Are you disturbed by the intermittent screaming of your hamster? You don’t have a clue why is your hamster behaving like this? Well, your hamster is more distressed than you are. Hamsters scream when they sense continuous danger and fear takes over their minds. Believing that hamsters scream because they have learned how to scream is not logical.
Let’s dive deep into the whole phenomenon and find the truth behind this scary behavior of your hamster.
Incidents That Can Force Hamsters To Scream
The general misconception regarding hamsters is that they are insensitive pets who only want food. However, in reality, this is not true. Hamsters don’t have a big heart. Even the slightest of changes in hamsters’ environment can lead them to depression and stress.
Recall the time right before your hamster started screaming and see if any of these incidents have happened:
Change In Environment
Hamsters don’t appreciate the change that much, even if it is for their own good. If you have brought your hamster home recently and he is screaming, then you haven’t given him the for adjusting.
You shouldn’t try to pet or feed your hamster in the first week. Give him time to familiarize himself with the surroundings and your presence. For this purpose, place your hamster’s cage in a dark and peaceful room. Only change his food and water when he is asleep in the daytime.
Attack By Other Hamsters
Did you know that most hamster breeds spend most of their lives alone? Yes, these little critters are not very fond of company. If you place two hamsters together, they will start fighting with each other. Just like humans, all of the hamsters have different physiques and courage.
This difference will give power to one over the other. They both will fight with each other, which will result in serious injuries. The hamster that will sustain more injuries will face fear and pain. Hence, this terrible fight between two hamsters will most likely lead one or both hamsters to scream.
Now, as a responsible hamster owner, you should keep two different hamsters in two separate cages.
Presence Of Other Animals
Many owners own other pets like cats and dogs in their homes, along with hamsters. You need to be very vigilant if you are planning something like this. Most pet animals like cats and dogs are predators by nature.
On the flip side, naturally, hamsters are prey animals. In the wild, hamsters spend their living doing two things only. The first one is hoarding food from which they got their names. Hiding from the predators is the second most important to do in their lifespan.
You disturb the whole order by placing both hamsters and their predators in the same environment. If a cat or a dog is around your hamster’s cage all the time, the hamster will live scared life. When the fear hits its peak, he will start screaming.
Injury
Injuries can not only scare your hamster, but they can also put your hamster in pain. Fear and pain are the two biggest reasons behind the screams of the hamsters. If your hamster has been injured in the past and he is now screaming, take him to the vet immediately.
These screams indicate that your little furry friend is in great pain.
Do Hamsters Like Screaming?
Some time ago, a video of a hamster screaming went viral. People took it as fun, not knowing that the poor creature was in pain. Some people speculated that hamsters start screaming after learning that they can do so.
But in reality, according to the zoologists, hamsters only scream when they are extremely feared or in pain.
FAQs
Here are some questions related to the topic that will be useful for you:
Hamsters produce clicking or bruxing noise when they are happy. Hence, if you listen to clicking sounds coming from your hamster’s cage, there’s nothing to worry about.
Yes, you will be able to differentiate between screaming and hissing of the hamster easily. Hamsters, just like cats and dogs, hiss when they are angry and want to scare you off.
Hamsters Scream Wrapped Up
Hamsters are exotic pets for so many reasons. First of all, they can be very expensive to take care of. Secondly, you need to study them a lot because they are full of surprises. Screaming is one of the rare traits of these little furballs.
In most cases, they scream to show that they are scared. Other than that, they do this when they are in extreme pain. In rare cases, hamsters scream to show aggression.
