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help! whats wrong with my hamster?!

21 11:56:22

Question
ON THE FIRST DAY OF BUYING MY HAMSTER (FRIDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2006), HE WAS VERY CURIOUS AND FRIENDLY. hE WOULD FOLLOW ME IN HIS CAGE AND SEEMED VERY SOCIABLE. hE WOULD CLIMB UP THE CAGE WHEN WE WENT NEAR HIM, I THINK HE WAS TRYING TO MAKE FRIENDS. THAT NIGHT, HE SPENT THE WHOLE NIGHT ON HIS EXERCISE WHEEL! ANYWAY, OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS HE HAS BECOME LESS SOCIABLE, ONLY COMING OUT OF HIS BED ( WHICH HE HAS BEEN BUSY MAKING OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS) FOR A FEW MINUTES. HE HAS NOT BEEN ON HIS EXERCISE WHEEL ANYMORE. THE LAST TIME HE WENT ON IT WAS ON THE 9TH OF DECEMBER, THE FOLLOWING DAY THAT WE GOT HIM, BUT EVEN THEN HE WAS ONLY ON IT FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES. I GAVE HIM 5 RAISONS THAT DAY,BUT HE ONLY ATE 2 AND STORED THE REST, I HOPE THAT DID NOT AFFECT HIM. HE HAS NOT BEEN ON HIS EXERCISE WHEEL SINCE. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A CLOSE LOOK AT HIS DROPPINGS, BUT FROM AFAR I DONT THINK THAT THEY ARE RUNNY, ALTHOUGH HE HAS STARTED TO SMELL A BIT BUT I DONT KNOW IF THAT IS NORMAL OR NOT. LAST NIGHT (10TH DECEMBER)HE DID NOT GET UP UNTIL SOMETIME AFTER 1AM. I AM STARTING TO GET REALLY WORRIED. YESTERDAY I PUT IN 5 CHOCOLATE TITBITS IN HIS CAGE, WHICH IS THE RECOMMENDED AMOUNT, BUT HE ONLY TOOK 1, HE DID NOT EVEN STORE THE OTHERS, HE JUST LEFT THEM WHERE I PUT THEM.YESTERDAY I ALSO PUT A TINY PIECE OF BREAD WITH A THIN LAYER OF PEANUT BUTTER, BUT HE HAS NOT EVEN TOUCHED THAT. ANOTHER THING IS THAT WE HAVE BOUGHT HIM ANOTHER HOME BECAUSE THE PREVIOUS ONE WAS TOO SMALL, BUT THE NEW ONE SEEMS PRETTY BIG BUT HE HAS NOT EVEN BEEN IN THERE YET. WE BOUGHT THAT ON THE 10TH DECEMBER(YESTERDAY). WE HAVE NOT HANDLED OR EVEN TOUCHED HIM YET. HE HAS TAKEN FOOD FROM THE TIP OF MY FINGER WHICH I PUT THROUGH THE BARS OF THE CAGE. PLEASE CAN YOU GIVE ME ADVICE ON WHAT TO DO AS I AM VERY WORRIED THAT THERE MAY BE SOMETHING WRONG.
THANK YOU
    FRANKI.

Answer
Dear Franki,
thank you for your question.
I think that everything is okay with your hamster, he just needs to get used to you and his new home. Some hamsters just don't get up until very late an night, that's perfectly normal. If you are worried that he might be sick please see a vet with him because I cannot give adive on that.
The treats you are giving him are not that good for him, actually. Peanut butter and those chocolate/yoghurt grops contain way too much sugar (even though the drops are sold as pet treats, they are not suited for any rodent). Better give him some nuts, raisins, flowers like daisies or dandelion or sprouted seeds from his food (just put them in warm water for 12-24 hours). If he's a dwarf hamster, he mustn't have raisins, though, and only very little fruit because they are suspectible to diabetes.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer