Scared and very skittish at night for hours after he wakes up?

[NuggetHam]

Has anyone else found that their hamster is way more skittish and less prone to want to play at night when they wake up than they are in the morning when they are about to go to sleep?

My hammy wakes up at around 9 or 10 some nights but isn’t interested in coming out to play and walks around very timidly and seems easily spooked, even an hour or more after he wakes up. He walks around gingerly and startles himself while walking around his enclosure . Last night he was running around his enclosure looking spooked (unusual for him)

In the morning, if I set my alarm for 4:30 or 5am (!) he will usually get into a cup with seeds and do bathtub bonding though.

I’m wondering if there might be a reason he’s so skittish for hours after waking up? Is there a way to remedy this so I can stay up a little late instead of waking up at 4:30 every morning?

Thank you

 

[Maz]

Hi. I think you're right that they are more chilled in the morning after a hard night's wheel running! He maybe shouldn't be scared and skittish in the evenings though, but it could be because his "day" (night) hasn't properly started yet. Overall it seems they do better with a bit of overnight "me" time to feel more confident! Hamsters very about evening waking and coming out, but once they get used to out of cage time, they often come to the edge of the enclosure wanting to come out.

 

[Socks' Mum]

They do keep odd hours. At the moment Socks is up at about 4am and is most confident then. He comes out very briefly for his veggie din dins, but is extremely cautious and dives back into his house as soon as he has pouched the veg. But at 4am he is on his wheel and if I sit up in bed, he hurries over to the door and meerkats as tall as he can, pleading for a trip to the playpen, not remotely nervous. It may be that hamsters have learned that certain predators are active earlier in the evening in the wild, or it may just be that their eye sight is better in the dark. It is quite a change in personality.

 

[Tulsi]

Cindy comes out around nine pm for her food then goes back to bed until the light goes out and is often still up and about around six am. Not that I get up then. I love seeing her from my (lovely warm cosy) bed.

She runs on her wheel a lot at night!

 

[Maz]

What time do you do the feeding @NuggetHam? You can get them in the habit of waking at feeding time, and the best time can vary with hamsters. Ours get done between 9pm and 10pm and they wake up for food as soon as they hear the cage opening - and usually want to come out at that time as well. However, it's not till they've had out of cage time a few times, that they show wanting to come out because when they've been out a few times before, they know what to expect. Do you give a bit of fresh veg each day as well? That's usually what they get up for - the bit of fresh veg They can smell it. I have a separate little dish for that, on the opposite side of the cage to where the hamster sleeps. So they need to cross the cage to get to it and will usually eat it straight away (or the bit they want to eat - just a tiny piece), and that can be a time to offer a tube or taxi on their way back, for out of cage time

But maybe yours is just more a morning hamster!

 

[Socks' Mum]

Just to say, Socks is quite an old hamster and if I get him to come out at dinner time (about 7pm) he falls asleep again ❤

 

[NuggetHam]

What time do you do the feeding @NuggetHam? You can get them in the habit of waking at feeding time, and the best time can vary with hamsters. Ours get done between 9pm and 10pm and they wake up for food as soon as they hear the cage opening - and usually want to come out at that time as well. However, it's not till they've had out of cage time a few times, that they show wanting to come out because when they've been out a few times before, they know what to expect. Do you give a bit of fresh veg each day as well? That's usually what they get up for - the bit of fresh veg They can smell it. I have a separate little dish for that, on the opposite side of the cage to where the hamster sleeps. So they need to cross the cage to get to it and will usually eat it straight away (or the bit they want to eat - just a tiny piece), and that can be a time to offer a tube or taxi on their way back, for out of cage time

But maybe yours is just more a morning hamster!

Oh! I feed him twice a day because I am clueless. I put some in first thing in the morning to get him to come out but I have also started to try to feed him at 8pm. Maybe I will wait until 9pm. I also had heard to only feed fresh veg during playtime out of the cage so they want to come out, but it makes sense to give him a bit of it at night to coax him out and maybe he will get into the cup. Maybe put the veg into the cup itself? Or is that too manipulative Thank you!

 

[NuggetHam]

Just to say, Socks is quite an old hamster and if I get him to come out at dinner time (about 7pm) he falls asleep again ❤

Aww very sweet Well I don't mind if Nugget falls back asleep afterwards, I just want to play with him, a little while

 

[Maz]

Oh! I feed him twice a day because I am clueless. I put some in first thing in the morning to get him to come out but I have also started to try to feed him at 8pm. Maybe I will wait until 9pm. I also had heard to only feed fresh veg during playtime out of the cage so they want to come out, but it makes sense to give him a bit of it at night to coax him out and maybe he will get into the cup. Maybe put the veg into the cup itself? Or is that too manipulative Thank you!

That might be the issue if he's being fed twice a day - why bother to come out at night?! I would stick to feeding once a day, maybe 9pm and the veg out then. And yes it's a very good idea to put veg in the taxi to tempt him in! But that needs to be an extra bit of veg (or a small bit of cheddar cheese - anything strong smelling to a hamster) so that their daily veg is always in the same place and they go to look for it

This doesn;t mean you can't share a bit of your breakfast with him in the morning But his hamster mix and veg I would put out at night

 

[NuggetHam]

That might be the issue if he's being fed twice a day - why bother to come out at night?! I would stick to feeding once a day, maybe 9pm and the veg out then. And yes it's a very good idea to put veg in the taxi to tempt him in! But that needs to be an extra bit of veg (or a small bit of cheddar cheese - anything strong smelling to a hamster) so that their daily veg is always in the same place and they go to look for it

This doesn;t mean you can't share a bit of your breakfast with him in the morning But his hamster mix and veg I would put out at night

OH good!!! I am so glad I asked this! Thank you for your help. I will switch up protocol starting tonight!!

 

[Rescued One]

Has anyone else found that their hamster is way more skittish and less prone to want to play at night when they wake up than they are in the morning when they are about to go to sleep?

My hammy wakes up at around 9 or 10 some nights but isn’t interested in coming out to play and walks around very timidly and seems easily spooked, even an hour or more after he wakes up. He walks around gingerly and startles himself while walking around his enclosure . Last night he was running around his enclosure looking spooked (unusual for him)

In the morning, if I set my alarm for 4:30 or 5am (!) he will usually get into a cup with seeds and do bathtub bonding though.

I’m wondering if there might be a reason he’s so skittish for hours after waking up? Is there a way to remedy this so I can stay up a little late instead of waking up at 4:30 every morning?

Thank you

Is there something different about the room environment day to night? Electronic buzzing or hums that we might ignore but that might be scary to a hammie? Florescent flickering (hammies have poor eyesight on a good day), synthetic air fresheners (they mostly navigate by smell), etc.? Neighbor's noise? Just thinking outside the box here.....

 

[NuggetHam]

That might be the issue if he's being fed twice a day - why bother to come out at night?! I would stick to feeding once a day, maybe 9pm and the veg out then. And yes it's a very good idea to put veg in the taxi to tempt him in! But that needs to be an extra bit of veg (or a small bit of cheddar cheese - anything strong smelling to a hamster) so that their daily veg is always in the same place and they go to look for it

This doesn;t mean you can't share a bit of your breakfast with him in the morning But his hamster mix and veg I would put out at night

I tried the veggie trick and got to play with him in the tub last night!!!!!!!!! Thank you! I think he might have been a bit overwhelmed so hopefully he'll try again tonight or tomorrow night. Thank you! I left him alone this morning and got an extra hour of sleep instead. My camera showed that he was up at 5:30 near his food dish, probably wondering who changed the schedule. LOL

 

[NuggetHam]

Is there something different about the room environment day to night? Electronic buzzing or hums that we might ignore but that might be scary to a hammie? Florescent flickering (hammies have poor eyesight on a good day), synthetic air fresheners (they mostly navigate by smell), etc.? Neighbor's noise? Just thinking outside the box here.....

That's an interesting question! Nothing is different between 12am and 4:30am - same appliances, street light, etc. Really good question though. My partner is kind of noisy and that might make Nugget wait a while before coming out at night. He does seem to come out once he hears my partner get into bed upstairs at around 9:30 - 10:30pm.

 

[Maz]

That's wonderful you had some time with him out of the cage Personally I'd leave it a night now, so he adjusts again, and then do the night after maybe. Initially I get them out maybe 2 or 3 times a week - unless the hamster is really showing signs of wanting to come out - eg sitting at the door or clamouring at the door. I had one like that who wanted to be out every single night! And have another one who is like that now - wants to be out every night, and initially he was a very shy hamster.

 

[Rescued One]

That's wonderful you had some time with him out of the cage Personally I'd leave it a night now, so he adjusts again, and then do the night after maybe. Initially I get them out maybe 2 or 3 times a week - unless the hamster is really showing signs of wanting to come out - eg sitting at the door or clamouring at the door. I had one like that who wanted to be out every single night! And have another one who is like that now - wants to be out every night, and initially he was a very shy hamster.

I agree with Maz on letting the hammie lead the timing of outies. My Peanut goes in the playpen morning and evening. Luna is my night owl, and pops out for playpen time once every 2-3 nights.

 

[Maz]

With an untame hamster, they probably never show signs of wanting to come out at first also So tempting them out 2 or 3 times a week to start with is good, so he doesn't get overwhelmed, as you say He'll soon get into the new routine of feeding at night and coming out at night.

 

[Aadizmommy]

Cindy comes out around nine pm for her food then goes back to bed until the light goes out and is often still up and about around six am. Not that I get up then. I love seeing her from my (lovely warm cosy) bed.

She runs on her wheel a lot at night!

Same schedule I have noticed for Emerald - wakes up around 9pm (waits until we are not around) and does her activities until right before 6am, takes her food with her to bed and then sleeps all day.

 

[NuggetHam]

Same schedule I have noticed for Emerald - wakes up around 9pm (waits until we are not around) and does her activities until right before 6am, takes her food with her to bed and then sleeps all day.

Oh! Do you ever get to play with or interact with Emerald?

 

[Aadizmommy]

Oh! Do you ever get to play with or interact with Emerald?

We just got her about 4 days ago, so haven't gotten to interact much, we maybe get 10 minutes a day and if she hears us around she goes back to hiding, so mainly it's just chatting with her through the cage where she's hiding. How long have you had your hamster?

 

[NuggetHam]

We just got her about 4 days ago, so haven't gotten to interact much, we maybe get 10 minutes a day and if she hears us around she goes back to hiding, so mainly it's just chatting with her through the cage where she's hiding. How long have you had your hamster?

It will be 2 months on December 10th