Over active?

Question
My Granddaughter brought home a new Hamster three days ago.  Today she said she is very concerned because the Hamster was "bouncing all around the cage".  She has another more mature Hamster in another cage that is active, but more subdued.  If the new hamster is over active, should this be a concern, and what should we do?  

Answer
Hi,
younger hamsters are as a rule more active than older ones. They tend to climb and run more and the hamster of your granddaughter is probably exploring his new home.
Hamsters need a lot of toys and things to occupy themselves with. Tubes made of cardboard, leaves, tufts of grass, branches and twigs, toys made of wood to chew, food wrapped in paper or beaded on a string (hamsters don't need a food bowl, just scatter the food in the bedding, it's more interesting for the animal).
Hamsters need to run a lot, wild hamsters run wide distances every night to gather enough food. A wheel can be a good idea as long as it's big enough and has a solid surface to prevent injuries. As hamsters can get addicted to wheels, I always recommend to offer it to them only one or two hours per night. If you can make one of your rooms hamsters-safe (for example the bathroom), the hamster can run free for some time - of course someone needs to watch him.
As long as the hamster has enough to investigate, I wouldn't worry about him being over active.
I hope this is of some help to you
Jennifer