Pet Hamster

Question
Hello,

I recently bought my daughter a hamster.  The first couple of days we had him he was up and running around the house.  But now, he has just been sleeping all day, even through the night.  I heard from some people that hamsters hibernate and I've read that they don't.  Do hamsters hibernate?  If not, is this something that I should worry about and take him to see a vet?

Thank you in advance for your response.

Answer
hi kim,

this is nothing to worry about, hamsters are nocturnal and even thought they are awake at night they are veryactive and tire themselves out quickly, and will nap on and off all night. hamsters should only be out of their cages for no longer than 20 minutes every night, either in the excersize ball or round the room. so if you have him out for longer, with no means to water he will be very tired, and slighty dehydrated.

and yes hamsters DO hibernate, if the temeperature in the room is cold enough a hamster will go into hibernation (so keep him warm)if he is in hibernation put him somewhere pretty warm, and his body will tell him the cold spell is over, if not take him to a vet and he will wake him. i once left a hamster in his ball all night by accident next to the back door, when i got up and found him he was infact hibernating and it took me a good 15 minutes to wake him up and i felt very bad about this :S.

start to worry if he stops eating drinking or becomes very lethargic, then take him straight to a vet, so just keep a close watch on him but he should be fine.

also u should leave your hamster completely alone for the first 2-3 days as he has just moved house and will be very confused, tho you have been letting him out before then, which wont do him any real damage, please bear in mind he'll be very overwhelmed by whats going on and his bed is his safe place lol

thanks for your question, and please ask again if theres anything else, and good luck with your sleepy hamster! which by the way is really sweet lol

joanne :)