My hamster was active, but has been sleeping all day and breathing heavy. What could be wrong?

Question

My hamster was active the day we got him, Sunday, and things looked good. Then today, Monday, he just started acting sleepy, and slept the rest of the day. Hes been breathing heavy, and hes been burrowing under the bedding to sleep. He was active, but now, just tired all the time. What could be wrong? Can someone help me?! I don't want him to die! PLEASE!~

Also, they dont drink much water or eat much. Is there a problem?

Answer 1

thats most likely normal my hamster sometimes does not eat or drink for a whole day if you got him yesterday/sunday then he is most likely just tierd from his environment changing or he could be shocked from moving ecspecialy if he is young just give him time give him his space let him get use to you try not to wake him up during sleep ecspecialy when you first get him make sure its a good temperature in his room or where he is staying he could be overheating if not contact your local vet hope i helped.

Answer 2

well thats how mine is . but hamster are supposed to sleep during the day and stay up at night . but what i do is put a dark blanket over its cage during the day so she thinks its night time and then she will stay up and then at night i take the blanket off and she sleeps when i sleep so she so she doesnt keep me awake :))

                          so my hamster sleeps alot too . dont worry

                                       hope i helped :)

Answer 3

One of my hamsters was the same exact way when i got her. They are usually very spazzy the first day because their not used to the new environment, so of course they're gonna be tired the next day!  Plus hamsters are nocturnal anyway and they usually eat and drink at night too.  It's very understandable that you are so concerned about him, but he should be fine.  If you notice anything else odd going on, then contact the pet store or a local vet, but just a warning vets can get very expensive, very fast.

Answer 4

Everything you said is normal. But be cautious about the heavy breathing it could be she is just in a heavy sleep or it could be a symptom of some disease. If this heavy breathing continues you should take it to the vet bcuz it could be serious.

Answer 5

Well, I just got a girbel yesterday.

And the same thing happened to me.

First of all, hamsters are nocturnal.

But since it was his first day in a new enviroment, he was excited and nervous and curious, that's why he was running around all day. My girbel wouldn't stop running on her exercise wheel! :]

He's now just settling in, getting used to this. My girbel now has been burrow in shavings in her little castle for hours.

Don't worry, this is completely normal!

In a few days things should be falling into place, your hamster is just trying to get used to the new enviroment!

GOOD LUCK!

:]]]]]

PS: He might get bored, so buy him some toys! Petco. has lots of things for rodents for good prices :]

Answer 6

I wouldn't worry that much; when you first get a hamster, they will generally be very antsy about their new environment, and usually will be very active on their first day. The fact that he's mellowed out means that he's more comfortable with his home; just think of it this way; if you were in a strange new place, would you have your guard down, so that any danger could fall upon you when you relaxed? Its just instinct to be cautious of new surroundings, that's all, and now that he is comfortable with his home, he's more relaxed; and you may not have been awake for a time when he was, if you're worried about him being active; generally hamsters are nocturnal (though some can be trained out of it), so they are naturally most active during the late hours of the night; if you get him a noisy wheel, you'll definitely be reminded how active they are at night xD Another reason may be because he's bored; do you have any toys he could play with? If you don't, wheels are a very good source of exercise and he would probably appreciate something to do. If he continues to be inactive for several days, there could be something wrong with him (he could have a cold, the flu, aspergillis fungus, wet tail, or tyzzer's disease), in which case you should seek veterinarian help.

Breathing heavy is actually common with hamsters; I once had a hamster had seemed to inhale and exhale about thirty times per second, but he was just a very hyper hamster, and I had him for a very long time (2 1/2 years :D!) ; hamsters' hearts beat very fast, so, in turn, they breath faster so that oxygen gets to their tiny hearts. Burrowing under bedding is also very common; burrowing is second nature to a hamster, and is just a way of making himself comfortable to sleep, or he's just doing it to have fun; in the wild, several rodents (including some hamsters) burrow underground to sleep.

Also, when a hamster is first introduced to a new environment, they don't always eat or drink much; he'll find the food on his own once he's comfortable with his home, but if he doesn't notice the waterbottle for a while, try showing it to him, or dripping some (but not alot) water onto the bedding below the waterbottle, so that he realizes its a source of water; but that probably won't be a problem either, because if you got him from a pet store (or even a hamster breeder for that matter) they should already be used to using a waterbottle anyway.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 7

I recently got a hamster too! In fact i got 2 robos on Saturday! The first day i got them they were active and crazy but then they started to sleep all the time. Well, hamsters are nocturnal so they will obviously sleep during the day and stay up during the night.  Most likely they are just  getting used to the environment and the new cage! after about 2-3 days they should be fine and active during the night, but if they start to get the symptoms of wet tail then take them to the vet ASAP because they can die from dehydration. Hope this helps! :)

Answer 8

Hamsters are nocturnal animals.  It would be normal for your hamster not to eat or drink and only sleep during the daytime.  Your hamster should get active overnight.  If not, contact the pet store where he was purchased in the morning.

Answer 9

O.K. They were probably really active the first day because it was a new encironment and they were excited and curious and all that good stuff. I have a hamster and they sleep all day long. That is waaaaaay normal. It is true that they don't eat or drink much that is normal also. They stay awake at night. Just so you know they might keep you awake if in your room.