo fast then stop and she would fling herself across the cage. She then would walk around her cage and take a break. She then would do it again but she didn’t mean too. Should I put in a larger wheel so it’s harder for her to go super fast. P.s. I have a larger wheel but she’s just a chinese dwarf.
She has a large cage that’s about 712sq in.
My hamster just started today to run sooooo fast then stop and she would fling herself across the cage. She then would walk around her cage and take a break. She then would do it again but she didn’t mean too. Should I put in a larger wheel so it’s harder for her to go super fast. P.s. I have a larger wheel but she’s just a chinese dwarf.
What does it mean when my hamster stares at me with ears straight up.
It’s a good sign, she’s curious and relaxed at the moment (not sure, but it’s like that with my hamster)
yes its curious, and its a perfect time to tame it with treats.
I have a robo hamster that I just got 7 weeks and 2 days ago and I realised after I changed his bedding he was trying to find a way to escape out of the cage ,running around the cage and going up the food bowl many times. Is there something wrong with him?
Do u remove all his bedding?
Maybe your cage is too small? Try picking it up when its trying to escape and see if it will climb on your hands. If it did climb on your hand, your cage is just too small or it wants to explore more out of its cage. Add chew toys and wheels if you havent yet.
Mine too mines pregnet tho
And I have a GIANT CAGE
Hello.
We have a male Syrian hamster who is about 4months old.
The past couple of days he has been very sleepy and only comes out to eat and drink.
I’ve noticed his belly has gone really round and he’s not running round like usual. And his ears are constantly laying flat.
Any advise would be helpful.
Hello,
I have a female Syrian hamster and all she does is stuff all the food in her cheeks and stores them in her bed then never eats it again, i have to waste a lot of time cleaning that cage!
my advice is to let him get use to his surroundings and don’t start playing with him for at least 2 weeks.
The same thing happens to my hamster the day I got her. She then started climbing her cage. After a few weeks of this repetitive behavior she escaped. We still haven’t found her. Two days after this, she started scratching the carpet and ripping it.
she probably is just stressed out from being adopted. try giving her a day to rest. The scratching means she is trying to dig and hide, so try letting her burrow more.
Hello,
My brother has 2 male Syrian hamsters! We get it. One of them is the ULTIMATE escape artist. About a week ago, my brother who doesn’t take care of his hamsters to well, found him by accident in his closet. He ripped up two holes in the closet down to the concrete, one for his bed, and the other one for his food. So, what we did is we made sure that he couldn’t climb out from the glass and didn’t push him house to the side and climb out. Instead, make sure the water is working, food is always filled up, and the cage is clean. If you haven’t found the hamster yet, or if this happens again, close all the doors to the rooms he could of got in. Then, listen of any squeaks or noises, and put treats in the middle of the room and see if he comes.
Bye!
My previous hamster showed the same symptoms. Is he going to the bathroom? I hope he feels better. 🙂
He’s probably sick
My previous hamster, Peanut, was exactly the same way. Take him to the vet immediately. The reason why you’re hamster’s belly is round may be because of a tumor. Unfortunately, in this is the case there is not much you can do. Likely your hamster will be dead in a week or two, if it’s not dead already. (Since this comment was left awhile ago) You could have a surgery to remove the tumor, but even that probably wouldn’t get rid of all of it. Best of luck!
I have a male robo hamster and ive noticed when i got him he liked to eat the food at the bottom to the top of his bowl so he would dig and some would spill over. But now hes digging like hes burrowing and kicks out all his food and i dont think hes eating it. It just falls to the bottom and he doesnt go for it. I dig in there and put it back in the bowl, but he just kicks it out again. Is this normal? Or is there somthing wrong with him?
This means your hamster is either full, not comfrontable with its cage, or it could be the food that its tired of. Try to buy it nee food for a start
I just brought home my new hamster a few days ago. I have one of those so called starter cages because that’s all find permit. At night she keeps jumping on and off her wheel. Is the wheel to small? What’s wrong with her? I understand I do need a bigger cage. What are the long term affects of a small cage? How long do I have till the affects of a small cage become long term? Please help me I’m a first time hamster owner
Get the new cage, a 40 gallon breeder fish tank would be good, tomorrow or today!
I just got my teddy bear hamster a few days ago. I have a what they call starter cage because that’s all funds permit. She started going on and off her wheel constantly. What’s wrong with her? I figure I do need to get a bigger cage. Can there be long terms affects of a small cage? If so how long to I have till the affects are long term?
My hamster goes on and off his wheel too. I think they are just checking if everything’s OK or they’re maybe bored. If you don’t have much money for a big cage try finding used cages or small shops that sell them for cheap. Ordering online is also sometimes cheaper. Just leave her alone for about 3-6 day’s so she can get used to her home, and you can try offering something like a tiny bit of carrot or apple to her.
I hope you have a great time with your new tiny friend. I’m sure she’s a ok if you’re really concerned maybe talk to a vet or small pet expert
Hope I helped, and don’t worry I’m sure she’s fine, just love her all you can 😀
I actually have a three tiered cage as well. It’s not the biggest. I had my previous hammy in it. He was so spoiled. What I did was got a large plastic tub and made a playpen. It has toys, snacks, a giant wheel…you name it. I would put him in it as soon as I got home(I usually work nights) and he just played at my feet until I went to bed. Then he went back in his cage. Unfortunately he passed in 2015. I kept all his stuff after I cleaned it. A week ago I finally got a new hammy and I am going to start putting him in the playpen. 🙂 Rex loved it, I figure Rambo will love it as well. Maybe you can try something like that.
I brought my baby Syrian hamster a couple of days ago and since I have got him home he hasn’t really eaten or drunk anything and he is sleeping a lot. Is this normal behaviour for a new hamster or do you think there is something wrong? If you have any ideas please let me know because I’m starting to get quite worried
if he’s little he won’t be eating or drinking that much comparatively, also he could be nervous of his new surroundings. keep him in a quiet space. Try leaving some broccoli or avocado out for him. Have you checked with your finger that the water bottle works properly?
How old is your baby? Weeks? Months? Maybe you need to give him time to adjust to his new home. If he doesn’t improve I would take him to a vet and make sure he is alright. Just saying.
I’m no expert, just got a new hamster myself, about 6 months old.
Hopefully there are others more experienced with baby hamsters who can help you.
You should take your hamster to a vet for a check up this could be wet tail.
When I put food in my hamsters cage she dumps it out and buries it in her bedding I keep putting more food in her bowl but she keeps dumping it out am I over feeding her im a first time hamster owner
I wouldn’t keep putting more food in too often as you could end up over feeding. But don’t worry, it’s normal hamster behaviour and she’s just hiding her food that she’ll dig out later on to eat. They just like to store things? I’d say try and mix up her diet with something that’ll encourage her to gnaw on rather than just stuffing it in her cheeks. Try small bits of carrot or broccoli(don’t put too much in or she might decided to store it and it may get mouldy if left too long which will cause an unhygenic environment and will cause her to get sick)
This is normal. Your hamster is trying to protect its food and is saving it for later. However if your hamster is not eating the food you may want to seek medical advice
when you say dump it out what do you mean?
Do not over feed your hamster. if she is putting it in her bed then that is a normal food storage habit and nothing to worry about. just make sure you change her bedding frequently.
Hamsters like to bury their food and then come back to find buried treasure! So I would just refill the dish with fresh food only to replace the old. I only give my hamster a tablespoon worth of food every other day.
I just bought a robo dwarf hamster from Petsmart, but they didn’t tell me her age or anything about her. She was very skittish and nervous even after I put her in her new cage and laid out treats. She runs FAST and apparently can climb all the way to the opening of the cage because she escaped twice and ran all over my dorm. Is this normal behavior or does she just really not like her environment?
Hamsters will try to get out of a cage, the same way a dog or cat would run outside if you leave the door open. It doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t like their new home, it just means they are curious, which is very normal for any animal really. I would suggest buying a lid, or making one. Then watch your hamsters behavior, if she actually doesn’t like her cage she will give you lots of clues that day she doesn’t, boring at the bars,hiding all the time, and many other ways, my hamster got mad at me for moving the items around in his cage, he started excessively biting the bats of his cage, so I put everything back the way it was, and he was fine. Also just because a robo is very small doesn’t mean he needs a small cage, quite the opposite actually, the dwarf hamsters (robos, winter whites and campbels russian) are very energetic, they like to run long distances, so the bigger the cave the better with these guys, and it’s preferred to get a large cage that is wider than it is tall, hight isn’t going to do much to help their need to run. I suggest placing their tats in the palm of your hand as well, eventually the hamster will learn to trust you and will feel more comfortable in her new environment. I hope this helps, have a great day.
hello! for the first four days you should leave the little ham ham alone so she can get a grip on her new surroundings and smells. From the fifth day on start letting her smell your hand, try to feed her a treat. This is called taming, you can you-tube or google it. I followed the steps for my Syrian girl and we bonded so well, she even falls asleep to me petting her! Also, do not worry too much, it is the hamsters natural instinct to try and escape, mine still tries!
Robots are super speedy little chaps. it’s normal, but they do take a while to tame so be very patient and gentle.
She’s either shy or doesn’t like her cage
Hi, we hv 6 month old female hamster, she was pregnant first time, had 4 pups but all died in 4 days. In second pregnancy, 9 pups, 2 were eaten by mother, 7 were survived for 6 days. They all died one by one but mother was still nursing dead pups. She dint realised about their death pups. They all were healthy but still died. We dont knw the reason yet. We saw female was sleeping on pups. Now we are thinking to keep pups away from mother after birth, is it ok?
Pups will need their mother to survive they need her milk, one reason a mother will eat her pups or kill them is if she feels threatened, scared, or if there is a deformity in the pups. I’m sure there are other reasons as well but that’s what pops into my head straight away. Maybe try putting her in a calmer environment, put her food and water as close to her nesting area as possible, and try your best to not touch her or the pups although it’s very tempting. Make sure she has a hut, and plenty of bedding. Make sure the hut as only one entrance and is snug, if it is too big she may not feel safe and secure. I hope this helps, have a great day.
I wouldn’t than it will take awhile so see what happens my hamster ate her first litter but second litter survive ed
hi im alireza
i ve got a new syrian hamster but hes very sleepy and sleeps at night too but he doesnt have runnig nose or any thing else and his cage is like a castle and try play with him all nights but he doesnt enjoy it
what should i do 🙁
Hamsters will need some time to adjust. Give him some time, some hamsters will take a week or so to feel comfortable enough to interact with you. When he does decide to come out don’t try to pick him up or pet him, try feeding him treats from your hand, if you would like to know how to tame your hamster Erin’sanimals on youtube has lots of helpful information. Hope this helps, have a great day.
He’s either got wet tail or some kind of illness maybe or he just needs a partner
Syrian hamsters CAN NOT have partners. They will fight to the death or mate.
Is it natural for me to stroke my Syrian hamster and sometimes when I stroke him he lies down and sticks up his bum and tail, Is this natural??
Hi there.
I think your hammy may be a girl as this behaviour happens normally once every 4 days when she is in heat. It’s perfectly normal. This is her displaying that she’s ready to mate.
Check the sex of your hammy. ?
That’s not normal cause that’s only for.females to do that
My Winter White Dwarf Hamster is drinking more than usual lately. She pees way more and today I noticed her place between the belly and tail is wet and it looks messy. I read that Dwarf hammys don’t get wet tail but I think she has it though she doesn’t have diariagh at all. Is she sick?! If yes does anyone know what illness?!
I love her really much and I’m worried. I’ll take her to the vet soon but I would like to know people’s opinions.
Thanks!
I think that breed are very prone to diabetes which would explain her symptoms. If you haven’t already get a vet’s advice.
She might have kidney problems pr she is just old
My hamster keeps climbing on the walls of her cage and ends up falling on her back. Why is she doing this? Is this normal? Will this hurt her?
Your cage may be too small for her, bring her into a bigger cage
It means that the cage is too small and that he is stressed and bored. A hamster needs at least 350 square feet. Don’t get a cage with height because it can be dangerous, and don’t get the fun looking cages because they are not what a hamster needs.
My hamster used to do that too she would climb up and bite the cage bars. It turned out she wanted to get my attention! About the way they fall down it probably could do harm but it depends how high does she or he climb? My hammy didn’t go high but I still put some extra bedding to make it softer just in case!
Mine does this too hun, He hasn’t sustained no injuries and once he has done it he goes back on top of his cage and does it again. I think it is just normally behaviour x
It’s usually a sign of boredom so a bigger cage with more toys could be needed. If you already have a large cage maybe perhaps buy some hanging toys which hang from the bars for her to climb on. She shouldn’t hurt herself if she falls as they are quite “bouncy”. Hamster will fall off a lot of things in the wild. If you see her limping then go to the vets. Hope this helps! 🙂
She doesn’t like her enclosure
your hamster may has Backflip syndrome. Place chew toys,toys,boredom breakers and a large wheel in its cage.
My brother just bought a hamster today and she won’t stop rubbing her face. What does this mean? Is this normal?
Are you sure she rubs it? Check if she first Licks her paws and then does it. If yes she’s just cleaning. Though if it goes on for really long and very often you should probably ask someone with more expirenice for advice. ☺
She might be cleaning or itching herself maybe it is because it is a new bedding etc. My dwarf does this too so not too much to worry about. X
I believe this means they are stressed, a new environment will cause this.
She could just be cleaning herself. They usually use there little hands to do this. Also check if her face looks irritated or hurt, if her eyes or ears look crusty or there nose is producing a sticky discharge. If they are doing any of this take her to a vet.
Hope this helped. ?
Why does my female hamster squeaks and keep on jumping , roaming around and its like something irritates her in her butt or belly part? She’s acting so strange.
She probably just scared or got a sudden shock. My newbie does it too. Give her a health check and if her belly looks hurt take her to a vet.
Hope this helped. ?
if she is rubbing her belly on the floor then check her scent glands aren’t blocked!
Hi I have a Syrian which I’ve had for four months now and I’m worried he’s bored or maybe stressed. He has a fairly large cage (two I’ve attached together), he’s got loads to do and play with in there and I let him out in his ball every night for about an hour. I handle him as much as I can but he often gets too fast to handle for long. He has so much energy and will go for ageeees. For the past two-three ish weeks he’s been chewing his carrot gnawed excessively (the standard small wooden ones that attach to the side of the cage), he’s got loads in there and he’s already half chewed one I bought him four days ago, he also has another one that he’s chewed loads of. He doesn’t chew the bars that I’m aware of.
Due to me leaving his cage open a few times he has gotten out for the whole night so he knows what freedom is like, he usually tries to escape from his cage or his ball because of this.
I don’t know if this is causing stress or something???
I don’t know if this is all normal, if there’s anything wrong or something I can do?
try to buy a new toy or even building one.
try to put food in a place that he needs to work to get to(that is what they do in nature). But not hus basi food because then he won’t eat.
About 10 days ago I got a siberian hammie at Pet Smart. She’s not exactly tame. We’ve got one of the Kaytee hamster homes with the attached wheel and one crawl tube (plan to get more as funds allow), so I think she has enough room (not sure?) I use a cup to get her out of the cage and put her in one of those running balls and let her run around the apartment for about 15-30 minutes in the evening. She seems to love it, never stops, and is particularly fond of doing so on the linoleum floor in the dining room. She’ll even follow us. When I get her out of her ball, which she really doesn’t want to leave (clings to the air openings, bites at me) and get her back in her cage, she runs straight to her water, gets a good drink, stops by her food dish to steal the treat I give her (raisin, peanut, hulled sunflower seeds, chew biscuit), and relieves herself in the corner she’s chosen for that. After that, she climbs on top of her food dish and begins chewing at the wires of the cage, back and forth, back and forth for nearly an hour. Hubby says she’s trying to escape. It worries me. Is she happy? Does she have what she needs? We’ve introduced a cardboard tube for her to run through, she ate that. We got her a compressed paper house for her sleeping corner. She shoved it into the middle of the cage, then decimated it overnight. Any advice is appreciated.
as someone who has owned her fair share of hamsters, any cage that a petstore offers you for a small animal is in my experience far too small, and causes the cage biting and will lead to mental issues with a hamster. instead of a “hamster cage” i find that a 20 gallon reptile tank with a mesh cover is the best. even this is the minimum a hamster should be in to be happy, along with handling every day. while the hamster tanks may be cheaper, in the long run, a small cage will lead to vet visits or death. my reptile tank for my syrian baby bear was $70, but you will never need to buy those tubes again, and a toilet paper roll should have a slit cut along it in case they get stuck, if this is not caught early, they can suffocate.
With the noise and everything from PetSmart, I imagine your hamster is still just trying to get used to it’s surroundings. When I first got mine, I used dried fruit treats to help build trust, and eventually I was able to pick her up and hold her a little bit. Mine really likes the ball as well, and usually doesn’t want to get out. What I started doing was opening the top of my cage and just holding the ball with the Opening inside so hamster could simply walk out into her cage on her own. Keeps her from throwing too much of a fit, keeps me from being bit, so I’ll take it.
About her chewing the cage: this is perfectly normal. My black bear hamster does it too. Hamster teeth are constantly growing and they are simply grinding their teeth down. You can also purchase a wooden straw ball for her to chew on instead of the cage. If they don’t have anything to chew on, their teeth get too long for them to eat and they’ll starve. Same idea with the cardboard and the paper house. She’s just ‘cutting her teeth’ and it’s nothing to worry about. For a house, I recommend the colored igloos they sell at PetSmart or pretty much anywhere. Anything paper or cardboard will generally get ripped to pieces. The igloos do have a big opening, but Hamsters are really smart, and if they feel cold, they’ll bring in more bedding so they can keep warm.
Sounds like you’re doing great so far, just a couple of small things to get and you’ll be golden for a while. Hope this helps!
Mine is doing the same thing at night running around the cage almost looking like its trying to escape. He’s chewing on the bars and when i out my hand against it for him to smell he tries to bite it. Is that normal? He was fine the first few days thins is new behavior. Im afraid he will chew through and get out.
Chewing on bars is actually bad for the hamsters mental and physical health. Encouraging them to chew on chew toys or getting a bigger cage/tank/bin is best. My hamster only chewed on his cage bars for the first couple days but i eventually got him a reptile tank. Also if your hamster just wants to chew on really hard materials then a mineral chew is really great for them! My hamster loves chewing on really hard stuff and ever since i got him a mineral chew toy he went crazy on it.
try holding her on your hands more
Mine female robo hamsters not wanting me touch or getting into my hand they don’t like me thinking giving them away and getting Syrian hamster more tamer
Hi, we have a drawf hamster. When we got her and set up her home we let her just get used to her home for a few days before we tried to hanle her. In them 3 days we would literally not see her at all during any part of the day. Even in the evening/night. Obviously with working we must go to bed so can’t stay up all night waiting for her to wake up to tame her. I knew she was in her little house burrowed under all her bedding sleeping, occasionally she’s ruffle around in there but not come out. Daily, I would gently lift her cage top to get rid of any poo in the corner she clearly chose to toilet. Any food that was looking a bit skanky like kiwi fruit we’d put in there I’d find mostly eaten and burrowed. After a few days we caught her coming out so we just talked to her through the cage, let her sniff my finger. She’d come to the side of the cage stood on hind legs as if she was trying to get a better look at me, I’d just talk to her gently and then put a treat in her cage then she’d literally scuttle off back in to her little house where her bedding is, burrow herself under and fall asleep. All along I knew she was coming out at night, well more like the early hours as food would disappear out of her bowl. The next day I’d see her again, she’d come out, go get a drink off her bottle, scuttle around a bit for about 5 minutes then go back inside her little house, straight back to sleep. Never seen her go on the wheel. Though my daughters both reckon they’ve heard her on it late at night. We have put toys in for her to ware her teeth on, we know she’s used them but we never see her climbing on the thing we’ve hung in her cage to climb on. She just seemed to want to sleep all the time. Before the week was up we visited my friend who has gad several hamsters before. She said you do need to handle her every day but then I read on the Internet, never, ever wake up a sleeping hamster! Anyway 2 weeks in she started to come out a bit more in the day and of course as it was a novelty to actually see her my daughters want to handle her 6+7 yr old. I’ve told them they need to be patient let her get used to them. I’d pick her up, she seemed fine he doing that though would poo on my hand. We had a basket to put her in to run around in she couldn’t climb out of and I encouraged the girls to just stroke her lightly and talk to her. I picked her up a couple of times in between. My girls were not ready to handle her yet anyway. After we’d put a treat in for her she’d gladly munch on. My friend advised us to let both girls sit on the floor, let her run between them ( sitting so each other’s feet are touching creating like a diamond shape do hamster can’t get out over there legs. Just let her run around, put a treat down, a kitchen roll for her to run in and out of. When she came near at first they’d stroke her but eventually they felt confident to pick her up. Well the youngest was really good with her but my eldest can get a bit hysterical and she dropped her! Not from any great height & hamster was fine but she’d be over eager to pick her up but then get hysterical once she did, I kept telling her to calm down worried she might frighten our hamster. I found putting her in a little bowl helped my elder daughter handle her better. We’ve practised handle ing her a few times this same way since. This weeks pretty much the same, she coming out more but I’ve noticed as soon as we’d lift the top of the cage she runs for cover in her house so I’m worried we’ve frightened her when trying to handle her, she never bites though. She did once to me but I’d just handled her goid and wondered if it was that not that she being aggressive. The last time we handled her she kept coming out to rummage around her cage and we’d lift the top if cage off, she run back in to her house but this time I knew she wasn’t going back to sleep and kept coming to the front sticking her head out to look, we’d make no noise and eventually she came out again, we just stroked her or talked to her at first. Then we set up like a bit of a play park for her, kitchen roll going in to this plastic box that has holes in she can easily climb through. So I went to take her out but she nipped me! I left her for a bit and tried again this time she let me pick her up. We put her down to explore she lseemed to like the tube going in to the plastic toy and kept going in and out. On one occasion she went in the tube in to the plastic box she spat all her food out in there. My girls did pick her up, she never bit them she just ran about pooing everywhere. I was worried why she spat out her stirred food though do I told my girls I think we should put her back in her cage and let her be so we did. She then scurried around the cage a bit, had a drink, pulled some food in her little bedding house, buried another piece of food them literally buried herself under the sawdust in her cage. I’ve since read on the Internet two very conflicting views. 1 is that she was frightened and do doat her food out to say ‘eat my food not me’ and 2 that she happy and feels safe in her environment and was spitting out her stored food to offer as a gift . I perceived she liked that box with the tube she was playing in so thought she’d store her food in there for later? I just worry that we frightened her, maybe moving too fast with her now. Though I’d not like to think we are scaring her I need to know if we are do we don’t continue to. Please can anyone reply with feedback? Another strange thing she just started doing in the last week I was surprised to see so much excrement in her little house she beds in and not do much in the cage itself as before. Or in what I thought she chose as her toilet area. I didn’t think they like to sleep in the same place they toilet but she seems to be doing just that recently. There’s been excrement before but this was loads this time. Cleaned her whole cage out. Like she literally spending too much time in this little house thing, eating, sleeping and toilet ing in there. Thankfully in the last day of two she has started to toilet outside this house bit again in the corner but not a lot do suspect she still doing it in her little house more. I change bedding but make sure I keep some from previous as it’s got her scent on. I also thought there would be lots of wet sasoggy sawdust through wee or bedding but though the White bedding looks discoloured it’s not wet and there Jo doggy sawdust on the bottom of the cage when I clean it, is she urinating enough. She flies drink from the bottle in her cage and I put fruit in that’s quite watery so she defo getting hydrated. Please advise me if I’m doing things ok or nit please?
Unfortunately Hamsters are not suitable pets for children, nor are they suitable to be handled by multiple people. they are solitary and delicate creatures. In my experience, some hamster just do not want to be handled. try leaving your hand in the cage and letting her just sit, don’t be tempted to lift her up just let her sit. do that for a few weeks and she will identify safety with your smell. hand feed her a treat every day, speak to her softly every day. I wouldn’t recommend children handling her, particularly if they get over excited. Its a relationship that takes constant nurturing and if you damage the relationship, i.e. by dropping her or seriously upsetting her you will lose the trust you have built up.
I have one male Syrian hamster and one male teddy bear hamster. I’ve had the teddy bear longer than the Syrian and when I brought the Syrian home, I tried to introduce them but the Syrian attacked the teddy bear. I don’t know if he’s an aggressive hamster of if he’s nervous? It’s been a couple weeks and everyday I put them together but the Syrian keeps attacking and it’s hard to separate them. Should I give up or keep trying to get them comfortable with each other?
Syrians should never be introduced to another hamster unless it’s for mating – they live their lives solitarily.
Just fyi. Teddy bear hamsters are syrians. Teddy bear is just another name given to them at the pet store.
Syrian hamsters are very territorial they are better left as a single….
Syrian hamsters are usually quite aggressive towards other hamsters especially males. I have a female teddy bear and a male dwarf Syrian, I’ve had the dwarf Syrian longer than the teddy bear and when I introduced her to him she bit his ear. What your experiencing is probably just a domination thing, I would worry about it x
even dwarf hamsters, who are said to be okay together fight non stop from what i’ve seen. if you want a small animal that you can keep a few together, mice and rats are excellent at socializing. gerbils are a no go too.
The pet stores have told me that the only way to ensure no fighting between hamsters is to get two from the same litter.
Otherwise they can and most likely will continue to fight until death.
Hey I have a russian dwarf and i am just curious about some of her behavior. She’s a good hamster we hang out everyday and I handle her pretty frequently, she’s never bitten me. Even when I was trying to see if she was pregnant I kept picking her up (probably driving her nuts) she never bit me. I will just list the things she does I find strange…
1) when I come into the room and go and talk to her by her cage she gets hyper in a way and starts biting the cage. This obviously seems like she just wants out, but it is pretty much all the time. lol
2) she is getting fat. I really didn’t notice it until my friend pointed it out and said for a dwarf she is pretty big. I ruled out pregnancy, because she has been with me for too long. I do feed her a lot, because I do not know how much i am actually supposed to feed her so I just make sure she always has food. I know she hides her food all throughout the cage. Also, I bought one of those log house things that is a hideaway thing as well as a snack, so that may be the problem for her weight gain as well. Is it bad if they get too big?
3) she pees in her food bowl. I have tried moving it plenty of times, she still pees in it. She will move and hide all of her food and then pee in the food bowl. Maybe it’s just her thing? lol
4) she doesn’t ever really want to exercise. I have this big tub i put her in to run around when she wakes up but she will sometimes just go find a place to sleep in there. Then again maybe she is running at night and I don’t know, because it’s really quiet.
I just want her to be happy and healthy.
Question no1 answer: She’s probably bored. If you get a bigger cage with wheels and lots of toys it might help. If you already have a big cage then she’ll probably just bored.
Question no2 answer: Smaller hamsters breeds like hers are prone to diabetes. Less treats will be needed.
Question no3 answer: It’s just a nasty habbit. Maybe ditch the bowl and scatter food around the cage instead.
Question no4 answer: She probably just running around a lot at night. Hamster are nocturnal so they’ll be tired during the day.
Hope this helped! 🙂
1. She could be doing this all the time, its normal for hamsters to gnaw because they need to file their teeth down buy her a gnawing toy or give her carrot, helps digest the food too or she could be bored, get her add ons to the cage and more toys?
2. If you give your hamster museli they get used to eating only certain bits of it, this can cause them to get fat, they are prone to diabetes for this reason, you need to introduce nuggets and gradually wean them off muesli, kiwi is a good choice of fresh fruit as helps reduce blood sugar too. Try stay away from sweet fruits such as apple these are high in sugar.
3. My hamster i believe is litter trained they only pee or poo in one area, this is to mark their terroritory, it is possible that your hamster has litter trained herself. My hamster prefers to hunt for his food and i put it round the cage for him to find just like in the wild, also a great past time for them.
4.Hamsters are awake during the late evening night only, waking them up during the day can lead to stress try to avoid this.
My son has just scared his hamster to which made her run fast and get stuck in her tube.
She didnt move and we had to take the tube apart to get her out which is now made us worried as shes not as responsive as normal.
Do u think shes ok??
Hamsters are horrible pets for kids and are very delicate and shy. If your hamster is a Syrian the tubes are way too small and they can suffocate in them, try getting a large cage without tubes, if you want to make bin cage and connect them ferret tubes work great. If your hamster is a dwarf they were probably just hiding because it’s hard for people to get to them in the small tubes.
I have a male Syrian hamster I called Eric he’s 10 weeks old I’ve had him 6 days I talk to him everyday and take him out of cage and crawl around on me he loves sitting on my shoulder and me kissing him I tried feeding him flax seeds from palm of my hand an he did he knows my voice when I walk in room and comes to side of his cage I love him
I know it’s been months since you posted this, but this may be my favourite comment on a website ever. I hope you and Eric are still very happy.
I got my Russian dwarf about 2 days ago and at the pet store they let me hold her and she didn’t bite me or the worker once and the worker also said that he had handled my specific hamster a bunch and that she has never bitten him. In her cage I gave her a piece of cloth with my scent on it which she nibbled for a bit and then kept it on top of the area where she burrows in to sleep and ever since I got her and she’s been in her new cage whenever I’m nearby she stops what she’s doing and comes running towards the side of the cage and starts sniffing and nibblin on the bars. Also whenever I open the door of the cage she comes running towrds my hand and so I let her sniff it and she always starts off by nibbling but then she always bites my hand. I’m wondering if this is just a sign that my hamster is just aggressive or if she’s just nervous even though she doesn’t ever run away from me or if she thinks that I smell like food because of the soap I use to wash my hands. I’ve been really stressed because I really want my hamster to like me and not constantly try to bite me. Also I was wondering what else I could try to get her to trust me more and to stop biting me because I’ve tried letting her listen to my voice, using treats, and I’ve tried to just sit a little bit away from her cage to let her get used to my presence and I’m not sure if any of it has made any progress. Also my hamster seems to constantly run on her wheel and when I’m in the room she will run for a little bit and then stop and kind of look at me for a few seconds and then run agai for a few seconds and then stop to look att me for a few seconds and then repeat and I was wondering if this is some kind of behavior triggered by a lack of trust or something and if so what should I do about it
Try using a non fragranced soap. When she runs on the wheel it means she’s happy and energetic. Try talking to her in a playful tone (like you would to a puppy or a baby). Try using a mug to get her out the cage by putting the mug in the cage then letting her climb in, then slowly and gently ‘pour’ her into your hands and don’t rush her. If she still bites then she’s probably just an aggressive hamster.
in my experience smaller hamsters are very bitey, it doesnt always mean they’re aggresive, especially if you have food scent on your hands. my dwarf hamster was bitey, but never showed physical signs of being uncomfortable. also, since pet stores sell hamsters young, it could be a behavior that they grow out of, like my sister’s dwarf and my dwarf who just passed away.
You could also try gently blowing in her face, not even hard enough to blow out a cheap birthday candle. Just very gently for only a second. Repeat this for a few days, it should work. I recently got a new baby Russian Dwarf and he had a tendency to bite like yours. It took 4 days of holding him for 5 minutes at a time and gently blowing on his face (ONLY ON HIS FACE, if you do it from behind you’ll scare him instead of ‘training’ him) and now he’s a very affectionate hamster. Talk to yours for about 5 minutes before you try and pick her up so she knows it you. Do this and I think she’ll learn to stop biting.
I have two russian dwarf hamsters around 11-12 weeks old, one seems to boss the other one around climbing on her back making her squeak at one point one of them growled. Please tell me if they are aggressive with each other or it’s just normal thnx
Aggressive they’re trying to see who’s dominant
How long should it go on for? They’ve been squeaking for a couple of weeks now which I’ve been putting down to play?
I recently bought a hamster off of a coworker. It was in a relatively small cage so I moved it to a much larger more adequate one. She has been climbing the sides and sort of going to the top corners where it is darkest, almost like she is trying to hide. At first she was super insistent on staying up there, gripping extremely hard. Now she will let me get her more easily though, first by supporting her back legs and petting her until she loosens her grip enough to just let go. I’m wondering if this was due to stress of being in a small cage? Is there anything else I can do to support her transition?
My hamster froze in place yesterday we then she woke up she again froze todaay is this normal during the winter
Yes, she probably just has a cold and is under the weather. Just keep her cage in a warm room and she’ll feel better in no time. 🙂
Thank you for creating this,it really helped me.
At school I am doing aprject on hamster behavior and this helped me soooooooooooooo much,
Thanks again,Annika
My school hamster is running very fast around in her tank (she’s been in it for over a month because she was attacking her daughters) I’ve had her at home for 4 days now and this started yesterday she’s always been territorial like when you get her out she bites until you pull her out then she’s the sweetest thing but she bit me twice yesterday and she has now started furiously digging and she chewed up the entrance hole to her little house inside the tank I don’t think she’s eating but she is drinking g . She’s scaring me she won’t run on her well and she even built a pile of her wood shavings in a cone trying to get out. She also dug out all the shaving gs from inside her house and all around it . Please help me this is my major grade assignment and I don’t have a way to contact my teacher
She might be nervous or not used to her surroundings. It’s also possibke that she is pregnant or sick. You should double check with a vet. Make sure she has food and toys to chew on. If your hamster scratches at its bedding constantly, that could mean she wants to escape. That’s completely normal. I have two Syrian hamsters and they spend most of their time plotting a way to get out. If you’re not sure if she’s eating, check the whole cage. She might just be hiding the food. If the food isn’t eaten, she is probably sick. Take her to a vet is my suggestion. Good luck!
as far as the aggresion when being woken, she’s probably just scared, and even my sweetest hamster gets startled. if you know she’s drinking, she is most likely eating too. hamsters like to take food from the bowl and bury it throughout the cage, so she could be eating without you seeing, plus hamsters are nocturnal. if you’re that worried, try to dig up some food in the bedding, thats usually a sign shes been eating while burrowed.
I have a campbells red eyed agante and she has always been the sweetest thing loved to be handled and came right to me when i opened her cage but suddenly shes been incredibly hyper running and burrowing 3 times as much and flees on sight of my hand. This is extremely upsetting andthere have been no traumatic expieriences for her. I let her out dailey for an hour to run around the floor freely to stimulate and entertain her.
Try putting your hand in and just leaving it there with a treat. Don’t move it just leave it there, do this everyday. And when she’s used to that move your fingers around a bit until again she’s used to it. And once she isn’t scared of your hand anymore and knows that if she sees the hand she will get excited for a treat?.
What if my hamster rolls on its side when I go to pet her? Yesterday she was very social and loved being pet and handled and loved running around my floor but today she screamed and ran in circles when I let her out and sqeuaks and chatters when I touch the left of her back, I’m so worried, is she hurt? Did I do something to hurt her? Did she fall when I wasn’t looking?? I’m so worried.
What are dukes? Just curious.
Its a common English word for “Fists” or “Hands”.
We got our Granddaughter a hamster for her birthday as a present….everything seems to be going well but she has a concern that Wink (what she named him) is always cold after she handles him and puts him back in his cage….he’ll burrow and just shiver any suggestions as to what we are doing wrong or is he just cold?
The ideal temperature range for hamsters is approximately 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit.also keep in mind hamsters love to hide under things such as they’re bedding.
hamsters are not a pet for children younger than 10. i have seen too many being mistreated or killed accidentally by children. hamsters are not a pet to get on a whim, a proper set up (20 gallon tank or more with mesh top) can cost $70-$200 and anything smaller will cause mental issues and death. also, the food at the pet store that has a whole bunch of stuff in it? terrible for hamsters who get diabeties easily. i recommend oxbow essentials hamster food, and because it is just a block, you need to feed them fresh fruits and vegtables every other day.
We bought three Winter Whites, all sisters, about a week ago and they love in the same cage because they have grown up like that, but one of them seems to be slightly territorial in a way when one of the others get close to get spot, she would lie on her back and hate her teeth whilst squeaking. That makes the others think that they’re playing and climb onto her, making her more angry or upset. Any tips for this behaviour so a can get them to get along again?
Hi, you may need to separate them. Into different cages. When a hamster lies on its back it is in fear. Although they may have been raised with each other, they should always at least has space to them selves to prevent any harsh things.
My hammie don’t want to touch him anymore… He is already taimed before.. now I dont get the change of behavior and he even run away from my hand whenever it is in the cage. Compared before when I get in my hand in the cage he will already jump and will get into my hand.
This sudden behavior happened after he has soaked himself in a liquid detergent and I had already washed and care for him after. I dont no if this is the result of that washing and caring…pls tell me what will I do to get back my happy and playful and nice hammie again ?
Please do not use harmful chemicals on your hamster. The ideal to cleaning is using a non scent baby wipe, also just a finger tip of human hair conditioner. Brand pantene is best. And keep in mind, hamsters may run away if they are in fear.hamsters need space to get use to its surroundings.
using pantene (which is FULL of chemicals) on your hamster? i would not recommend that at all.
How an earth did your hamster come near detergent? sounds like its made him sick. he ingested an amount no doubt. sudden behavioural changed indicate illness or injury.
My hamsters won’t let me get any where near them without trying to bite or scratch me. I have them it two cages that are connected so there is plenty of space I have two of everything and they fight with me and they fight each other one has scratch marks that go through her ear. I don’t want to seperate them because I got them together at the store what should I do?
I think u should separate them it’s for the best if u don’t they can kill each other and if they are biting and scratching you it may be with noise and stress and u bother them to much ?Hope this helped u
I Just Got 3 Russian Dwaf hamsters and they share a big cage, i have cages to split them up, they are all sisters and two of them always fight, but the other now doesn’t even sleep with them, is this bad? also I have a big cage so could it be because there is so much room to sleep that she just wants to be alone? one more question is how do you know if they aren’t play fighting?
Even though they shared a cage when babies, they are maturing and their needs have changed. Hamsters tend to live (happily) alone. It sounds like it’s time for them to have their own rooms!
If your little ladies are showing and or using their teeth in ‘battle’, are constantly aggressive towards each other; I would definitely separate them as soon as possible to prevent injury and further stress. Your little ones will thank you once they have their own space! Good luck!
Hi there, I have a question. I set up an area outside of my hamster’s cage so she can run around safely and explore new things. It has different toys and her favorite hiding spot from her regular cage. Once she’s in the pen she runs around quickly, explores the new stuff very briefly, then does everything she can to climb out and escape. She seemed to be agitated or fearful so I put her back in her cage. She then spends the next 15 minutes running around her cage and frantically chewing and pulling on the bars of her cage really hard. She does the same thing when I put her back if I use a hamster ball too. She will exit her cage on her own, so is she just getting overstimulated? Damned if I do and damned if I don’t take her out of cage, so any suggestions would be helpful! She is only about 3 months old and seems pretty confident around me.
My 10 month old male hamster has been pooping bigger and wetter. I also found a wet white blob in his cage. He has been spending a lot of time sleeping or sitting in the corner of his cage, attempting to nibble his tunnel. I’m worried about him. What’s wrong, please help! He’s not eating well either
OK.sounds like a sign of a illness and you may want to find a vet immediately to get your hamster checked.sounds like wet tail
He needs to go to the veternarian emidiatly or it’s possible.something will happen that you will not like to see. Take care!!?????
He may
be sick take him to the vet
hamster died friday,wednesday and thurs it was active running and climbing never seen before,that a sign something wrong
our hamster died on friday,wednesday and thursday it was real active,climbing and running in wheel a lot. any ideas
It likely had a heart attack- not due to anything other than nature. Thank your lucky stars that it was a quick death. Watching your pet die over 2 days from old age is much much worse.
I have a female syrian and male back bear, cages opposite side of room! However I handle them alternately without washing hands in between and they take turns playing in the same play yard, and my daughter has introduced them (one in cage, one out- they sniff and there little noses touch). I noticed today that each are rubbing their body against the sides of the cage and stretching lots. My question is this: are we inadvertently keeping them in a sort of heightened mating frenzy? I have looked into female readiness (lying flat, allowing more petting, stiff tail etc) but don’t want to make them crazy with ‘sexual tension’. Thoughts? advice?
Hamsters tend to be solitary creatures. Personalities vary, yet with a pair, I would suggest separate cages (even if they appear to get along). If they do mate, the female may kill the male and if they breed, the male OR female may kill the babies. Better to be safe, than sorry! Good luck!
My little guy is a Russian Dwarf, gray. It always pops out from its home when it seems to hear me and stands by the cage bars. It does not run when I approach the cage, it also approaches my hand when it is in the vicinity. I can pick it up and sits still for me to pet it.
Bonding is really important, specially when they are brought home at a really young age. But one cannot discard hamster personalities! No hamster is the same! And some are a little more stubborn than the next.
Also, I would like to confirm everything the Admin posted in this page!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!
Our hamster(boy) keeps climbing up the side of the cage and keeps biting the bars. Is this normal?
It’s pretty normal. Provide more chew toys and exercise opportunities and it might limit the bar chewing.
My hamster just stays in its running weel and keeps taking food into it. Is this normal?
Maybe your furball have decided its nest ?
Our Syrian male used to do that before we got him a bigger cage. It’s a nervous habit that can cause tooth damage if allowed to continue. He attempted to nibble the new cage ‘out of habit’s, but I redirected him to chewable things and he hasn’t done it since!
Yes, my hamster does it also. They are just bored and want more space to roam around in. I suggest looking for add on cages or tubes. Sometimes this can be pricy for it being just a hamster so I’ve been looking online for used and cheaper hamster add ons.
In other articles I’ve read it says that means it wants your attention.
It my be stress and may miss you
My hamster seems to be sleeping for 18 or more hrs daily;if he is awake,he is hiding under a sock and some bedding. The last couple,days,I actually went and woke him up just to have some interaction with him. I had him out for about 1hr,then put him back in his cage. Now he is sleeping again. Is this normal? I’ve had him for about 23 days. I think he is 3-4 months old(syrian). Thank you. June K
Hamster do sleep a lot. they are also more active at night when you might be sleeping.
When I try to touch her she runs away and then she climbs her cage and jumps off what do those mean??
You might just need to build up a bond with her. give it some time.
Dont try touching her. just lay your hand down in her cage with a treat and let her come to you. She is just scared and probably doesn’t trust you but you can gradually build up the trust but you have to let her come to you first and letting her get used to eating off your hand.
this is my first hamster i have a male syrian i had for 9 day i try giving a treat of palm of my hand and on my fingers and he bit me now scared to put my hand incase he does it again
You just need to give the hamster more time to build trust with you.
Keep trying! Make sure your hands are clean- especially after eating– allow it to smell and come to your hand while talking lovingly to it. Hearing your soothing voice really does make the difference! If you are nervous, they will be too. Hang in there!
U may have touch any type of food and had the sent of food on your fingers try again(WASH YOUR HANDS) and no noise and slowly
You need to build up trust. I have a male syrian,Hammy and he did that to just build trust with, play with him give him treats and just spend time with him!
You need to tame her.
If you take some paper towel or toilet paper and rub your hands on it, then place it in the cage, it will allow her to get used to your scent, that should make it so she trusts you more, even enough to let you pick her up.
I have a female and male winter white hamster the female is very active and the male just lies there but still breaths what does this mean.
It might not be a problem if he is just sleeping. for the most part, hamsters sleep a lot. Does he have any other issues? runny nose or diarrhea?
She wants to mate ?
when i try to pet my hamster it runs away what does this mean
Yeah, you need to build your trust with your new hamster. Once it begins to trust you and not see you as a threat, it will not run away. read this post on how to handle a new hamster
U need to build up your trust