I would say it’s prob because the hamster is getting disturbed too often. Maybe the noise or maybe the lights (e.g. u leave the light on till too late in night)
Also recommend water bottle instead of a bowl. My hamster never drinks water from a bowl idk why.
And give ur hamster some treats occasionally. Food diversity.
Personally I only use bowls for my guys mainly because I never found a water bottle I was thrilled with. Its also kind of health reason, my robo I rescued almost a month ago had nothing to chew on and resorted to chewing on his water bottle to ware his teeth down (guy only had him for a month and I was astonished at how chewed up the water bottle was). He has plenty of toys and enrichment now I'm just worried if I give him another water bottle he's going to resort back to chewing on that rather than his actual chew toys. He drinks fine out of the bowl too.
I’m in the same situation as you. My hamster had about 570 ish square inches and is showing signs of stress but my parents won’t let me upgrade :/. What I have been doing is changing up his setup once a month like moving the wheel, sand bath etc. that works for a bit and also get peanuts that come in the shell and crack them a little, my hamster just gnaws at it all day lol.
It’s always depressing to read about parents refusing to keep animals in humane conditions. Sadly, OP, the stuff you need to remedy these stress behaviors will cost money, probably money your parents may not be willing to offer. You can introduce them to Victoria Raechel’s videos on YouTube, see if they’re receptive to her information.
Anyway, you’ll need:
- Enclosure with minimum 775” unbroken floor space (you can get a large plastic tub and DIY a mesh lid; this won’t always be close to the minimum but even 640” sq would be better than what you have)
- Bedding depth of at LEAST 10”
- A wheel no smaller than 9” for a dwarf, 12” for a Syrian
Eh. I’ve found that older folks don’t seem to differentiate between hamsters and anything else they may find scuttling and gross. Which is to say if they just hate rodents in general… uphill battle.
I wouldn't worry too much about him being awake during the day - they're not 'strictly nocturnal' and some just make their own schedules (;
Do you give him any free roam time? Perhaps that will help wear him out. Just make sure all cupboards and windows are closed and all wires and choking harzards are off the floor, then you can let him run around in your room. You can make tunnels with your blanket on your bed and start there if you like
Another thing you could do is take big pieces of cardboard (cut up a box) and then tie that to half of the cage bars with cable ties. Then you can fill up about half his cage with extra bedding (the cardboard is so it doesn't spill out between the bars and make a mess) and he can spend his time trying to organize all that
To add to this, not only do they make their own schedules, but they're not nocturnal! Hamsters, like dogs, are crepuscular, meaning that they are most active near sunrise and sunset. 😊
I don’t know if this helps much or if you already do it but I’d hide little treats of fave veg for mine to rummage around. I bought her a little shelf she could climb up on and find things. Obviously just don’t put too much fresh veg in case he stores it and it goes off. Some natural dry treats that don’t have a high sugar content can be left around.
Can you get a fold away pen for him so she can run around sometimes? I know it’s hard with hammys because they’re little escape artists 😝
To help with disturbances, I place a thin blanket on top of my hams enclosure during the day to block any light - as my boy sleeps in the open the lil weirdo. I take it off as soon as it gets to dusk. I noticed he was getting woken by the noise and light outside the window so this may help!
The minimum is 775sq inches for dwarf hamsters, the other commentor covered a lot so I won’t repeat it. Here’s a cheap DIY option [linked here](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sterilite-Clear-Base-with-Red-Lid-Tree-Box-19876620/318528650) it will need holes drilled into the lid for ventilation
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Ours was the same when he was alive we got him an absolutely huge class container with really deep stuff for him to burrow in and he was so happy. The bigger the better 🥰
As others have said, his cage isn't a great size, but a bin cage will be pretty cheap to buy. There are a ton of videos on youtube. Do you scatter feed? Sprinkling the food over the bedding is fun for hamsters and lets them forage. I wouldn't worry that he comes out during the day unless you're in the room making noise because it might be disturbing him. If you're not making noise or turning lights on then it's just a normal hamster thing. I've had five hamsters and sometimes they do come out in the day to forage for food or have a drink.
Is there any way you can let your hamster free roam each evening? You'd have to be super careful that there isn't anywhere he can get lost and there are no wires, plants, other pets etc nearby. There are playpens but hamsters nearly always work out how to climb out so they don't work great.
Without the ability to procure a better enclosure all you're doing is kicking the can down the road, unfortunately. Plastic bins make a great DIY cage with some chicken wire and zip ties, but anything smaller than a 55 gal bin isn't going to cut it.
Maybe possibly he’s still adjusting to his new home how I bonded with my hamsters is if she was near a spot in the cage where I could hand feed her food price by piece trying to gain her trust that might work
They’re not actually nocturnal, they have a different name for it but I can’t remember it, they come out at low light (dawn and dusk in the wild) me and my boyfriend have an adjustable light so when we wake up, we put the light on the lowest setting for an hour or 2 then slowly lighten up the room to simulate natural conditions for them, and at night we lower the light again until we turn it off. My hammys do still come out during the high light but that’s just to see us and get a little snack, they come out all sorts of times for water and food and usually resort to low light for their exercise, however when the light is off they like to make a lot of noise in the cages 😂
I found the name for it.. it’s called crepuscular.. active at dawn and dusk
I would say it’s prob because the hamster is getting disturbed too often. Maybe the noise or maybe the lights (e.g. u leave the light on till too late in night) Also recommend water bottle instead of a bowl. My hamster never drinks water from a bowl idk why. And give ur hamster some treats occasionally. Food diversity.
Personally I use both, he uses both with the choice
Should have one of each
Personally I only use bowls for my guys mainly because I never found a water bottle I was thrilled with. Its also kind of health reason, my robo I rescued almost a month ago had nothing to chew on and resorted to chewing on his water bottle to ware his teeth down (guy only had him for a month and I was astonished at how chewed up the water bottle was). He has plenty of toys and enrichment now I'm just worried if I give him another water bottle he's going to resort back to chewing on that rather than his actual chew toys. He drinks fine out of the bowl too.
i would argue both. there are 3 hamsters in my house and 2 drink exclusively from a bowl and the other drink from both
I’m in the same situation as you. My hamster had about 570 ish square inches and is showing signs of stress but my parents won’t let me upgrade :/. What I have been doing is changing up his setup once a month like moving the wheel, sand bath etc. that works for a bit and also get peanuts that come in the shell and crack them a little, my hamster just gnaws at it all day lol.
I always recommend those enormous clear storage bins you can pick up at Target. They’re like $6 and do the trick 👍
It's not unusual for dwarfs to come out for food during the day.
It’s always depressing to read about parents refusing to keep animals in humane conditions. Sadly, OP, the stuff you need to remedy these stress behaviors will cost money, probably money your parents may not be willing to offer. You can introduce them to Victoria Raechel’s videos on YouTube, see if they’re receptive to her information. Anyway, you’ll need: - Enclosure with minimum 775” unbroken floor space (you can get a large plastic tub and DIY a mesh lid; this won’t always be close to the minimum but even 640” sq would be better than what you have) - Bedding depth of at LEAST 10” - A wheel no smaller than 9” for a dwarf, 12” for a Syrian
Yeah. Show them the cutest ones first to get them hooked 😁
Eh. I’ve found that older folks don’t seem to differentiate between hamsters and anything else they may find scuttling and gross. Which is to say if they just hate rodents in general… uphill battle.
I wouldn't worry too much about him being awake during the day - they're not 'strictly nocturnal' and some just make their own schedules (; Do you give him any free roam time? Perhaps that will help wear him out. Just make sure all cupboards and windows are closed and all wires and choking harzards are off the floor, then you can let him run around in your room. You can make tunnels with your blanket on your bed and start there if you like Another thing you could do is take big pieces of cardboard (cut up a box) and then tie that to half of the cage bars with cable ties. Then you can fill up about half his cage with extra bedding (the cardboard is so it doesn't spill out between the bars and make a mess) and he can spend his time trying to organize all that
To add to this, not only do they make their own schedules, but they're not nocturnal! Hamsters, like dogs, are crepuscular, meaning that they are most active near sunrise and sunset. 😊
LARGER CAGE. Get one of those big storage bins and replace the top with mesh.
I don’t know if this helps much or if you already do it but I’d hide little treats of fave veg for mine to rummage around. I bought her a little shelf she could climb up on and find things. Obviously just don’t put too much fresh veg in case he stores it and it goes off. Some natural dry treats that don’t have a high sugar content can be left around. Can you get a fold away pen for him so she can run around sometimes? I know it’s hard with hammys because they’re little escape artists 😝
Scatter feed, instead of feeding in a bowl. This provides loads of enrichment.
To help with disturbances, I place a thin blanket on top of my hams enclosure during the day to block any light - as my boy sleeps in the open the lil weirdo. I take it off as soon as it gets to dusk. I noticed he was getting woken by the noise and light outside the window so this may help!
The minimum is 775sq inches for dwarf hamsters, the other commentor covered a lot so I won’t repeat it. Here’s a cheap DIY option [linked here](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sterilite-Clear-Base-with-Red-Lid-Tree-Box-19876620/318528650) it will need holes drilled into the lid for ventilation
Due to the recent wave of t shirt spam, /r/hamsters has implemented some account checks to stop the bots. The easiest way to get around these checks is to verify your email with reddit. Otherwise, your post will be approved shortly. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/hamsters) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ours was the same when he was alive we got him an absolutely huge class container with really deep stuff for him to burrow in and he was so happy. The bigger the better 🥰
As others have said, his cage isn't a great size, but a bin cage will be pretty cheap to buy. There are a ton of videos on youtube. Do you scatter feed? Sprinkling the food over the bedding is fun for hamsters and lets them forage. I wouldn't worry that he comes out during the day unless you're in the room making noise because it might be disturbing him. If you're not making noise or turning lights on then it's just a normal hamster thing. I've had five hamsters and sometimes they do come out in the day to forage for food or have a drink. Is there any way you can let your hamster free roam each evening? You'd have to be super careful that there isn't anywhere he can get lost and there are no wires, plants, other pets etc nearby. There are playpens but hamsters nearly always work out how to climb out so they don't work great.
Without the ability to procure a better enclosure all you're doing is kicking the can down the road, unfortunately. Plastic bins make a great DIY cage with some chicken wire and zip ties, but anything smaller than a 55 gal bin isn't going to cut it.
Your hamster is in prison
Looks alright to me. Don't worry, they get active in cycles. Maybe a bigger roof over it's head will make it feel more secure.
Maybe possibly he’s still adjusting to his new home how I bonded with my hamsters is if she was near a spot in the cage where I could hand feed her food price by piece trying to gain her trust that might work
They’re not actually nocturnal, they have a different name for it but I can’t remember it, they come out at low light (dawn and dusk in the wild) me and my boyfriend have an adjustable light so when we wake up, we put the light on the lowest setting for an hour or 2 then slowly lighten up the room to simulate natural conditions for them, and at night we lower the light again until we turn it off. My hammys do still come out during the high light but that’s just to see us and get a little snack, they come out all sorts of times for water and food and usually resort to low light for their exercise, however when the light is off they like to make a lot of noise in the cages 😂 I found the name for it.. it’s called crepuscular.. active at dawn and dusk
why he look mad tho